U.S. Officials to Speak at YALI 2015 Summit

Department of State and USAID Officials to Deliver Remarks at the Presidential Summit of the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders

Office of the Spokesperson
Department of State
Washington, DC
July 29, 2015

Several Department of State and USAID officials will provide remarks at the Presidential Summit of the Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, August 3-5, at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington. The three-day Summit will bring together 500 of sub-Saharan Africa’s most promising young leaders to meet with President Obama and leading U.S. entrepreneurs, government officials, and civil society representatives.

Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Evan Ryan will call the Summit to order onMonday, August 3 at 9:00 a.m. Heather A. Higginbottom, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, and Eric Postel, Associate Administrator, U.S. Agency for International Development, will give remarks during the Private Sector and Civil Society Partnership Expo on Tuesday, August 4 at 3:00 p.m. Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Richard Stengel and Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Linda Thomas-Greenfield will offer closing remarks on Wednesday, August 5 at 3:30 p.m.

The event will also feature a town hall with President Obama, a plenary session with Members of Congress, and breakout discussions with leaders in business, government, international development and non-governmental organizations.

The Presidential Summit follows six weeks of academic study and leadership training for the 500 Fellows at 20 higher education institutions across the United States as part of the Mandela Washington Fellowship.