This month, our campus was vibrant and alive with excitement as we celebrated a new cohort of changemakers in Johannesburg: our 14th class!
Taalu, the opening ceremony of the academic year at ALA, was a reminder of the Academy’s audacious mission – to identify, develop, and connect a new generation of diverse leaders who will transform the African continent.
These young leaders, drawn from more than 40 countries, will encounter a unique community and a broader network that will help cultivate, influence, and support them.



At ALA, we believe our community is the vehicle of change that will shift the conversation about the role young people can and do play – right now – in shaping the future of the continent.
ALA is more than a school. ALA and its staff, students, and alumni are defining Africa’s leadership agenda, which I see as the single most important lever for our development. We offer the kind of education that every African child deserves, and in the years ahead, I see ALA expanding the impact of its educational model across Africa.
To the Class of 2021 and current Year 2 students, I want you to think of yourselves and see the impact that you could have in Africa. There are ideas that you can come up with that might look small right now but if you experiment with them and talk to people, in 10, 20, 50 years from now we’ll be sitting in a world that is defined by the ideas that you put in place.
I am excited to work with my new colleagues to mobilize the power of youth on the continent and am looking forward to many more celebrations on campus that will showcase our talent, diversity, and power of a connected community.

