Scholarship winners and candidates
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 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.
- Javed Noorani (Afghanistan) - CSR Corruption
- Akram Zaki (Afghanistan) - Rights Political
- Brahim Mahdid (Algeria) - Rights
- Vitor (Brazil) - Rights
- Anteneh Teshome (Ethiopia) - Rights Children/Women
- Venkat Regunathan (India) - Health Tobacco
- Amelia Andrews (India) - International Planned Parenthood Federation
- Kennedy Odoyo (Kenya) - Rights Education
- Muthoni Maingi (Kenya) - Various
- Alvin Amadu (Liberia) - Rights Children/Women
- Ken Williams Mhango (Malawi) - Rights Children/Women
- Aissa Traore (Mali) - Right To Play
- Salif Fonana (Mali) - Amnesty
- Anita Bishankha (Nepal) - Rights
- Bharat Nepali (Nepal) - Rights Inclusion
- Michael Iyanro (Nigeria) - Democracy Inclusion
- Nduka Ozor (Nigeria) - Health HIV/AIDS
- Philip Jakpor (Nigeria) - Health Tobacco, Oil Spills
- Jafar Danesi (Nigeria) - Rights Children/Women
- Olumide Idowu (Nigeria) - Climate Change
- AkpoBari Celestine Nkabari (Nigeria) - Rights Inclusion
- Ataurehman Saman (Pakistan) - Rights Anti-Hate
- Moiz Hussain (Pakistan) - Rights Education
- Rabel Haider (Pakistan) - Rights Inclusion
- Sizwe Gxuluwe (South Africa) - Health HIV/AIDS
- Baxolise Siseko Dlali (South Africa) - ONE, British Council
- Megan Lewis (South Africa) - Environment
- Carina Conradie (South Africa) - Governance Transparency
- Frances Kessy (Tanzania) - CSR Tax Justice
- Filbert Mbecha (Tanzania) - Environment Cycling
- Oussama Barka (Tunesia) - Rights Civic
- Odulla Joseph (Uganda) - Health HIV/AIDS
- Stephen Rwagweri (Uganda) - Development
- 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).
