The Africa Leadership Initiative West Africa (ALIWA) was birthed in 2006 out of the Africa Leadership Initiative (ALI), which was launched in 2002. ALIWA was established out of the realization that the best hope for Africa’s future lies in the investment in effective and enlightened leaders.
ALIWA is a joint venture of the Aspen Institute, LEAP Africa and Databank Foundation. The Aspen Institute provides intellectual & philosophical content, while LEAP Africa and Databank Foundation serve largely as facilitators. LEAP Africa and Databank Foundation work with local partners to plan, fund, and administer the Fellowship Programme.
ALIWA seeks to continue to be part of creating a new generation of value-driven successful leaders with the quest to make significant impacts on their communities. ALIWA is part of The Aspen Global Leadership Network (AGLN), a growing worldwide community of entrepreneurial leaders from business, government and the non-profit sector. AGLN currently has more than 2,100 “Fellows” from 49 countries.
Fellows are required as part of the fellowship to go through a series of seminars, after which they implement impact projects that seek to transform their communities and the African continent in its entirety. Some impact projects include Amma Lartey’s Africa Social Entrepreneurs Network; Patrick Awuah’s leadership curriculum for Ashesi University; Sally Udoma’s Child Lifeline Lagos Drop-In Center for street children to receive medical care, food and shelter in Nigeria; Esi Ansah’s Association of Ghana’s Elders that provides senior citizens a platform to engage as stakeholders in their communities. Affiliated leadership fellowships on the continent are Africa Leadership Initiative South Africa (ALI -SA) and Africa Leadership Initiative East Africa (ALI-EA)
Find out more about ALIWA and Aspen Institute here: www.ali-wa.net or www.aspeninstitutece.org