News
The latest news from the African Leadership Institute and its Fellows. AFLI Fellows are leaders and change-makers, so this section has a lot of news. All text in all of the posts is fully searchable.

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In this Guardian podcast, Robtel Pailey and others discuss what the impact of Ebola means to the long term future of Liberia and Sierra Leone, and in particular how the return of the military to the streets has undermined trust in the Liberian government following years of civil war, and what this could mean for efforts to prevent the spread of Ebola.

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2017 Tutu Fellow Hema Vallabh spoke at a TEDx event in Johannesburg about how she realized that young girls weren’t considering becoming engineers because it was a job for men only. She tried to find the source of this misconception and found it was in the definition of traditional engineering as being a space of strength and physical ability.
She makes the case that the needs of society nowadays should be addressed with the new definition of engineering as a space of innovation and invention, which are skills that women have. She wants to bring the information to a young generation of women who otherwise might be excluded from considering the profession.
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Episode 4: 'The baton has been passed'
In part 4 of 4, as the leaders' fellowship comes to an end, Al Jazeera asks if the young Africans have been transformed into great leaders.
This video series aired on Al Jazeera English TV. Please note that this video may not be viewable in your region. We apologize for any inconvenience.
You can also go to the web page at Al Jazeera where all four episodes in the series can be found.
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2012 Tutu Fellow Julie Gichuru reveals in a TEDx talk how she has committed to tell Africa’s story and she challenges everyone to do so with their own means. With her long experience hosting TV shows and working in the news industry, Julie has been striving to offer African content to its people, rather than just importing it from other cultures or abroad. She gave her talk as part of the Brookhouse School series in 2013.
She said the younger generation that concerned her especially, as many young Africans were going through something of an identity crisis regarding culture. Julie has always been preoccupied with young Africans, helping through her foundation Footprints Africa Foundation to provide better living conditions and education for children. She makes the case that to transform Africa, it cannot be possible without people aware of their roots.
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Episode 3: Getting to the heart of leadership
In part 3 of 4, watch the 25 young Africans must prove that they can translate talk into real change.
This video series aired on Al Jazeera English TV. Please note that this video may not be viewable in your region. We apologize for any inconvenience.
You can also go to the web page at Al Jazeera where all four episodes in the series can be found.
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Episode 2: Sharing Archbishop Tutu's dream
The young leaders have an emotional meeting with Desmond Tutu and are warned of the pitfalls of leading in Africa. In part 2 of 4, watch how each of the 25 top African professionals who have arrived in Cape Town for a leadership retreat have their own idea of what the continent needs from their generation of leaders.
This video series aired on Al Jazeera English TV. Please note that this video may not be viewable in your region. We apologize for any inconvenience.
You can also go to the web page at Al Jazeera where all four episodes in the series can be found.
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Episode 1: A new moral task force for Africa?
Great leadership may be in short supply but an African experiment championed by Desmond Tutu offers hope for the future. In part 1 of 4, watch this stirring look into how 25 remarkable young Africans were chosen and groomed to form a new moral task force. One that promises to transform its home continent.
This video series aired on Al Jazeera English TV. Please note that this video may not be viewable in your region. We apologize for any inconvenience.
You can also go to the web page at Al Jazeera where all four episodes in the series can be found.
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2011 Tutu Fellow Shaka Sisulu shares with the audience at TEDx in Soweto in 2012 how much he was inspired by his uncle about the importance of dreams. In his homage to his uncle Zwelakhe, Shaka uses the power of imagination to travel into the future, where he brought back with him visions of a prosperous and affirmed Africa - the Africa that he says, we must create.
Born into a the renowned family that fought for and won the liberation of South Africa from apartheid. Shaka has a passion for start-ups. He points out how the best entrepreneurs have become successful from following their dream and working towards it. Dreams - and courage - are important if one is to realise those dreams.
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As a survivor of kidney disease, 2010 Fellow Lorna Irungu shares in her TEDx talk some important life lessons. The first one she offers is the importance of being well informed. She goes on to say how important it is to surround yourself with the right kind of people who believe in you and support you in any way. She gave her talk in July, 2012.
Running through the statistics of the number of people who die annually of kidney disease in the world - 2.5 million people - she points out how daunting these numbers are and the impacts are on the people affected. Despite that, she says it is very important for people to not identify themselves with the situation they are in, in order to become a conqueror of the situation rather than a victim.
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In 2011, 2014 Tutu Fellow Mokena Makeka spoke at a TEDx event in Mfuleni township about the relationship between democracy and design. His perspective as an architect revealed to him how lot of problems are caused by the way design is used to separate and affect people.
Mokena is the Director of Makeka Design Lab an international award-winning Architecture practice. He said he noticed how areas of Cape Town that were more vulnerable to floods were inhabited by poorer people, while the ones with great views had homes for more privileged ones. This was not just about colonialism or apartheid, he said. It was about the conscious choices of design in society.
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2013 Tutu Fellow Dr Francois Bonnici shares in his TEDx talk in 2010 the issue of newborn survival. He starts out by asking which seems more dangerous - bungy jumping, shark infested waters, air travel? Rather, he says, it is infant mortality. The day we are born is the day we have the highest risk of dying.
Statistics show how incredibly big an issue newborn mortality is, and how investment in health has had great strides in improving the numbers. In some countries in Africa, the numbers can be as high as one child in 16 dies at birth. He has been trying to change the African health system and to raise awareness by working in humanitarian and development programs.
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2009 Tutu Fellow Andrew Mwenda asks the audience at a TED talk in 2007 to reframe the "African question" - to look beyond the media's stories of poverty, civil war and helplessness and see the opportunities for creating wealth and happiness throughout the continent.
Andrew points out that the solution to Africa’s problems is not to increase the foreign aid, because that it comes with reinforcing negative narratives - but instead to reframe how aid can be best used. Among the consequences of the continent being seen in a bad light is that it appears as if it is only a place of despair, rather than one of great potential and opportunities.
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