Teach Africa Summit at U.S. Department of State Brings Together Student Leaders From Across the US

More than 300 high school student leaders from across the U. S. will meet with ambassadors, policymakers, and professionals during the Teach Africa Leadership Summit at the State Department on Thursday, June 3, 2010, beginning at 9:00 a.m. for a day-long Africa immersion, leadership program.

The Africa Society of the National Summit on Africa and the U.S. Department of State are partnering for this U.S. Agency for International Development funded Teach Africa Leadership Summit. Additional sponsors for the initiative to educate and inspire young Americans who have distinguished themselves as student leaders are Humanity United, MARS, Inc., and Chevron.

Students will converse with their counterparts in Liberia, South Africa, and Cameroon through interactive Digital Video Conferences. During afternoon workshops, experts will lead discussions on topics focused on Africa, including: leadership, conflict resolution, women, science and technology, media and U.S. foreign policy. The distinguished guests who will speak to the students include:

• The Honorable Johnnie Carson, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs
• Michael Blake, Associate Director, White House Office of Public Engagement, Deputy Associate Director, Office of Intergovernmental Affairs
• His Excellency Nathaniel Barnes, Ambassador of the Republic of Liberia
• Her Excellency Fatou Danielle Diagne, Ambassador of the Republic of Senegal

The Teach Africa Leadership Summit emerged from Teach Africa, The Africa Society’s flagship program, which is designed to build on the progress, success, and momentum of this innovative Africa-education initiative. The program has presented Africa-education seminars and materials to more than 10,000 students throughout the U.S., as well as trained and oriented over 3,100 administrators and educators. Information emanating from Teach Africa has reached over 100 million people globally.

The following Africa Society Teach Africa Partners selected students from their respective cities to attend the State Department program: The World Affairs Council of Portland, The World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh, The World Affairs Council of Houston, the Southern Center for International Studies, and the UCLA James S. Coleman African Studies Center.

USAID is an independent federal government agency that receives overall foreign policy guidance from the Secretary of State. The Agency supports long-term and equitable economic growth and advances U.S. foreign policy objectives by supporting economic growth, agriculture and trade; global health; democracy, conflict prevention and humanitarian assistance in Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and the Near East, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Europe and Eurasia.

The Africa Society of the National Summit on Africa is a non-profit organization that engages and educates Americans about Africa and creates, through partnerships, a better understanding of its peoples, diverse cultures, histories, and economies. For more information visit www.africasummit.org.