When I saw the neighbourhood in Leribe where Khesa grew up, saw his father, met students at his former school, interviewed his former school principal and spoke with other community members who had witnessed his evolution, I couldn’t have been prouder of the young man who symbolizes the strength and grit that I desire to see in every young man across the world.
I have often been asked what prompted me to establish the ALA Model African Union (ALAMAU) in 2013. Truthfully, I cannot take sole credit for the idea. The bottom line is that I was inspired by the passion of the young people whom I found at African Leadership Academy when I arrived in August 2012. So, let’s rewind. I was… Read More »Why I Founded The ALA Model African Union
I have just returned from a three-day experience in Istanbul, Turkey, where I had the great privilege of attending the third edition of the annual Al Sharq Youth Forum, and to network with leaders of some of the world’s foremost youth organizations. My insights from the weekend supersede the fact that global change is indeed possible, and that consensus on… Read More »Change Is Possible; Consensus Requires Effort
In December 2015, I had the privilege of being in Madrid to attend the inaugural meeting of the Common Action Forum, a new attempt to engineer solutions to political, social and economic challenges globally. Learning from and sharing ideas with world-leading experts on social justice, political reform and economic ideology was a welcome addition to my regular investments in education… Read More »The Burden of History, Tradition and Reputation
On this day, June 16, 38 years ago, about 20,000 students from across schools in Soweto, South Africa took to the streets to protest the injustice in the South African education system. These protests were in concert with the nationwide outrage against the oppressive Apartheid regime. As those children stared down bullets and police batons, they demanded for an education… Read More »Day of the African Child
Having spent the last seven years of my life in and out of education – teaching in six schools in three different countries -, I attended the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE 2013) in Doha, Qatar seeking clarity about my capacity and my role in helping to transform education, with a strong focus on Africa. As a young African… Read More »Emerging Thoughts on 21st Century Learning Skills
Everybody loves gold. It sparkles, glitters, beautifies everything around it, adorns the lives of its users, and most importantly enhances the economic and social stratifications of the world; gold separates the ‘haves’ from the ‘have-nots’. Ever since gold was discovered in the world about 7000 years ago, it has attracted the fascination of man, and it became associated with wealth… Read More »Forget the African Gold
Has anyone ever attempted to paint a picture of a hardworking, determined global change-maker, without preconceived biases? We all have. Barring any sophisticated scientific postulations, our ideal change maker has the stern face of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., the intimidating physique of Michael Jordan, the booming voice of Barack Obama, the overall clout of Nelson Mandela, the soaring networks… Read More »The Power of ONE: Fred Swaniker’s Audacious Mission to Transform Africa
Just like every single one of the four million people who were forced to leave their families, cattle, and burning villages behind, she walked for hundreds of miles into the great unknown after the outbreak of civil war in Sudan in 1985, not aware if she would ever return to the place she had always called home. Several years after… Read More »Beauty of the Dark Continent
I’m sitting precariously at 35,000 feet above the earth, on a Delta Airlines flight from Atlanta, Georgia to Syracuse, New York; thinking back on the activities of the weekend. I was at an event in Columbia, South Carolina on Saturday where former US President, Bill Clinton was guest speaker. I’ve always been fascinated by the Clintons, and it’s barely three… Read More »Musings from 35,000 Feet
Fred Swaniker was only 18 years old when his father died, and his mother who was a full-time school teacher decided to establish a private school in Botswana where they lived. Having migrated with his family from Ghana at the age of four, and lived in a separate African country every four years, Fred was no stranger to challenges, but… Read More »Civic Engagement for Africa’s Future
Just two weeks ago, I saw the movie ‘Darfur Now’. The movie told the story of the oppression of the Sudanese people by their own government which culminated in the separation of the country into Sudan and South Sudan. It was nothing but a gory sight. There were soldiers on rampage all around the country: raping women, killing children, dropping grenades… Read More »All is not well