The Institute of International Education (IIE) has released a report in partnership with the Ford Foundation, highlighting the value and impact of fellowship programmes on marginalised communities.
The report is part of a 10-year alumni tracking study of the foundation’s International Fellowships Programme (IFP), the single largest programme commitment in its history, in which $420 million was invested.
The report, Transformational Leaders and Social Change: IFP Impacts in Africa and the Middle East, provides important insight into the personal, organisational, community, and societal impact of IFP alumni in Kenya, Nigeria, Palestine, and South Africa.
The report shared the perspectives of 361 IFP alumni and local stakeholders.
In Kenya, the programme featured 126 fellows, 60 women and 66 men. Pursuing degrees under the umbrella of social justice, 27 per cent studied International Development; 21 per cent; Education, nine per cent, Public Health; and eight per cent, Environmental Science.
According to the report, the programme provided IFP alumni with important experiences of fairness in the socio-economic processes. For some, the experience made them aware they had been victims of injustice.
They were able to leverage their strong individual voices into a strong, coherent collective voice, actively contributing to their communities in diverse ways, spaces and levels.
Commenting on the report, Maurice Makoloo, Ford Foundation’s Regional director for Eastern Africa, said: “This study confirms that when every person irrespective of their background is provided with as equal opportunity as the next person, they develop their talents to incredible high levels.
‘’Ultimately, the investment in these individuals empower them to make significant contributions to advance our society. In many cases, IFP Fellows were the first people in their families and local communities to obtain post-graduate degrees, and in some cases, to obtain any degree at all.”
Between 2001 and 2013, IFP opened pathways to higher education for 4,305 social justice leaders from the world’s most vulnerable population in 22 countries in the developing world.
Despite coming from four different locations, the alumni share certain commonalities: past challenges stemming from discrimination and economic hardship, their dedication to social justice activism, and their commitment to IFP in their home communities.