By Robtel Neajai Pailey I thought I’d become immune to the indignities of travelling with an African passport, but an encounter last month proved me wrong. After a series of meetings in Dakar, I travelled back to London via Madrid on a red-eye Iberia Airlines flight. Disembarking from the plane in Madrid in the early […]
Tutu Fellows
Archbishop Tutu Fellows comprise dynamic young African professionals awarded the fellowship in recognition of their leadership qualities and the role they are currently playing in contributing towards the continent’s development. The Tutu Fellows are practitioners spread across various social, political, economic, environmental and activist sectors throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
Over the last six years the Tutu fellows have formed a strong alumnus of leaders communicating across country borders with the aim of realising the potential and power of a truly pan-African continent.
The opinions shared by the Archbishop Tutu Fellows are not necessarily those of the African Leadership Institute or of our patron, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu.
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
In a world obsessed with passport tiers, citizenship is personal and political
By Robtel Neajai Pailey Late last week, I was informed that I would not be able to travel to Dubai for an important meeting scheduled months ago. Like other countries across the globe, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) halted travel for those with Guinean, Liberian, and Sierra Leonean passports during the height of the Ebola […]
Posted inEquality
And what of African boys?
By Rachel Nyaradzo Adams As a woman who was once an extremely frightened girl, I know full well and appreciate the benefits that come with feeling empowered in a largely male-dominated world. Much of the abuse I experienced as a child was at the hands of angry, damaged, broken, lurid men. Much of the anxiety […]
Posted inEquality, General
Imagine the Africa you desire
By Rachel Nyaradzo Adams Being a leadership development practitioner has allowed me to engage numerous profiles of current and aspiring African leaders — some who are already on their leadership path, and some who are still grappling with the potential and possibilities of their leadership journey. Being an advocate of the “leading through your strengths” […]
Posted inEquality, Gender violence, News/Politics
Remembering Mandela the feminist
By Ntombenhle Khathwane As a black woman, like other black women, I have it tough. Especially in the world of business, corporate and academia: black women have to work harder than any other, including black men, to gain recognition, promotion or even entry. Since I left formal employment and started building a business, I have […]
Posted inEquality
‘Africans are so simple,’ he said
By Rachel Nyaradzo Adams Not long ago I was in a lobby in a Ghana hotel and overheard a western-sounding white male utter the following assessment to a listener on his phone: “The people in Africa are so simple, I can do whatever I like here. They never challenge me” (paraphrased). Stunned but not surprised […]
Posted inMedia, News/Politics
Liberia’s children can help weed out corruption
By Robtel Neajai Pailey I remember the first time I stared corruption in the face. It was 2010, and I was chairwoman of a Liberian government committee responsible for reforming the awarding of international scholarships. We discovered that a group of 18-year-old boys had forged their national exam records to become eligible for a scholarship […]
Posted inGeneral
Stop, Jonathan, before Nigerians lose their internet freedom
By Gbenga Sesan On Saturday, 6 April 2013, at a leadership workshop organised for young and emerging leaders in Ekiti State, south west Nigeria, I asked Nigeria’s finance minister and coordinating minister for the economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a simple question: Why does the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan prefer lazy solutions? My premise, at […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Who’s to blame for the M23 rebels in DRC?
By Arinaitwe Rugyendo The M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo have once again been accused of gross human-rights abuses by Human Rights Watch. An earlier accusation by the UN implicated neighbouring Rwanda and accused it of not only supporting the rebels but also of complicity. According to Human Rights Watch the rebels, which […]
Posted inBusiness, Lifestyle
The solution’s right under your nose
By Jacqueline Muna Musiitwa Africa must start by focusing on the low-hanging fruit. Innovation needs to be based on current needs. The more solutions for immediate needs are met, the more people will be encouraged to innovate for future needs. I recall that as a child my grandmother boiled guava leaves to treat me when […]
Posted inBusiness, General
Scramble for Africa 2.0
By Marc van Olst An auspicious meeting took place at the Berlin residence of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck about 130 years ago. Foreign ministers of 14 European powers and the United States established ground rules for the future exploitation of the “dark continent”. It must have been a lively and tense meeting as the superpowers […]
Posted inBusiness, General
Obama, please don’t break our hearts
by Bright Simons The enthusiasm that greeted the election of Barack Obama, the first and only American president with an African name, was palpable across Africa. Everywhere you travelled you heard and felt a new wave of positive sentiments about the possibility of a great new era for doing business between Africa and America. One […]