Exciting Updates From

African Leadership Academy

 

Welcome to the Second Quarter 2006 African Leadership Academy newsletter. We are excited to reach out to our network of supporters and friends with some of the recent exciting developments at the Academy. In this issue:

 

  • A Message from the Founder and CEO
  • Co-Founders Fred Swaniker and Chris Bradford named two of the “15 best emerging social entrepreneurs in the world”
  • Campus design competition heats up!
  • The Search for the Founding Head of School Gains Momentum
  • Student Recruitment and Selection Plan Developed
  • How you can help

 

 

A Message from Fred Swaniker,
Founder & CEO

  

Dear Friend,

 

I hope all is well and that you’ve had a great few months. The past quarter has been a tremendously exciting time at African Leadership Academy.  Our selection as Echoing Green Fellows is a testament to the progress we have made thus far, but a tremendous amount of work remains if we are to make the African Leadership Academy vision a reality. Fortunately, we were able to build a fantastic team of ten individuals working in Johannesburg over the past three months, including five full-time staff and five interns/volunteers. Our team members brought depth and expertise in areas ranging from finance and operations to curriculum development to student admissions; with their input, we have developed plans that we believe will enable a successful launch in 2008.

 

As we move into August, we are looking to identify our inaugural head of school and continue our progress in fundraising and curriculum development.  We also expect to finalize our campus design in the next few months and look forward to sharing it in a future newsletter.

 

There are several exciting updates in this newsletter, so I do hope you will take a few moments to read it. Thank you again for your support.

 

Best wishes,

Fred K. Swaniker

Founder & CEO

African Leadership Academy

fswaniker@africanleadershipacademy.org

 

 

 

ALA Co-Founders Chris Bradford and Fred Swaniker Named 2006 Echoing Green Fellows

  

In June, co-founders Chris Bradford and Fred Swaniker were named as two of the “15 best emerging social entrepreneurs in the world” by New York-based Echoing Green. We were chosen for this award from nearly 950 applicants who applied from 75 countries. The fellowship includes $98,000 in seed funding over the next two years and technical assistance from Echoing Green and its network of social entrepreneurs around the world.

 

As an Echoing Green-supported organization, African Leadership Academy is in good company. The 350 social change organizations founded with Echoing Green’s support over the past 20 years include such prestigious nonprofits as City Year, Teach for America, EarthRights International, and the Global Fund for Children.  Previous Echoing Green Fellows have been recognized with numerous awards, including Time Magazine’s "Time 100: The People Who Shape Our World.”

  

You can learn more about Echoing Green and read an interview with Chris and Fred on their website: http://www.echoinggreen.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.viewPage&pageID=658

 

 

 

African Leadership Academy Campus Design Competition Heats Up!

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Four prestigious South African architectural firms are competing for the right to serve as the lead architects designing the African Leadership Academy campus on the outskirts of Johannesburg. Six firms were invited to ‘pitch’ a design to the ALA team, and four have recently provided detailed proposals for the campus. We will formally award the design contract in mid-August.  Stay tuned!

 

 

 

Search For the Founding Head Of School Gains Momentum

 

We have been scouring the best schools in Africa and around the world for candidates for the founding Head of School, and we have received several promising applications.  We will be working with our academic advisors (including the heads of top-performing schools in Africa, the UK, and the USA) to screen and interview these candidates, and we hope to announce the Head of School in the next six months.

 

 

 

Student Recruitment and Selection Plan Developed

 

Over the past three months, a team of founders, board members, and interns (including an experienced admissions officer) has put together a robust plan for student recruitment and selection. We have now outlined the countries in which we will initially focus our recruiting efforts, organizations and schools we will partner with to find our students, and the criteria, methods, and processes we will use to screen applicants to African Leadership Academy. With this plan in place, we can start finding the outstanding students who will make up our inaugural class. The first step will be to recruit a Dean of Admissions (by early 2007) who will take this plan and work with the inaugural head of school to find and screen the first class of students.  Look for our job posting in the next newsletter!

 

 

 

How You Can Help

 

1.      Send your ideas: info@africanleadershipacademy.org

2.      Refer a candidate: ALA is looking to hire our inaugural Head of School, and our application process has not yet closed.  And we are always looking for outstanding candidates for full-time and internship positions.

3.      Donate to the Academy! We are in the midst of a major fundraising campaign that will allow us to develop our curriculum, build our team, and recruit our first class of students. You can donate to this exciting vision via credit card by visiting http://www.africanleadershipacademy.org/support.asp

4.      Assist with fund-raising - please e-mail us to find out more: info@africanleadershipacademy.org

 

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ABOUT THE ACADEMY:

 

Our Vision

African Leadership Academy believes that ethical leadership is the key to a prosperous and sustainable future for Africa. Opening in 2008, African Leadership Academy will be the first secondary school of its kind focused on developing and supporting the next generation of African leaders. With an innovative curriculum in leadership, entrepreneurship, and African studies, African Leadership Academy prepares talented youth from across Africa for a lifetime of leadership on the continent. In addition, African Leadership Academy is assembling a larger network of like-minded mentors, partners, and leaders to provide alumni with the long-term support system needed to lead Africa toward equitable and lasting development. 

 

Our Offering

African Leadership Academy offers students aged 16-18 years old from all 54 African nations and around the world the opportunity to attend our two-year, coeducational boarding school in South Africa. Our rigorous secondary program emphasizes the following attributes:

 
  • Entry based on academic merit and leadership potential
  • Generous financial aid for admitted students with financial need
  • Integrated curriculum in Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and African Studies
  • International Baccalaureate academic program
  • College counseling, career placement, and ongoing alumni support

African Leadership Academy offers like-minded individuals, organizations, and alumni a growing global network of local Chapters and strategic partnerships committed to fostering our long-term vision.

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