World-Class Secondary School Seeks Africa's Most Outstanding Young Leaders

African Leadership Academy (ALA), a world-class, pan-African, co-educational secondary boarding school located on the outskirts of Johannesburg, South Africa, has announced that it is recruiting young leaders ages 15-17 from across Africa and the African Diaspora for its inaugural class.

The ALA will hold two informational sessions in the United States this month. The first session will be held in New York at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 19. The second session will take place in Washington D.C. at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, September 21. Venues will be announced shortly. Kindly RSVP to: tawe@africanleadershipacademy.org and/or (917) 334-2807 or (201) 413-9506 indicating your interest in attending either of these informational sessions.

“We are looking for Africa’s most promising young leaders – girls and boys – to join our inaugural class,” says African Leadership Academy Dean Christopher Khaemba. “Entry into the Academy will be based on merit alone, without regard to each student’s financial means. African Leadership Academy’s extensive scholarship fund seeks to enable all qualified students to attend.”

African Leadership Academy seeks to transform Africa by developing and supporting future generations of leaders in Africa’s public, private, and social sectors. ALA will select its first class of 100 students from across the African continent and the African Diaspora by April 2008, and admitted students will begin their two years at the Academy in September 2008. At ALA, students will complete an innovative two-year program that combines world-class ‘Advanced-level’ academic training with a unique curriculum in leadership, entrepreneurship, and African studies. ALA graduates will attend the world’s finest universities and will ultimately form a powerful, pan-African network of individuals committed to creating peace and prosperity on the continent.

African Leadership Academy aspires to one day bring the most promising young leaders from all 54 African countries to its campus in South Africa. Tinuade Awe, Associate Director of Admissions for ALA, says that “African Leadership Academy seeks to recruit an inaugural class with broad cultural, ethnic, regional, national, and religious diversity. We are actively recruiting outstanding students from across Africa and the African diaspora around the world.”

With its accomplished student body and unique curriculum, African Leadership Academy will be unlike any other school in the world. Students at ALA will have the opportunity to work with other bright young leaders from across the continent on entrepreneurial projects to develop innovative solutions to the continent’s most pressing challenges, such as poverty alleviation, health care provision, and economic development. Each student will be matched to a distinguished personal mentor and will have the opportunity to attend frequent guest lectures by prominent leaders and entrepreneurs.

African Leadership Academy is led by Dean Christopher Khaemba of Kenya, a renowned school leader who previously served as Principal of Alliance Boys’ High School, Kenya’s leading secondary school. At Alliance, Khaemba successfully placed at least thirty students at top universities in the USA – including Harvard, Yale, and MIT – each year, with most of these students receiving full scholarships. At African Leadership Academy, Khaemba will be supported by an outstanding team of faculty from across Africa and around the world.

The ALA admissions process will be “very rigorous,” notes Ms. Awe. Interested students must complete a written application, write an essay, and submit academic reports from their school. Finalists will complete a written entrance examination and be interviewed by members of the Academy’s staff. Students may learn more and download an application at ALA’s website, www.africanleadershipacacademy.org.

“We seek young people with the passion and courage required to be an agent of positive change on the African continent,” says Dean Khaemba. “I believe African Leadership Academy will provide an unparalleled opportunity for outstanding young leaders to realize their immense potential. I know that there are a large number of incredible young people in Africa who have the potential to transform this continent. I hope many of them will choose to apply to ALA.”

BY: African Leadership Academy

CONTACT: Tinuade Awe, Associate Director of Admissions

E-MAIL: tawe@africanleadershipacademy.org

TELEPHONE: +1 (917) 334-2807; +1 (201) 413-9506

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