BeyGOOD Global Citizen Fellowship (GCF) has named leading social accountability advocate, Hamzat Lawal, and activist, Aisha Yesufu, among its 2021 advisory council.
Four other Africans – Charmaine Houvet, Nozipho Tshabalala, Tumi Sole, and Bonang Matheba – will have a hand in shaping this year’s programme, according to a statement on the Global Citizen website.
Development Diaries reports that the GCF is powered by singer Beyoncé Knowles Carter’s charity, BeyGOOD, and financially supported by award-winning American actor and filmmaker, Tyler Perry.
The programme is designed to equip fellows with the skills and tools they need to thrive in any professional environment.
The advisory council is expected to provide insights to break new ground and guide the execution team on meaningful pathways to develop the 2021–2022 fellows.
‘We are happy to announce an advisory council made up of incredible young leaders from both Nigeria and South Africa whose experience and creativity will help to take the fellowship programme to the next level’, it noted.
‘Leaders in their industries, these powerful and influential Africans have not only had a hand in selecting this year’s class of Global Citizen fellows, but they will also play a vital role in shaping this year’s programme.
‘Their valuable advice and guidance will help create a space for the group of young South Africans and Nigerians to learn, grow and apply their skills to the bright future awaiting them’.
Reaction to his appointment, Lawal said he was truly honoured to be a member of the advisory council.
Lawal, who is the founder and Chief Executive of Connected Development (CODE), leads a vibrant team that provides marginalised communities in Africa with access to information on how to better engage their governments for the implementation of public services.
‘My experience working with young people across Africa will enable me to guide and inspire the selected fellows to achieve the fellowship’s mission of empowering young people with skills that will help them shape policies that will alleviate poverty while being active citizens’, he said in a statement to Development Diaries.
Yesufu, on the other hand, has put Nigeria’s youths first on several occasions in her campaigns for a better society.
The co-convener of the Bring Back Our Girls Movement, which continues to bring to public attention the abduction of over 200 girls from their school in Chibok in 2014, also fearlessly protested for the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in the country.
Another appointee to the advisory council, Matheba, is a Global Citizen ambassador and multi-award-winning media personality.
With a passion for education, the South African is already the founder of the Bonang Matheba Bursary Fund, which aims to provide young black women in South Africa with access to higher education.
That is not all.
Matheba is a philanthropist and strong advocate for women’s rights who has worked with Global Citizen before to call for the education surrounding menstrual health management to be normalised, and for free access to sanitary products for girls in South Africa.
As for Matheba’s compatriot, Houvet, she is a respected leader in telecommunications, having worked in the field for over two decades.
Houvet sits on several boards, including the advisory board of the Global Broadband Plan for Refugees Project, which aims to meet broadband connectivity goals set by the United Nations High Commission on Refugees.
She also champions diversity and women empowerment in the information and communications technology space.
For her part, Tshabalala is an award-winning financial market broadcaster and executive director of digital innovation company, Learn Reflect Mobilise Grow (LRMG).
Tshabalala, who has used her public speaking skills to moderate insightful conversations on an international scale, also worked with Global Citizen and the World Bank in this same capacity and is known for leading in African business storytelling and advocacy.
Another council member from South Africa, Sole, is a corporate attorney and public figure, who has initiated many conversations on several media platforms surrounding human rights issues in South Africa.
Through his passion for social justice and the rights of all people, Sole founded #CountryDuty, a social activism organisation that brings together South Africans from all backgrounds to work towards common causes.
It is understood that Beyoncé has registered ten promising young South Africans and five Nigerians for the GCF programme, which is tied to Global Citizen’s vision of eliminating extreme poverty by 2030.
Source: Connected Development
Photo sources: Connected Development, DFree/Shutterstock.com