“What an impressive group of engaged and active people! These three young leaders are can-do people determined to improve their society. That was my feeling earlier this week as I hosted William Na Lamba, Lizandra Mariza Gomes Cabral Dos Reis and Ilsa de Fatima Cá Sáto lunch at my house to welcome them to the 2015 Young African Leaders Initiative program. Next month, these three Bissau Guineans will join 500 other young Africans in the United States for six weeks of training at a university followed by a three-day Summit in Washington D.C. featuring a town hall with President Obama, networking events and meetings with leaders of industry. We talked about how to best take advantage of the program. I promised to meet with them in Bissau after their return to hear from them directly about their experiences and to discuss how to follow up to maximize their new skills and new contacts. We will start recruiting for the 2016 YALI program in November 2015 so please check back to this Facebook page and the Embassy website, https://sn.usembassy.gov/, for information on how to apply for this exciting program. In the meantime please study your English so that if you are selected for this program you will be able to converse with the new American and African friends that you will encounter.”
– Ambassador James Zumwalt
