Scholarship winners and candidates

Johanna Ncala from South Africa and Bousso Dramé from Senegal will join ECF 2014 under the ECF community scholarship.

In December 2013, the ECF community, in the memory of Mandela, contributed enough funds (£3,000 + hosting) to sponsor two people from non-OECD countries (of which one had to be from South Africa). 45 applications were received and from these, the following two were awarded the scholarship.

Johanna Ncala from South Africa

Johanna has been an HIV treatment activist for the past 15 years in the forefront of challenging government and educating communities in treatment literacy. She is currently working to get funding for a campaign to prevent violence against women. She was previously involved in the treatment action campaign (TAC) - one of the most important post-appartheid campaigns in the last decades. She currently works with a range of organisations and has spoken at a range of conferences on HIV/AIDS.

She will present at ECF 2014 about the 1 in 9 campaign which was started when a women was allegedly raped by President Zuma. The woman did not have support and thus Johanna and others started a campaign to support sexually assaulted women to get justice and support inside and outside the court and funding for lawyers that would represent them fairly.

Since the scholarship fund was inspired by Mandel's life and work, Johanna Ncala was chosen partly because of her extensive work in HIV/AIDS - an issue Mandela himself addressed after finishing his presidency. As she also grew up under the apartheid system and experienced its fall as a teenager, it seemed appropriate to bring that life experience to ECF 2014.

Bousso Dramé from Senegal

Bousso DraméBousso is an International Consultant in Development Policy. She describes herself as an afro-optimist, a pan-Africanist and a global citizen.

Her biggest claim-to-fame was after she won a national language competition in Senegal for which the prize was an all-expenses-paid documentary film-making training in France. However, when she applied for the visa, she received condescending comments and experienced humiliating behaviour from the French Institute and Consulate. She renounced her trip on in an open letter on her Facebook page and received thousands of supportive responses from around the world. Subsequently the outgoing French ambassador acknowledged the issues and committed to take measures. Subsequent letters she received from visa applicants revealed a real change in attitude at the Embassy. Bousso has been nominated a Global Shaper by the World Economic Forum. Read her story in more detail.

Bousso is interested in continuing to campaign on a range of issues in Senegal and her region - especially engaging youth who make up the majority of the Senegalese and regional populations.

Bousso was chosen because she demonstrated initiative, eloquence, feistiness, digital savvy and an eagerness to learn and share - all important aspects of campaigning with digital media.

The Applicants

With 45 applicants there were lots of very interesting candidates from around the world including Nepal, Venezuela, Nigeria, India, Brazil, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Argentina, Algeria, Ghana, Keyna, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Pakistan, Tunesia, Tajikstan, Tanzania and Uganda!

Below is a list of the other candidates (not all are listed as some asked not to be for safety or other reasons). With more funds (est. £1,500/person) we can grant more full scholarships - ideally by organisations but personal contributions welcome too! I've summarised the issues they are working on in very broad terms - so consider them a simplification of their specific interests/focus/work.

  1. Javed Noorani (Afghanistan) - CSR Corruption
  2. Akram Zaki (Afghanistan) - Rights Political
  3. Brahim Mahdid (Algeria) - Rights
  4. Vitor (Brazil) - Rights
  5. Anteneh Teshome (Ethiopia) - Rights Children/Women
  6. Venkat Regunathan (India) - Health Tobacco
  7. Amelia Andrews (India) - International Planned Parenthood Federation
  8. Kennedy Odoyo (Kenya) - Rights Education
  9. Muthoni Maingi (Kenya) - Various
  10. Alvin Amadu (Liberia) - Rights Children/Women
  11. Ken Williams Mhango (Malawi) - Rights Children/Women
  12. Aissa Traore (Mali) - Right To Play
  13. Salif Fonana (Mali) - Amnesty
  14. Anita Bishankha (Nepal) - Rights
  15. Bharat Nepali (Nepal) - Rights Inclusion
  16. Michael Iyanro (Nigeria) - Democracy Inclusion
  17. Nduka Ozor (Nigeria) - Health HIV/AIDS
  18. Philip Jakpor (Nigeria) - Health Tobacco, Oil Spills
  19. Jafar Danesi (Nigeria) - Rights Children/Women
  20. Olumide Idowu (Nigeria) - Climate Change
  21. AkpoBari Celestine Nkabari (Nigeria) - Rights Inclusion
  22. Ataurehman Saman (Pakistan) - Rights Anti-Hate
  23. Moiz Hussain (Pakistan) - Rights Education
  24. Rabel Haider (Pakistan) - Rights Inclusion
  25. Sizwe Gxuluwe (South Africa) - Health HIV/AIDS
  26. Baxolise Siseko Dlali (South Africa) - ONE, British Council
  27. Megan Lewis (South Africa) - Environment
  28. Carina Conradie (South Africa) - Governance Transparency
  29. Frances Kessy (Tanzania) - CSR Tax Justice
  30. Filbert Mbecha (Tanzania) - Environment Cycling
  31. Oussama Barka (Tunesia) - Rights Civic
  32. Odulla Joseph (Uganda) - Health HIV/AIDS
  33. Stephen Rwagweri (Uganda) - Development
  34. Adrian Nzamba (Tanzania) - ActionAid Global Platform

Most of these people are now on this ECF community discussion list, so if you wish to reach out to them, please do (via the ECF list or email via [email protected] and he can forward on direct messages and let them reply).

by Duane Raymond published Feb 24, 2014,
Upcoming Events
Online: Campaigning Leadership Series 2022 Mar 21, 2022 - Sep 09, 2022 — Online via Crowdcast.io
Campaigning Forum 2022 Sep 27, 2022 - Sep 29, 2022 — NCVO, London, UK
Upcoming events…