Abdalla Dao, a graduate of the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI), University of Ghana, Legon, has participated in the 2014 Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, a new flagship program of President Barack Obama’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI). Dr. Dao is a Research Scientist at the Institut de I'Environnment et de Recherches Agricoles (INERA), Burkina Faso. For his PhD research at WACCI, he worked on ‘Genetic characterization, association mapping and evaluation of heterotic patterns of tropical maize inbred lines under drought and non-drought conditions Dr. Dao in group photograph with the President of Florida International University, USA, and a colleague YALI Fellow. Dr. Dao at the Summit in Washington D.C. As part of the Fellowship, Dr. Dao spent six weeks studying business and entrepreneurship, civic leadership, and public management at the Florida International University, and received a Certificate in Public Management from the university. After his academic residency at the Florida International University, he was honored by the Mayor of Miami-Dade County, Mr. Carlos A. Gimenez as a ‘Distinguished Visitor of Miami-Dade County’. The climax of the Fellowship was a three-day summit with USA leaders in the field of agriculture, business, government, and the non-profit sector hosted by President Obama in Washington DC. This allowed him to hone his leadership skills and network with other young leaders from Sub-Saharan Africa and the USA. Dr. Dao’s Fellowship will continue in Africa where he will have access to ongoing professional development, networking, and the option to compete for seed funding. The Washington Fellowship is an exchange program of President Obama’s Young African Leaders Initiative. This programme which sends over 500 young leaders to the USA each year, began in early 2014, for leadership training, academic coursework and mentoring. It will create unique opportunities in Africa where YALI Fellows will put their new skills to practical use in propelling economic growth and prosperity, and strengthening democratic institutions. The Obama administration’s Young African Leaders Initiative is a signature effort to invest in the next generation of African leaders. WACCI is proud that one of its graduates was selected as a foundation Fellow for this highly competitive YALI programme.
