Meet the 2020 Leadership Impact Award Winner: Ibrahima Kalil Gueye

In 2020, Ibrahima Kalil Gueye, 2018 Fellowship Alumnus from Guinea, was selected for the Leadership Impact Award.  Since 2016, Ibrahima has led “Open and Transparent Guinea,” a program that has reached 10,000 citizens by promoting transparency in Guinea.  A good governance advocate, he is utilizing the skills and connections he gained during the 2018 Mandela Washington Fellowship to create strategic solutions to address corruption through grassroots citizen education and mobilization as well as national level policy advocacy and reform.

Corruption is the most common thing affecting my country… That is why I decided, as a young activist, to fight this issue in order to find equality in Guinean society.  Because wherever you find corruption there is no equality… By fighting corruption, you promote tacitly, peace and justice.”

Ibrahima Kalil Gueye, 2018 Fellowship Alumnus and 2020 Leadership Impact Award Winner

In 2019, Ibrahima coordinated the National Marathon of Governance, funded by an Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund grant from the U.S. Department of State.  Over 43 days, he traveled 5,500 kilometers through rural Guinea empowering 2,300 people through workshops, conferences, and discussions with authorities to inform citizens of their rights.

As YALI celebrates its tenth anniversary, Ibrahima is an excellent representative of the program’s impact, as an Alumnus of both the Fellowship and the YALI Regional Leadership Center in Dakar and member of the YALI Network.

Congratulations, Ibrahima, from your Mandela Washington Fellowship family.  We look forward to seeing you succeed and empower citizens across Guinea and the continent.