JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, July 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, the Obama Foundation continued its Leaders: Africa gathering, a 5-day convening of 200 rising leaders from 44 countries representing the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. The convening is part of a one-year leadership development and civic engagement programme designed to train, support, and connect emerging African leaders to create positive change in their communities. The convening includes plenary sessions, problem-solving workshops, leadership sessions, and skillbuilding trainings to increase the Leaders’ capacity to drive positive change in Africa. Leaders will also complete a group service project to honor Nelson Mandela on the 100th anniversary of his birth and to underscore the important relationship between leadership and service.

Video of the gathering’s first plenary session, “Ethical Leadership in Africa,” with speakers Mo Ibrahim and Uzodinma Iweala, is available on obama.org/africa . During the dialogue, Ibrahim offered advice on leadership and spoke about the responsibility of Africans to create a better future for the continent.

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Monday, 16 July

  • Plenary Session: “Leadership in the Face of Adversity,” with speakers Graça Machel, Bogolo Kenewendo, Thulisile Madonsela, and Nozipho Mbanjwa.
  • Skillbuilding Workshops: Communicating for Impact: Building Effective Campaigns; Innovating in Government & Policy; Pitching for Investors; Goalkeepers: Accelerating Progress on the SDGs Fundraising; Fundamentals for NGOs; Leveraging Technology and Technological Tools; Scaling Your Organization; and Strategizing for Impact: Using Systems and Complexity Thinking for Tackling Big Challenges.
  • Plenary Session: “Future Trends and the Importance of Governance in Africa,” with speakers Fred Swaniker, Sangu Delle, Maryana Iskander, and Judy Sikuza.

Tuesday, 17 July

  • Plenary Session: “The Future of Africa: Elders Pass the Baton,” with speakers Kofi Annan, Lakhdar Brahimi, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and Patrick Gaspard.
  • IdeasFest Programme: This group ideas competition will mobilize Leaders to engage in design thinking so that they can begin to create concrete, implementable solutions to real-world social challenges.

Wednesday, 18 July

  • Panel: “Innovating for the Next Generation,” with speakers Aliko Dangote, Trevor Manuel, John Collison, and Eleni Giokos.
  • Town Hall with President Obama. Livestream available at obama.org/africa and on the Obama Foundation’s Facebook page.

Related Photos: https://www.flickr.com/gp/160187588@N03/XDa65m https://www.flickr.com/gp/160187588@N03/9irQ11

Related Video: https://youtu.be/EY65NBydFpU

Contact: Laura Lucas Magnuson llucasmagnuson@obama.org

Beverley Bradley Account Director MSL Group +27722725166 beverley.bradley@epicmslgroup.com