With 70% of Africans under the age of 25, it is imperative for African youth to be engaged in communities and vested in the future of their respective countries, according to US Bureau of African Affairs assistant secretary Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who highlights this as the central tenet of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) – a US President Barack Obama-led initiative aimed at investing in the next generation of African leaders.

Thomas-Greenfield joined 1 000 young leaders from sub-Saharan Africa, US government representatives, as well as private-sector and civil society representatives at the YALI Mandela Washington Fellowship Presidential Summit, which took place this week in Washington DC.

After six weeks of academic study and leadership training at 36 higher education institutions across the US, the young African leaders convened from August 1 to 3 as part of the summit. These leaders are finalists of the 2016 Mandela Washington Fellowship, the flagship programme of YALI.

Addressing event delegates at the event, Thomas-Greenfield cited Obama’s African Union address in Ethiopia last year, where he emphasised that, “the most urgent task facing Africa today, and for decades ahead, is to create opportunity for the next generation”.

“Empowering young people is at the heart of US-Africa relations. Our mission is to partner with Africa to promote democracy, peace, prosperity and opportunity. And we believe those goals are intertwined in everything we do,” said Thomas-Greenfield, adding that she could think of no better partner than the Mandela Washington Fellows.

“You have already made a big difference through the work you have done in your home countries – and that’s why you were all chosen for this programme. It is our hope that this programme helps you to make an even bigger impact in your country.”

Thomas-Greenfield acknowledged Africa’s “undeniable challenges in terms of good governance, rule of law and citizen empowerment”, but was optimistic about YALI, and what it is achieving through current and former Mandela Washington Fellows.

“When people ask me what is the most important initiative that the US government under the Obama administration has in Africa and what will be the Obama legacy in Africa . . . I point to YALI for many reasons, but the most important one is all of you and what all of you bring to the programme – your talent, your passion and your potential.

"You are Africa’s future, and you inspire all of us every day by your enthusiasm, by your ambitions, and by your creativity. You are the reason, in the face of so many challenges, that we all continue to strive to make Africa better,” she told the fellows.