A Nigerian and Lagos-based lawyer, Ahmed Adetola-Kazeem was among 1000 young Africans honoured with the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders by the U.S government through the U.S Department of States.
Adetola-Kazeem, was conferred with the prestigious award on August 3 2017 in USA for founding Prisoners’ Rights Advocacy Initiative (PRAI) out of a total of 64,000 young Africans that vied for the award.
He bagged the award for the recognition accorded him for his activities that had led to the release of many prisoners held without trial as well as rehabilitating them and influencing procedural change to reduce periods of detention pending trial.
He was equally honoured for establishing Q-MADI Taekwondo Club where underprivileged street children are transformed into responsible champions.
The Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, launched by the Obama administration in 2014, is the flagship program of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) that empowers young people through academic coursework, leadership training, and networking.
This year , the Fellowship provided 1,000 outstanding young leaders from Sub-Saharan Africa with the opportunity to hone their skills at a U.S. college or university with support for professional development after they return to their respective home country.
While in the USA, he had the opportunity of spending six weeks at the Presidential Precinct, a consortium, consisting of the University of Virginia; William & Mary; and the homes of three founding fathers of United States – Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, James Madison’s Montpellier, James Monroe’s Highland; as well as Morven, home of Jefferson’s friend and Secretary, William Short.
As part of this program, he had the opportunity of engaging with over one hundred academic, government, private sector, and nonprofit leaders throughout the six weeks.
He was exposed to a first-class, cutting-edge curriculum that features three overarching themes including leadership, service, and solutions.
Source: The Nation
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