3. African Leadership Academy (part of the Global Pathways Innovations Mini-Series)

This episode is a fantastic overview of all of the amazing work happening at African Leadership Academy to build the next generation of young African leaders, innovators, laureates, and artists. I had the pleasure of meeting with Aira, Katleho, Mohammed, Fatima, and Maimouna Regina to hear all about the core program and their broader approach to nurturing passionate Africanist autodidacts. You can also find a link to the previous episode I had with Hatim El Tayeb, who's the CEO of African Leadership Academy. Lovely to meet you all. Thank you so much for taking the time to have this conversation. Could I perhaps start by asking one of you to give a little bit of an overview of the ALA experience, let's say. We are going to talk specifically about some particular courses. But I would— it would be interesting for people who have never, perhaps never heard about African Leadership Academy to just hear about how does the experience come together, how do the courses fit together into the, the broader whole experience.

Hi, my name is Katle. I am a current Year 2 student at African Leadership Academy and I'm from Lesotho. I think one aspect I'd like to talk about is just the ALA experience, and I can say summed up in a word, ALA is a place of growth. Like, no one who comes to ALA leaves as they were. Through the various programming, either through academics or the residential activities or many of the events that happen on campus, ALA students are given countless opportunities to grow, and I've been so grateful for the amount of growth I've gone through because of ALA.

Amazing, that's great.

Hello, my name is Eyura Brown. I'm from Kenya and I'm a Year 2 student at the African Leadership Academy. So how the Academy works is essentially, talk— speaking about academics, it has two parts to it. It has the core subjects and Cambridge subjects. So, um, to begin with Cambridge subjects, that's just the International Cambridge Curriculum, and it has a range of different options from the sciences and STEM, like computer science, to humanities like history and English literature. And then the core subjects consist of African Studies, Entrepreneurial Leadership, and Writing and Rhetoric. So I may go into a bit of detail on the core subjects because that's what really makes the Academy unique. But something that I find really special about the core subjects is that when you first come, you don't necessarily take African Studies and Writing and Rhetoric in the first term of year 1. You do something called Oman, and it's really centered on finding belonging, community, and just discussing ways in which you can apply certain principles from across the continent and fostering a very close-knit community.

That's great. Thanks, Iria.

Hi, my name is Maimouna Regina Diop. I'm from Senegal and I'm a year 2 at AAA. One aspect I wanted to touch on is what we call Seminal Reading. So it's a week-long academic program, but there's no grading or anything. It's actually just a program used that happens to challenge our thinking, foster collaboration in terms of thinking towards a question. For example, we had a seminar reading. The theme was, I think, what defines a good society, and we had to analyze in small groups texts written by people like Martin Luther King Jr., very interesting, also like that marked the world by their presence. So we analyze those texts and then we challenge them and we discuss to actually come to common responses to defining questions for our societies.

Fantastic. Thank you. Mohammed?

Yeah, uh, since everybody touched on the academics, I can probably speak on the social life here, which is probably my favorite part of being here at Ailey. I mean, you come in here, you're living with students from all over the continent, from northeast, southwest, And some of these students are your roommates. You're playing sports with these students. You're in class with some of these students. I feel like this is a very unique and amazing experience where you get to learn so much about other countries. I mean, me personally, I knew nothing about, for example, Lesotho before I came and eventually met Kathleen, where we had a couple classes together. And I got to— I think we even had a month together where I got to even learn about Lesotho and the culture there. So I feel like that's really something that's unique to Ailey and genuinely, genuinely amazing.

Brilliant. Fatima, you'd like to—

Hello, my name is Fatima Zara Bilad. I'm from Morocco and I'm a Year 2 student at the African Leadership Academy. So I will talk about entrepreneurial leadership here at the African Leadership Academy, which is a 2-year course where we learn to think like a problem solver, not just like as a student. We also look at the world around us, our communities, our habits, our assumptions, and we learn how to design things to make them better. Also, throughout these 2 years, we study the basics of running a student enterprise and business. And we learn how to implement our ideas in ways that create meaningful change in our communities. Also, this course, which is Entrepreneurial Leadership, pushed us to understand people and also to test our ideas, to reflect on our leadership journey, and to collaborate with students, as Mohammed said, from all over the continent, and who things completely different from us. And also, I can say the best way that I can speak about this course is it teach us how to make a change feel possible.

And can I ask you, Fatima, could you just say a little bit about how— so Aira talked about the core courses— how much of your time is taken by the core courses, and within that, how much of your time is taken by Entrepreneurial Leadership?

Entrepreneurial Leadership, we study 5 hours each week. It's quite a lot. And for African Studies and Writing and Rhetorics, we study 3 or 4 hours each subject each week.

Okay. So what, 12 hours maybe?

Yes, 12 hours.

12 hours per week for the core courses. And then the rest is more some— then academics time.

Yes.

Okay.

Interesting. For academics, we study 4 hours each week for each course. We take 3 A-levels with Entrepreneurial Leadership, African Studies, and Writing in English Works.

Perfect, that's great. Thank you. Aira?

Um, just to expand a bit more on the Entrepreneurial Leadership part of things. So I'd say one thing that really makes the African Leadership Academy unique is the sort of mini economy it's created within the campus. And most of that, if not all of that, is born from the Entrepreneurial Leadership Department. So we have student enterprises, which every year 2 is required to be in, which is roughly 5 or 6 students together to run an enterprise targeted at a specific area. So there's enterprises that are community-facing, like Assembly and Cultural Events, which runs cultural events and assemblies, or Aviada, which does sports, which Mohammed could talk about more. And then we also have things like Agro-Innovation, which manage like agriculture and ways that school can implement sustainable, like new foods that can be grown in South Africa, things like that. And then we have independent enterprises which students can start themselves or with a group of students that's out of academics because student enterprises are within the actual course and you do them in those like 4 or 5 hours stipulated. But independent enterprises are purely your own business. And I find it fascinating how like you can create this sort of like smaller simulation of the larger economy and society outside and I find it like to be helpful in preparing us, if just a tiny bit, for what we'll experience once we graduate.

That's super interesting. Thank you. And can I ask, how much does ALA feel like a kind of, like a community itself? And how much then also is it interacting with the local economy in the place that it exists in? So you've got some kind of a family community space together, and then obviously you are in a, in a particular place. So how do the relationships happen there?

So community, I say, is one of the things that the Academy really puts emphasis on. And I would say that it's not possible to have what one could call a perfect community, but I would say that the African Leadership Academy really strives to make sure that we bond in very many different aspects of our lives. So we have advisory families, we have like boarding hall congregations every single week just to make sure that If not here, then there, you find strong friendships and bonds that will last beyond the walls. But in terms of local economies, like beyond the school itself, I would say that varies from personal group to personal group. So there's a student enterprise called African Leadership Academy Model African Union, and they contribute to like, one could call it like an international community because they get students from different countries to come and simulate the Model African Union. But then there's certain internships and enterprises that are only specific to ALA students, but it really varies.

Okay, interesting. And Khaled?

Oh yeah, I wanted to add more on the relations of ALA and the external environment. I can say one, there's an initiative called ALA Gives Back. So that's where, that's an initiative that goes out to volunteer in different places, donating all sorts of things like clothes, pads. And that's one way ALA sort of engages with the local community. But another way is through student enterprises. Like, as much as the EL department is trying to create this ecosystem within the school, they also understand that that in itself is not going to be fully sustainable as ALA doesn't have everything. So another way ALA engages with external people is through partnerships with, like, SEs on campus will partner with external bodies for different things. For For example, even SE wants to create an event on campus, they can acquire an external caterer or an external person to print materials or stuff like that. So I'd say those are the two main ways, at least those I know of, that ALA engages with the local community.

Fantastic. Thank you. And could I ask one of you to speak to the African Studies and the other two parts of the core? That would be great. Yeah, please, Maimuna Regina.

Okay. So African Studies and Writing and Rhetoric are two different subjects. So African Studies, like the name suggests, is really— we have classes that develop the ELE trait Africanist. So we learn about the history of Africa. We participate in class discussions, like the classes are very interactive. And assessments often look like— it's like assignments and like you would write maybe a single source analysis. You'll be asked to analyze a text. Um, we also had assignments like creative historiography. That was the name of it. So it was a very, let's say, out-of-the-box assignment. Like, you had to be creative because you would have to, I think, interview an elder in your community and then maybe craft a whole story from that. Like, it was really a way to dive into African past. And beyond that, so writing and rhetoric is a subject where we learn to write to express ourselves. For example, at AILE, we are a very diverse community. So actually some people come not speaking English. Me, for example, I come from Senegal, so I came to AILE knowing French and Wolof, my mother tongue. So I, we learn to speak English in an efficient way and actually write advanced texts and be able to analyze advanced texts as well. So that's mainly the goal of Writing and Rhetoric, to develop us into leaders that can express themselves and make impact through words.

Yeah, fantastic. Thanks. And do the 3 core elements interact with each other as courses?

I would say, like, as disciplines, they don't really interact that much. But what I can say, what connects them is their goals. Because the thing is, every ALA subject, whether it's a Cambridge subject or a core subject, they must all go through a criterion where they list all of the ALA traits that they are instilling in their students. So what I can say is what connects them is the kinds of traits they all try to instill in the students. So maybe African Studies can nurture the Africanist trait, but writing and rhetoric, depending on the test, can also do the same. So I'd say as disciplines, they're very separate, but what connects them is their main goal, what they're striving towards, and that is we find through the ALA traits.

Beautiful. Yeah, very interesting. Thank you. And do any of you have any strong feelings about the way in which— because a couple of you have mentioned this Africanist trait idea— like, how do you see what ALA is doing in terms of developing African leaders? I mean, and obviously you being some of them, it's clearly part of the mission of the organization. And so how do you experience that, or how do you, how do you feel about that in terms of when you look perhaps into your own future?

Okay, I think a very prominent example of how they're developing us to be leaders is the Africa Career Network and the sort of web of opportunities they provide as an alumni. And I feel as though ALA is very intentional as to how they make sure we stay connected to the mission even after we graduate. Because quite a few people do leave the continent, and it's important to them as well as to us that we're still aware that our goal is to help Africa in one way or another. So through the Africa Career Network, they really keep students involved in the goings-on of this academy itself, as well as providing people with jobs if they wish to on the continent and externally, like off the continent, and just making sure that everybody feels grounded in the mission itself.

Interesting. Mohammed, yeah, please.

Maybe just to add on to what Ayura was saying about maybe the effect of ALA and how we see it making a change. We very frequently get visits from alumni that come back to this campus and really get to see some of the great people and some of the great things ALA has produced, from members of parliament to businessmen to just people who have really just left ALA, went back to their countries and done great things. And then came back to us to showcase us that. So I feel like it really shows you that by being through ALA, you get a chance at really being able to create a change in your country or the continent as a whole. So I guess that speaks to it.

Amazing. Yeah, it really does. Thank you. Yeah, Maimuna, Regina.

All right. I wanted to add on. So I think we developed many skills. Throughout these 2 years, you learn to do business models. You also learn to express yourself well. Many soft skills. Like, I can say that every ALA student has had more than 5 opportunities to actually practice public speaking. Like, it's something that's, that's just like a thing we do here cuz you are always doing presentations, whether it's in African Studies class or in computer science class. Also, you learn to be an autodidactic. Person as well. And beyond that also, ALA really empowers you, I would say, to make impact in your community. For example, I want to talk about Building a Box. Building a Box is something that's facilitated by the Entrepreneurial Leadership Department, and there's like 30+ camps, I think, all across Africa. So during summer, ALA students and/or ALA alumni will organize those camps like where we teach young people, 40+ participants, something like that. They are taught entrepreneurship, they're taught leadership, how to make a business model come to life, basically a crash course on project management and really making businesses. So I got to do Build in a Box when I finished my year 1, and it's a crazy opportunity to actually be teaching people that are the same age as you. But it's a form of empowerment because we are just translating and giving back to our communities what ELE has given us.

Amazing. So just to clarify, you having experienced the course yourself, you then go and teach it to others who may not have access to it.

Exactly. That's it.

Yeah. Amazing. Thank you so much. Anybody else have any, any reflections on that point about what kinds of skills or competencies you are? May not be leadership or entrepreneurship, but it could be other things. Yeah. Any other reflections on that? What have you— how do you feel you've grown?

Okay, maybe to just add on to what they're saying, I'd say ALA really gives you a head start to start what it is that you want to do, like the impact back to your country. So all of us here, when we come to ALA, we kind of have an idea of what sort of impact you want to have on our nations or what sort of problems we'd like to tackle. Maybe to speak again about the Entrepreneurial Leadership Program here. I mean, as the name suggests, it is about entrepreneurial leadership and about enterprise and starting your enterprise. And you do eventually join an enterprise. But when we get here, we start by sort of reflecting on our own mission and the reason behind why we're at ALA and what mission we have being here. So right before you join enterprise, you kind of get to envision an idea of your own enterprise. So you start thinking of, if I were to start my own enterprise, what would it be about? And eventually you get to make your own enterprise tackling this issue and maybe get a chance at this enterprise even becoming a full-on student enterprise here at ALA that other students can join. I mean, to speak about myself personally, the issue I really wanted to tackle when I came here was the issue of sports opportunities. I mean, I'm an athlete myself, and where I came from, Sudan, there really wasn't any sports opportunities. And although they had a lot of talented athletes, none of them really got a shot or an opportunity at becoming successful at what that is. So coming into EL, or Entrepreneurial Leadership, I mentioned that as my mission statement, and I eventually went on to create my own enterprise. In something called the Team OID here, where you and other students join together, you make an enterprise, and then you go and present it in front of judges, where now you get judged and your enterprise has a chance into becoming an enterprise. Unfortunately, my enterprise didn't get a chance to become a Minnesota enterprise, but I did end up joining a student enterprise here on campus called Riada, which is a student enterprise that's all about sports, and I'm still getting to chase this mission of mine. Of giving athletes an opportunity, and we've been working towards that as the reality team this year here on the student campus. So I feel like for me, that has been my favourite part of being at LA and something that's very, I'd say, practical, because you can speak about change, you can speak about change all day, but for you to actually get a chance and make a change, I feel like that's very unique to LA and one of its best traits.

Beautiful. Yeah, very well said. Thank you very much. I just would love to ask you about your relationships with the teachers or educators or mentors or coaches. I don't know exactly what you call them as such, but that feels to be an important part of some of these more innovative approaches that the traditional relationship between a teacher and a student is perhaps disrupted a bit. So does anybody have any reflections on, in terms of that community question, but also just, yeah, the relationship with your educators and mentors on the staff?

I think you probably noticed that my smile just came alive.

I saw your smile, I did.

Yeah, because I think, you know, in high school there's usually that one teacher that just goes above and beyond, just like they're the favorite. But the funny thing about ALA is every teacher is like that. So every single teacher is super dedicated about their job, and they are not just dedicated on learning outcomes, they're also very focused on your growth as a person, as a student. So it differs depending on the subjects. So I'd say when looking at my academics, I would say the teachers who teach my electives, they're really focused on helping me grow as a student. But then when it comes to core, because the core is not really much focused on like educational points, it's more focus on personal growth. I would say each conversation with the teacher is not just about the assignment or anything. We also get to talk about me as a person, how I've grown, the confidence I now show in class. And maybe this one might be on a side note, I just say the teachers here are super friendly. I don't feel like it's a privilege that most people get to have, especially at these higher institutions. The teachers are people you can just smile with, sit down with, have a talk with, and there's no level of awkwardness at all. And I think that's a great privilege of being here at ALA. Beautiful.

Wow, sounds like an amazing place. Anyone else? Yeah, please, Maimuné, Regina.

So I also wanted to add on to what Katleho said. So in our Student Enterprises, we also have coaches. So there's one member of the Entrepreneur Leadership Faculty that's closely following what you do, and they're here always here for advice, for support, everything. It's like, uh, they don't do the work for us, and they'll actually put you in a situation where you will have to grow, but they will be there like watching you from afar and really seeing how things are going. And, and it's like you can feel the care, like Katleho said. They're here when you need to talk. Like, it's actually beyond a teacher-student thing. It's like some— they're very friendly and they live with us because this is a boarding school as well. Not all teachers live on campus, but some of them do, so you can see them and it can be a, a person who can give you advice and stuff like that because this is a very close-knit community as well. Also, I wanted to talk about how teachers are really here, like, beyond just getting their paycheck, if I may say. Like, for example, we have board meetings in our student enterprises So many faculty members, it can be a physics teacher, a computer science, math, they will volunteer to be in our board to be able to advise us on our enterprise's growth and progress and all that. Also, there's a great relationship of trust with teachers. Like, we are often given what we call SDL. SDL is self-directed learning. So a teacher can just be like, OK, today is SDL time. And they would give us the time because they actually trust us to use it well. And that's a way of actually challenging us to be responsible teenagers and actually get our work done without somebody having to follow after us like every minute.

Yeah, fantastic. That's amazing. Aira?

Yeah, I'd just like to say something similar to Katleho. Well, I believe that the early like teacher-student relationship is quite orthodox on paper. Like it's nothing too out of the ordinary, but where the special part comes in is the characters that ALA chooses to be the teachers. I feel as though they're very intentional with who they hire, if I can say it that way. They make sure that the people they bring into the community embody the values and the characteristics that they wish to see, and they recognize if there's like perhaps a gap in a certain area and try and like encourage teachers to mirror that like value that is missing. So in the same way as writing and rhetoric and African studies, sometimes coincide. I see that the teachers somehow like seamlessly fit into the community because like they are Africanists, they are like autodidacts and they are critical thinkers. And so they're able to really adapt to different situations. That's why a teacher can be like an advisor and on a board meeting and also like a physics teacher. It comes naturally to them because ALA is very specific with who they bring in and I'm very grateful for that.

Amazing. Can I just, just out of curiosity, two of you now have mentioned this phrase autodidact. And it's not, I mean, I know what it means, but it's not the very common term. Does that get used in the community at ALA? Is that, it's a familiar term?

Yes, it's an extremely familiar phrase. You hear it every day in almost every class. It's just one of the things that ALA thrives towards is we don't really link our learning to a teacher. Obviously, we do have a teacher that's there to support us and explain things, but we take control of our own learning, and that's really something that they want us to do. Autodidact, meaning we learn on our own, we go, we study, we strive to learn more. I mean, sometimes, for example, before we even go to classes, in most classes, a lot of the students already know what's going on. So the classes are just a chance for us to go there and to discuss with the teacher, to maybe even gain a further understanding about the subject or whatever it is we're doing. So autodidact is 100% a phrase we hear every day.

I love that. That's so good. Yeah, interesting. Does anybody have just one final thing just to maybe to end the segment? If you had a recommendation to other people around the world who are listening to this, who don't get this special chance of experiencing the community, like, what would you say to other educators around the world if they could bring some of the magic of ALA into their community in Bolivia or New Orleans or wherever? Fatima?

I think I will tell them that they should come with an open mind and don't be afraid to bring their story because especially here at the Africa Leadership Academy. All of us, like, we are honest about where we come from, where the challenges we've been facing, and the dreams that we have. And this is what makes the Africa Leadership Academy special for us, that it makes us, like, believe in ourselves and our impact to the communities where we come from.

Beautiful. Ava, go for it.

Just like a general statement, I would say that, like, change and growth, as Kathleen Ho had mentioned at the beginning, is uncomfortable. And like, it shouldn't be comfortable. So if you want to develop, if you want to become a better version of yourself, like don't expect to be placed in a situation that you've already encountered before or that you know everything about. And if you find yourself in such a situation, then push yourself so that you feel that discomfort, cuz that's what really like creates growth.

Love it. Beautiful.

Last one. I wanted to address this to the educators, as you said, I would advise them Do not be someone your students have to depend on. Really teach, but also empower and give them the agency to craft their own stories and beliefs.

We hope you've enjoyed this episode. Please feel free to continue the dialogues with our guests, with us at Good Impact Labs, on our blog or on social media, or within your own networks.