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News from African Leadership Academy:
Scholarship Fund Created for "Cisco Scholars" from South Africa!
Letter from the Founder and CEO
Dear Friend,
In
less than one year, our inaugural class of amazing young leaders from
across the African continent will descend on our campus in the outskirts of
Johannesburg. It
is hard to believe the big day is so near! I am pleased to report that
another busy quarter at ALA
has brought us ever closer to the successful launch of an institution that
we hope can transform the African continent.
The
most exciting piece of news is the September 4 announcement by Cisco
Systems for a Scholarship Fund
to support “Cisco Scholars” from disadvantaged backgrounds in South Africa.
Chris Bradford and I had the opportunity to attend Cisco’s internal
announcement of this gift, and we were touched by the spontaneous applause
from the gathered Cisco employees.
Other
milestones achieved this quarter include the unveiling of our campus to the
public on July 30, continued progress in student recruitment across North,
East, West, and Southern Africa, and the launch of a uniform design
competition for students from across Africa.
Members
of our team have had milestones this quarter as well. Our founding
employee, Anabel Argyle, recently celebrated two years of service at ALA,
giving us all a chance to reflect on how far we have come. And Dean Chris
Khaemba was recently named one of the “100 Most Influential Kenyans,"
joining the likes of Nobel Prize Winner Wangari Maathai and athlete Kip
Keino!
Finally,
I encourage you to visit our new-look website at www.africanleadershipacademy.org.
We launched the site in July and it contains a great deal of information
about our admissions process, curriculum, campus, and activities. You can
download a brochure and read our latest press releases and news articles.
It should be an exciting year ahead, so I encourage you to check back often!
All
the best,
Fred K.
Swaniker
Founder & CEO
African Leadership Academy
fswaniker@africanleadershipacademy.org
Scholarship Fund
Created for 'Cisco Scholars" from South Africa
 On September 4, Cisco Systems
announced that it would create the Cisco South Africa Education Trust, and
that the first beneficiary of this trust would be African Leadership Academy!
Under the
agreement, the Cisco South Africa Education Trust will fund scholarships
for “Cisco Scholars” at African Leadership Academy.
All Cisco Scholars will come from disadvantaged communities in South Africa.
They will include boys and girls in each of the first three African Leadership Academy classes, beginning with
the inaugural class that enters ALA
in September 2008. Cisco Scholars will be funded for both years of their ALA
education.
 In her letter
to ALA, Cisco Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs Tae Yoo wrote:
“Cisco is deeply committed to the goal of economic transformation in
South Africa . . . A partnership with ALA through the Cisco South Africa
Education Trust will give us the opportunity to invest in young people who
(in your words) ‘will determine the future of South Africa.’ .
. . As such, Cisco would like to pledge this donation in scholarship
funding to ALA over four
years.”
To learn more
about the Cisco Scholars program at ALA,
click here.
ALA Publicly Unveils World-Class Campus in
Gauteng!
 On Monday,
July 30, Gauteng Province Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Paul
Mashatile cut the ribbon to unveil the ALA campus on the outskirts of Johannesburg, South Africa.
“The Gauteng Government welcomes the establishment of African
Leadership
Academy,”
Mashatile said. “This Academy will contribute towards the development
of the skills and capacity required to lead our country and continent in a
global world.”
Mashatile spoke
to an audience of 150 people that included MPs and South African and global
business leaders at the event in Honeydew. He was preceded at the podium by
Fred Swaniker, Founder and CEO of ALA. “We are thrilled to have the
support of the Gauteng
government as we seek to bring a world-class secondary institution to this
world-class city region,” Swaniker said. “In September 2008,
young leaders from across the African continent will descend on Gauteng and begin a journey that will
enable them to create lasting positive change in Africa.”
African
Leadership
Academy’s
campus is a state-of-the-art boarding school with capacity for 200
students. “This campus has the facilities required for a
world-leading institution,” says Swaniker. It includes a 350 seat
auditorium, computer laboratories, sport fields, a multi-purpose dining
facility, classrooms, a faculty common room, and a beautiful house for Dean
Chris Khaemba and his family.
To view photos or
an interactive map of the ALA
campus, click here.
Student Recruitment Heats
Up!
 African
Leadership
Academy’s
admissions team is working across the continent to identify the outstanding
15-17 year old leaders who will apply to join our inaugural class in 2008.
We are looking for promising girls and boys from all backgrounds to join
our inaugural class, and we have been blown away by some of the amazing
young individuals we have met to date. In addition to being top performers
on exams and incisive thinkers, our applicants have demonstrated incredible
passion for their communities. For example:
- One boy started a community theatre troupe and writes and
produces plays to educate peers about HIV/AIDS and the plight of
orphans.
- One girl organizes a group of students to collect and
deliver supplies to a home for needy children in her community.
- One boy administers a scholarship fund for an international
NGO to enable students in his community to attend school.
- One girl took over as the math teacher in her high school
for a month when the school could not find a substitute.
“We seek
young people with the passion and courage required to be agents of positive
change on the African continent,” says Dean Khaemba. You can learn
more about the admissions process by visiting our website
– first round applications are due on November 30!
Do
you know a young person with the potential to transform Africa?
If so, the admissions team wants to hear from you: email us at admissions@africanleadershipacademy.org
ALA Anounces Pan-African Competition to Design
School Uniform!
 Underlying ALA is the philosophy that young people
in Africa
can and should take charge of their own destiny. Students will be expected
to act as leaders while at the Academy—shaping how the institution
functions and participating heavily in the life and governance of ALA. One
early decision we are empowering our students to make is what their school
uniform will look like! Thus, on August 1st, ALA
launched a pan-African competition to solicit designs for the
Academy’s school uniform. ALA
believes in the power of young people to change the world, and that young
leaders will transform Africa.
The ALA uniform design competition is open to
individual students or groups of students between the ages of 12 and 20
across Africa.
The best design will be decided by an international panel which will
include world-renowned African fashion designers. The winner will receive a
cash prize and be commemorated forever with a plaque at the Academy.
Do you know a student or group of
students who would like to participate? To download a flyer with the
details of the competition, click here (268kb, pdf). Or you can email us at uniformdesign@africanleadershipacademy.org
for more details. The deadline for entries is November 15th, 2007 but early
submissions are encouraged.
You can make a
Difference
- Share your ideas and contacts!
Are there schools,
companies, government officials, or nonprofit organizations that we
should be in contact with? Do you have thoughts on leaders or stories
we could highlight in case studies in our curriculum? Let us
know!
- Give a gift to support Africa’s future. Your
contribution can help make this unique vision a
reality. To buy a brick on our Founders' Wall or make a donation
to African
Leadership Academy,
visit: http://www.africanleadershipacademy.org/site/support
- Support
African Leadership Academy
with your shopping! If
you shop online, do so through our new-and-improved Freepledge portal
and ALA
will receive up to 15% of the value of your purchases! Whether you
intend to shop on Amazon, eBay, Target, Expedia, or elsewhere, you can
support us by starting your shopping from http://alf.freepledge.com.
- Refer a candidate. Know
an admissions officer or teacher looking for a unique challenge? A
business school student looking for a rewarding internship?
We’ll be hiring a number of new faces in the coming months
including our inaugural ALA
faculty. We are always accepting resumes and inquiries at employment@africanleadershipacademy.org
To unsubscribe, send an email to info@africanleadershipacademy.org
ABOUT THE ACADEMY:
Our Mission
African
Leadership Academy (ALA) seeks to transform Africa by
developing and supporting future generations of African leaders. Opening in
2008, African Leadership Academy will bring together 250 of the most
promising 15-18 year old leaders from all 54 African nations for an
innovative two-year program designed to prepare each student for a lifetime
of leadership on the continent. Students will be selected to attend the
Academy based on merit alone and will complete an innovative curriculum
with a focus on leadership, entrepreneurship, and African studies. ALA graduates
will attend the world’s finest universities and will lead Africa toward a
peaceful and prosperous future. ALA is a
nonprofit institution located in Johannesburg,
South Africa.
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