The Pan Africa Youth Leadership Program: Cultivating Social Entrepreneurial and Civic Minded Leaders

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PAYLP 2018 spring cohort participants at Meridian International Center

The Pan Africa Youth Leadership Program (PAYLP) is a program designed to develop leadership skills in youth through dynamic trainings and cultural exchanges. In April 2018, Meridian hosted adult mentors and young scholars between the ages of 15 and 18 from Sub-Saharan Africa, including the nations of Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. “I have discovered a group of diverse cultures, from my fellow African participants from Sudan, Zimbabwe, Mauritius, Zambia, Uganda, Kenya, Namibia, Botswana as well as Malawi.” Exchange programs like these bring leaders from around the world to the U.S. to experience and enhance...

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PAYLP Alumnus Brian Sibanda’s Journey from Poverty in Zimbabwe to Scholarship in the United States

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Brian Sibanda poses in a PAYLP t-shirt in front of Pomona College

For 18-year-old Zimbabwean Brian Sibanda, discovering that he had been accepted to Pomona College in California was nothing short of a dream come true. “I was very shocked and for a couple of days I thought I was dreaming.” A former participant in the Pan-African Youth Leadership Program (PAYLP) administered by Meridian International Center in partnership with the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), Brian received a full scholarship to attend Pomona College this year where he is now just days away from completing his first semester. As someone who faced adversity at a young age, this feat represents a major milestone in Brian’s ongoing journey to empower himself and the lives of youth like him in countries across Africa. Continue  

PAYLP Through the Eyes of a Meridian Intern

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PAYLP group photo after their presentations with panelists.

 “This program has offered me the opportunity to experience what I’ve learned in school, a lot of what I teach my pupils and read on the internet and books…. I am sure this will breed a group of young leaders with a hunger for success.” (Private Mchenga of Malawi, PAYLP Adult Mentor participant) Students will often look to adults, school, and friends to shape the things they do not know. When that is not enough television and movies fill in the gaps.  As it turns out, romanticized perceptions, movies, and television often steer us further away from the reality...

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18 Inspiring Messages From Young African Leaders

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Pan-Africa Youth Leadership Program participants spell out their vision for Africa.

Listen up. Young African leaders have a few things to say about youth leadership.   These 24 incredible changemakers from Togo, Senegal, Chad and Mauritania traveled to the United States to learn and discuss social entrepreneurship, civic engagement, and community building.   The leaders were here last month as part of our second cohort of Pan-African Youth Leadership Program, a program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State.   Each student developed a community service project or small enterprise to implement upon their return home. Projects ranged from jewelry-making ventures to new libraries to school clean-up initiatives. We’re excited...

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Meridian International Center from the Eyes of an Intern

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Meridian Interns Sarenna Cech and Elizabeth Westbrook with Meridian employees

For the past semester, I have been extremely fortunate to intern in the GlobalConnect department of Meridian International Center. While I am still a bit in denial about the fact that the semester is almost over, this post will be an opportunity to reflect over the past couple of months and give my thoughts about interning at Meridian. First and foremost, for anyone who is interested in applying to intern in one of the many departments at Meridian International Center, I recommend it wholeheartedly. This internship has been a fantastic opportunity: I have been introduced to great people from...

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