“We stand with you:” United States (U.S.) Ambassador Congratulates 74 Young Malagasy Leaders – African Business

Speaking to 74 Malagasy participants in the U.S. government’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), U.S. Ambassador Claire Pierangelo asked the young leaders to mentor and be role models for the next generation of Malagasy leaders. The ceremony was held in Antananarivo, Friday. Ambassador Pierangelo made the U.S. government’s commitment to the next generation of Malagasy leaders clear: “The United States believes in you and we stand with you.”

Climate and women’s rights activist Marie Christina Kolo also received special recognition as the 2022 YALI Leadership Impact Award recipient. Kolo, an alumna of the 2017 YALI Mandela Washington Fellowship, was selected out of nearly 5,100 eligible YALI alumni worldwide for her achievements as a changemaker and servant leader in Madagascar’s environment and gender sectors.

This group included 60 participants in YALI Regional Leadership Center workshops as well as 11 recently returned YALI Mandela WashingtonFellows and three YALI Alumni Enrichment Institute graduate.

During the YALI Washington Fellowship, young African leaders in government and civil society travel to the United States to receive leadership training and academic coursework from U.S. universities. Mandela Washington Fellowship Alumni can return to the United States to continue their collaborations with their American counterparts. The YALI Regional Leadership Center program offers in-person and online training on business and entrepreneurship, civic leadership and public management from centers in Senegal or South Africa.

The Young African Leaders Initiative is the U.S. government’s signature effort to invest in the next generation of African leaders. Visit YALI to learn more. https://yali.state.gov/ 

Distributed by APO Group, U.S. Embassy Madagascar