Dimy shared that we are in our 8^th year of Mandela Fellows at the University of Iowa. Our 2024 group of 24 from more than 20 sub-saharan countries in Africa is outstanding--very committed and accomplished. Dimy introduced each Fellow by name and asked them to stand. He reminded members that President Obama actually started the Mandela Fellows program through the State Department in 2014. Next Maryam Abdulkadir of Nigeria presented on the importance of education in Nigeria and Africa. A  digital marketer, she helps other small businesses and non-governmental organizations. She grew up in a difficult time to get an education, and the path was not easy. Her parents believed in the power of education, and she was encouraged to follow her dreams. She emphasized that Africa is the home of ground-breaking ideas and solutions. The global narrative of Africa is always focused on the challenges rather than the solutions. Maryam emphasized that Africa is leading change on many fronts, from gender equality to agriculture to environmental sustainability. Maryam concluded her talk by quoting Nelson Mandela, “Education is a powerful tool and a powerful weapon for changing the world.” Maryam was asked how the program has impacted her, and she talked about Venture School and the business model “Canvas” which focuses on customer discovery.

Our 2024 students have a diversity of back-grounds including eco-tourism, food processing, chocolate, beauty products, communications and more. The selection process to become a Mandela Fellow is not easy and is very competitive and takes many months. With a total of 50,000 applicants, only 700 are selected for the program with Fellows based at around 20 universities. Dimy handed the mic over to Fellows who answered a number of complex questions.