Twenty USIU-Africa students selected for the United Nations Academic Impact Millennium Fellowship Program

By Brenda Odhiambo

Twenty students from USIU-Africa have been selected to be part of the United Nations Millennium Fellowship program that partners with the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI). The United Nations Academic Impact is an initiative that aligns institutions of higher education with the United Nations in supporting and contributing to the realization of United Nations goals and mandates, including the promotion and protection of human rights, access to education, sustainability and conflict resolution. The fellowship which unites and supports undergraduate leadership for the UN Sustainable Development Goals runs for two months, starting in September and ending in November.

This year, over 25,501 applicants from 2,209 campuses applied to join the program, and after a competitive recruitment process, only 120+ campuses worldwide (just 6%) were selected to host the 2,000+ Millennium Fellows, who have been selected from a range of academic institutions - large and small, public and private - affirming the fact that there are student leaders in every community committed to localizing the SDGs and strengthening communities.

The 20 students representing the University are Anais Teta, Angela Osodo, Anindo Murunga, Bertina Kombo, Brenda Formin, Christine Kariuki, Cynthia Micheni, Elisha Kimanzi, Emmanuella Ochieng', Frank Okoth-Menya, Gaurav Karey, Gloria Ng'etich, Jeff Okanga, Joy Magaju, Joyce Nguttu, Juliana Kitamirike, Katrina Mwenda, Melvin Wao, Mitchelle Ndunda and Mona Manyasa, who are drawn from various programs across the University. They will be working with other Fellows to collectively advance every Sustainable Development and every United Nations Academic Impact Principle.

In his comments to the incoming Class of 2021, the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon noted that the Fellowship was an opportunity for students to lead by example.

"As Millennium Fellows, we need you to lead by example - with empathy, humility, and inclusion as guiding values. You can embrace global citizenship, building a strong global network to learn from and support each other. We are all counting on you to affirm the dignity of people and our planet, now and for years to come.”

The complete list of the Millennium Fellowship class of 2021 can be found on this website: https://www.millenniumfellows.org/meet-the-fellows.

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