Faculty, staff, and international visitors from Drake University will support the Genesis Youth Foundation in implementing their Ubuntu Leadership Summit June 19–24.
This community event is hosted annually by Genesis Youth Foundation, a non-profit organization located in the Drake neighborhood that works to level the playing field for immigrant and refugee youth through athletics, the arts, and academics. The theme of the 2023 event is “Leaders addressing community challenges together,” providing a platform for sharing knowledge and inspiring youth and adult participants through training workshops, storytelling, small group conversations, and more. According to Sam Gabriel, executive director of Genesis Youth Foundation, the term “Ubuntu” is an African term meaning “I am what I am because of who we all are.”
Bill Adamowski, executive director of innovation, entrepreneurship, and human-centered design at the Zimpleman College of Business, will facilitate two sessions during the summit that showcase the college’s expertise in business and entrepreneurship.
- Thursday, June 22: A youth entrepreneurship competition will guide participants in developing business ideas, pitching their ideas, and competing to win prizes.
- Saturday, June 24: Adamowski will lead a workshop on wealth creation through business startup.
In the midst of the summit, Drake University will welcome twenty-five young business and community leaders from across sub-Saharan Africa for the 2023 Mandela Washington Fellowship, the flagship program of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI). Key elements of the six-week Fellowship program are leadership training, mentoring, and local community engagement. Shortly after arriving in Des Moines on June 21, the Fellows will support the Ubuntu Leadership Summit activities by volunteering during the event on Saturday, June 24.
“Drake has hosted the Mandela Washington Fellowship since 2016, and this will be the second year in a row the Fellows have participated in the Ubuntu Leadership Summit,” said Hannah Sappenfield, administrative director for the Fellowship program at Drake and assistant director of global partnerships in the Office of Global Engagement. “We are excited to strengthen our partnership with Genesis Youth Foundation to support this event, which not only provides a unique opportunity for the Fellows to engage in meaningful community service, but also offers an important cultural bridge to the African diaspora and refugee communities in Des Moines.”
To register for the Ubuntu Leadership Summit, visit genesisyouthfoundation.org/ubuntuleadershipsummit.
To learn more about the Mandela Washington Fellowship program at Drake University, visit drake.edu/yali or contact Hannah Sappenfield at hannah.sappenfield@drake.edu.
The Mandela Washington Fellowship is a program of the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. Government and administered by IREX. Drake University is a sub-grantee of IREX and is implementing a Leadership Institute as a part of the Fellowship. For more information about the Mandela Washington Fellowship, please visit the Fellowship’s website at www.mandelawashingtonfellowship.org.