Mandela Washington Fellowship Reader Interest Form

Mandela Washington Fellowship Reader Application

Thank you for your interest in becoming a Mandela Washington Fellowship application Reader! Please complete this form to be considered as a Reader for the Mandela Washington Fellowship. You only need to complete this form once to be considered for future Fellowship applications, and you will have the opportunity to opt-out of reading at any time. Each year, selected Readers will be notified via email around September to review applications. Please note that this is not the application to participate in the Mandela Washington Fellowship.

Fellowship Background

The Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders is a program of the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. Government and administered by IREX. It is the flagship program of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI). Each year, the Fellowship brings young leaders from sub-Saharan African countries to the United States for academic coursework and leadership training and creates unique opportunities for Fellows and U.S. citizens to collaborate as they spur economic growth and prosperity, strengthen democratic governance, and enhance peace and security across Africa and the United States.

Reader Eligibility

If you plan to apply for the Mandela Washington Fellowship, please visit https://www.mandelawashingtonfellowship.org/apply/. Fellowship Alumni from the most recent cohort and Applicants of the current cohort cannot be Readers.

You must have consistent access to the internet and access to a computer to be a Reader. Due to the nature of the online system, it may be very difficult to read and score applications from a smartphone or tablet.

Reader Responsibilities

Readers will be responsible for evaluating program applicants based on set guidelines and a scoring rubric through an online system. The reading period will typically begin in September and end in early November each year. Each selected Reader will review approximately 50 applications and can request more. Each application review takes from 5 to 10 minutes.