Throughout 2020, the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program continued developing young leaders who will drive social and economic change within their communities. By 2030, the Program will continue to expand by enrolling and graduating an additional 15,000 young people in high-quality tertiary education and leadership development including 70% women; 25% refugees and displaced youth; and 10% young people with disabilities for a total of 50,000 Scholars since the beginning of the Program. To date, the Program has reached nearly 40,000 talented students, primarily in Africa.
This year, the Scholars Program welcomed the United States International University-Africa (USIU-A) in Kenya and African Leadership University (ALU) in Rwanda and Mauritius into the partner network. World University Service of Canada and Light for the World also joined the Program as technical assistance partners to support inclusion of refugees and young people with disabilities amongst the partner network.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Scholars Program is developing an eLearning initiative in collaboration with Arizona State University (ASU) and USIU-Africa. The first phase of the initiative’s design will address universities’ urgent needs in the Scholars Program partner network while also building institutional resilience for the longer term. The initiative aims to advance three streams of work:
- Strengthening the capacity of all Scholars Program partner universities in instructional design and online pedagogy
- Supporting the development or acquisition of high-quality, inclusive, and relevant online content (both academic and wrap-around support)
- And building a community of practice in e-learning, in Africa and beyond, which will enable collaborative learning and sharing of best practices, resources, and lessons learned
In addition to working alongside refugee-led and youth organizations in Africa, we will continue to expand partnerships that deepen inclusion, increase access to higher education, and support graduates to transition to work.
To read other stories from the 2020 CLCC Yearbook, click here
