International advocacy organization Global Citizen has announced its fourth and final Global Citizen Fellowship Program powered by BeyGOOD, a graduation ceremony featuring South African, Nigerian and Kenyan fellows.
The Global Citizen Fellowship, supported by Beyoncé’s BeyGOOD philanthropic initiative and US actor and filmmaker, Tyler Perry, works with young aspiring Africans, taking them through a multi-phase curriculum, specifically designed to equip and empower them with the skills and tools they need to thrive – not just during their time with Global Citizen but also in any future professional environment.
Launched in 2019, following the success of commitments made at the Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100 in December 2018, the Fellowship is aligned to Global Citizen’s vision of eliminating extreme poverty by 2030, providing young people with opportunities to gain experience working on social impact projects.
Based in Lagos, Nairobi and Johannesburg, these young people have engaged in a year-long, full-time, paid fellowship focusing on Global Citizen’s four pillars of activity: creative, campaigns, rewards, and marketing, and will work towards achieving Global Citizen’s Recovery Plan For The World.
During the course of the year, the fellows learned how to use digital technology for social change, storytelling tactics that shift attitudes, and the process of building lasting professional relationships. The Program also aims to foster an in-depth understanding of the role that innovation plays in an ever-changing digital world.
The Program featured a four-phase learner-centered curriculum designed to equip the fellows with a variety of practical, useful and pragmatic skills, such as: problem solving, critical thinking, how to build community, professional and personal development, advocacy, international development, and global citizenship.
The fellows have created their own community programmes that have affected the lives of more than 1 000 people across the continent.
The programme, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter also endorses through her foundation BeyGOOD, takes young leaders through a multi-phase curriculum specifically designed to equip and empower them with the skills and leadership tools needed to make a positive impact in their respective communities.
BeyGOOD’s director of social responsibility, Ivy McGregor, said it was important to empower young people to be leaders in society.
“I am so excited about your future because you are in it. I want you to literally go out there in the world and conquer … We found that young people, when they finish matric, they have this gap of trying to find work. We wanted to help young people who were committed to making a difference on the continent. So we partnered with our good friends at Global Citizens and created the fellowship programme. Our commitment back in 2018 was that 50 young people will benefit through the 8-year-long, handsomely paying programme to eradicate extreme poverty,” she said.
One of the graduates, Hope Mnguni, who hails from Johannesburg, said being part of the programme had empowered her to be a creative thinker, and that she hoped to impact the world through the valuable skills she had acquired through the fellowship.
“It is our responsibility to nurture and find our legacy in our communities and workplaces. Legacy is a belief system or set of core values that we instil in others. It’s the actions that you demonstrate to others. It is the torch that you want to pass on to others,” Dipalesa Morake project manager of Global Citizen said.
So, on Thursday, we celebrated 15 Fellows signing out of the programming as graduates of Beygood 2023.
Amongst those present were Ivy McGregor, Director of Social Responsibility at Parkwood Entertainment, headquarters for BeyGOOD.
