Amplifying West African Voices, Centering Regional Leaders
This initiative aims to elevate the voices of leaders with proximate and lived expertise by providing a fellowship experience that centers the expertise of West African leaders. The inaugural Impact Fellowship program was launched in Senegal in 2023, opening an exciting and unique avenue to develop a new generation of powerful African development advocates, in order to advance Africa's own development priorities. This program will spotlight advocates from French-speaking and English-speaking West African countries, highlighting West Africa’s Francophone and Anglophone key issues. Fellows will be individuals with a proven passion for advocacy and solid track records in activities related to improving lives and influencing meaningful change across the West African region.
Overview of the Fellowship
Program Components
The Impact West Africa Fellowship program equips changemakers from the region with the skills and support needed to tackle common challenges that affect close to half a billion people across the region’s 17 countries. Each Impact Fellow will participate in an intensive 12-month journey to help them advance their individual advocacy goals. Throughout the year-long program, Fellows continue their professional commitments while receiving tailored mentorship, attending two immersive convenings, and participating in quarterly online training sessions between convenings.
Key program details include:
Advocacy- Participants will engage in intensive sessions aimed at introducing and exploring various aspects of advocacy, including key elements of advocacy, strategies for effective advocacy, and the role of advocacy in driving social change.
Strategic Engagement for Advocacy- fellows will delve into communication tools essential for effective advocacy work. Fellows will not only refine their communication skills but also explore fundraising and networking strategies vital for effective advocacy work.
Each quarter, fellows will engage in a series of online training sessions tailored to address the specific needs of the cohort. These sessions will cover a diverse range of topics aimed at enhancing their skills and knowledge, further empowering them as change agents within West Africa. Example of possible trainings include the following:
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- Community Mobilization and Engagement
- Coalition Building
- Arts and activism
- Harvesting Outcomes (Advocacy and measuring impact)
- Narrative Change
- Media and Digital Advocacy Strategies
- Community-Led Advocacy Campaigns
- Policy Analysis and Influencing Decision-Makers
Mentoring and coaching of fellows will be core aspects of the fellowship. Each fellow will be paired with an experienced mentor supporting both their advocacy and strategic engagement development. These mentors will provide personalized guidance and support throughout the fellowship journey. Mentors and fellows will engage in regular check-in meetings to assess progress, set goals, and discuss challenges and opportunities.
Benefits of Being a Fellow
Selection Criteria
Impact Fellows will be individuals:
- Who demonstrate a passion and commitment for advocacy that addresses key issues affecting the West African region
- Have a solid track record of using bold, innovative ideas that contribute to improving the lives of the individuals within the communities they serve
- Have a clear vision of how their initiatives will demonstrate impact and transformative change
- Have a proven record of leadership and accomplishment in business or entrepreneurship, civic engagement, and/or public/government service
- Have a strong desire to strengthen their communication skills to advocate for change through storytelling, speaking engagements and written communication
- Have a commitment to use the skills gained from the the fellowship to strengthen their organization and the movements that they serve
- Have demonstrated a commitment to coalition building or have strong collaborative skills
- Have organizational support, in the form of a letter, to fully engage in the fellowship experience
What to Expect
1 May 2024
Fellowship applications open
14 June 2024
Final applications closes
31 July 2024
Applicants are notified of their status
1 September 2024
Fellowship begins
Exact date on August will be announced later.
FAQ
- Applicants must be a citizen of and reside in a West African country
- Applicants must be able to demonstrate a passion and commitment for advocacy that addresses one or more key issues affecting the West African region
- Applicants must have access to reliable internet connection
- Applicants must be able to participate throughout the entirety of the program
- Have organizational support, in the form of a letter, to fully engage in the fellowship experience
- Applicants are required to attend two in-person convenings that typically last for 5 days including all day sessions and cohort bonding activities; tentative dates slated for September 2024 and Jan/Feb 2025
- Applicants must join all 3 virtual training sessions; tentative dates slated for November, April, July
- Mentorship meetings will be scheduled based on the availability of both the Fellow and mentors; however expectations are that Fellows will meet with their mentor at least once during the month
On average, you can expect to spend 10-15 hours per month working on fellowship-related activities, including preparing for quarterly trainings, meeting with your mentors, participating in speaking engagements or writing op-eds and working on advancing your advocacy goals
Typical cohort sizes are 10-12 fellows per fellowship year.
The fellowship is designed to be a hybrid approach, with quarterly virtual sessions and connection opportunities, and two in-person convenings throughout the program year.
No, there is no age limit!
- There is no cost to participate in this program. All travel-related costs for the two in-person convenings including airfare, local transportation, lodging, and food will be covered by the fellowship.
- The fellowship does not provide any stipend while participating in the program
Yes, participants should remain in their full-time jobs while participating in the Fellowship, however, the company or organization must provide a letter of support indicating approval to allow the applicant to fully participate in all in-person sessions, virtual convenings, and mentorship sessions.
Fellows will become part of a lifelong community with access to a deep network of support. Fellows will have the opportunity to continue to actively engage with the Aspen Global Innovators Group as program alumni and be eligible for many opportunities including op-ed development support, prize nominations, attendance at Aspen events, travel stipends, and more.
- May 1, 2024 - Application opens
- June 14, 2024 - Application close
- July 2024 - Successful applicants will be invited to participate in an interview
- Early August 2024- Applicants are notified of the application status
- Late August 2024- Successful applicants are virtually onboarded as Fellows
- September 2024- First convening in Dakar (Tentative)
- November 2024- First Virtual Training (Tentative)
- Jan/Feb 2025- Second convening, location TBD (Tentative)
- April 2025- Second Virtual Training (Tentative)
- July 2025- Final Virtual Training (Tentative)
The application will be available May 1, 2024 and will close Jun 14, 2024. Please find the link to the application here:
The application has an upload button, please use this button to submit your letter of support on the application.
Impact Fellows will be individuals:
- Who demonstrate a passion and commitment for advocacy that addresses key issues affecting the West African region
- Have a solid track record of using bold, innovative ideas that contribute to improving the lives of the individuals within the communities they serve
- Have a clear vision of how their initiatives will demonstrate impact and transformative change
- Have a proven record of leadership and accomplishment in business or entrepreneurship, civic engagement, and/or public/government service
- Have a strong desire to strengthen their communication skills to advocate for change through storytelling, speaking engagements and written communication
- Have a commitment to use the skills gained from the the fellowship to strengthen their organization and the movements that they serve
- Have demonstrated a commitment to coalition building or have strong collaborative skills
- Have organizational support, in the form of a letter, to fully engage in the fellowship experience.
For all questions related to the Impact West Africa Fellowship, contact us at impact@aspeninstitute.org