Mandela Washington Fellowships 2020

The Mandela Washington Fellowship Association of Nigeria (MWFAAN) is a body of young African leaders with its membership drawn from all sectors of the economy (and classified under Business and Entrepreneurship, Civic Leadership, Public Management and Energy tracks) as beneficiaries of the US State Department Initiative – Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI). These notable and distinguished young leaders are currently championing various projects and initiatives that are capable of redefining socio-economic landscape of Nigeria and African continent with supports from country governments and corporate organizations across Africa since inception to date. The Nigerian arm of the alumni network is believed to be the largest and strongest youth network in Africa, it consists of 405 Mandela Washington Fellows.

The Beyond School Community Challenge is a flagship initiative of The Mandela Washington Fellowship Alumni Association of Nigeria in collaboration with United States Mission to develop entrepreneurial mindsets of young people between 13-17 who are predominantly in both public and private secondary schools across Nigeria.
The Challenge identifies top finalists annually from the pool of applications received across Nigeria, where top finalists selected are invited to pitch and exhibit their entrepreneurial ideas at the National Youth Leaders’ Summit.

National winning teams are awarded prizes in form of project and educational grants, Teacher/Mentor Prizes as well as certificates of recognition for both teams and their schools/educational institutions.

The 2020 Beyond School Community Challenge is a Web and STEM-based hackathon on COVID 19 solutions to help Nigerian communities survive the COVID 19 pandemic. The Hackathon topics will be based on case studies on Medicine/ Health and Wellness, Education, Agriculture, Women and Girls Development, Entrepreneurship and Sports for communities during the COVID 19 pandemic. The Hackathon will hold virtually for selected teams across Nigeria.

Objectives
The main objectives of the Beyond School Community Challenge are to:

• To identify viable technology-based entrepreneurship concept/pilot ideas emanating from high schools, prospective entrepreneurs in the provision of COVID 19 solutions to address their challenges presently and in the post- COVID future they are yet to see, through funding and mentorship.
• Design a holistic approach to quality technology-based entrepreneurship education and its practices as enshrined in the national school curriculum in both secondary schools and tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
• Provide an environment for experiential learning and learning beyond the classrooms through panel discussions, interactive sessions, networking and collaborative learning practices for these budding entrepreneurs to thrive outside their traditional classrooms.
• To deploy Education and Entrepreneurship as catalysts to advancing United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in Nigeria.

Eligibility

• Applicants must be a team of 4 consisting of 3 young people between the ages of 13-17years and a Teacher/Mentor, aged 20 years and above.
• (Applicants can all come from different schools/Educational Institutions but must agree on a team name and be willing to work together during the hackathon under their mentor in proffering community-based solution to the COVID 19 pandemic).
• All Teams, schools or Educational Institutions must be based in Nigeria
• Applicants must have access to strong and reliable internet.
• Applicants must be willing to grant both print and electronic media interviews if selected.

JUDGING RUBRIC/MODALITIES:

• Applications would be received by Teams via e-forms to promote inclusiveness for both schools and other educational institutions.
• The application would be basically judged within the ambit of social and business solutions for the COVID 19 pandemic.
• Top 20 Teams/Applications would be selected by the review selection committee for further review. To ascertain the authenticity of every application process, there shall be coordinated phone conversations, live interview via zoom for every team shortlisted for the hackathon.
• A one week Hackathon would take place for all 20 teams, and the 10 shortlisted teams would be invited for an elevator pitch, exhibition and voting process by the audience at the virtual Summit with 3 Top Teams/Finalists emerging as winners.

Application Deadline

The Call for Applications opens on the 24th of August 2020 and closes at 11:59 p.m on the 12th of September 2020. Eligible Applicants should apply.

Application Details https://mwfaan.org/

Staff Writer

This article was written and edited by a staff writer.