With only the South Africa and Zimbabwe application deadlines still pending, ALA has already seen a record number of applications this year. Almost 3,000 young leaders have applied to ALA, including first-time applicants from Madagascar, Sao Tome & Principe, and Libya.
From these 3,000 applicants, about 450 will be invited to attend finalist weekends in their home country or a neighboring country. These weekends, which test a candidate’s leadership, intellectual and interpersonal skills, also allow potential students to meet and interact with ALA faculty and staff directly.
This year, Finalist Weekends are being held in Ghana, Ethiopia, Senegal and Uganda over the April 9 weekend; Tanzania, Kenya, Mali, Sierra Leone and Morocco over the weekend of April 16, Mauritius and Tunisia over the weekend of April 23; Nigeria, Egypt and Zambia over the weekend of April 30; and Lesotho on May 7. Finalist weekends aren’t held in every nation. Applicants from countries such as Burkina Faso or the DRC may be admitted without attending a finalist weekend.
Finalist weekend dates for Rwanda and Southern Africa haven’t yet been finalized.
