Giving Options and Having Choices: How Young People Become the Focus of Alumni Committees

Written by Ján Michalko, edited by Madeleine Harris

In late August the Mastercard Foundation officially launched its first alumni network committees in Ghana, Rwanda and Uganda, after several months of recruiting and onboarding young people and supporting them as they plan activities and communications campaigns. In this blog our Senior Project Lead, Ján, reflects on our experiences with putting young people at the center of the selection process and operationalizing our value commitment to being youth focused.

As a young woman, Zaharah fought for her education and kept knocking on schools’ doors – 24 no less – until she got a scholarship to continue her secondary schooling. Applying for the committee role, she knew to take her time to think through her answers and to articulate her strengths

It was close to 11 o’clock at night in California when I first met Zaharah for her interview to become one of the 7 members of the Mastercard Foundation’s Alumni Network Committee in Uganda.

Looking back at the experience, she told me that she had to ask her hotel to access a special staff network, to ensure that her internet was stable for the video call. Although getting everything ready for the interview was draining, in the end, she felt very comfortable during our chat:

“I felt at home – I wasn’t panicking because it was not threatening and overall, the interview was very nice.”

This was, of course, in the pre ‘COVID-19 crisis’ world; but the pandemic caught up with Zaharah while she was in the US. It forced her to cut her travels short and return home to Kampala, where she co-directs Africa Education & Leadership Initiative.

Zaharah decided to have her interview online because she was attending and helping to organize a conference in San Francisco. However, dozens of other applicants from Ghana, Rwanda and Uganda, who were physically in the three countries, also chose to speak to us on Skype, Zoom or WhatsApp, while many others travelled to the Mastercard Foundation offices in person to get a shot at being members of the national committees of the alumni network.

Choosing to interview online or in person, as well as to submit written responses or videos to application questions, were some of the options we gave to the interested candidates. By giving young women and men alternatives and choices, we recognized the diversity of their experiences and skills and put them into the center of the process.

Enabling Choices through Technology

The Mastercard Foundation Alumni Network is made up of young people, who are committed to being pan-African change makers and transformative leaders, and who have participated in Foundation programs, such as the Anzisha Prize, YALI, Youth Forward and Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program among others. They are devoted to improving opportunities for young people, be it in employment, education or entrepreneurship. According to a recent 2020 African Youth Survey 26% of young people are concerned about unemployment, but while being aware of the immensity of the employment crisis, the under 35s are committed to changing their communities and have a great sense of ‘Afro-optimism’ for their future.

The Mastercard Foundation has pledged to nurture young people’s agency, energy and insights through the Young Africa Works strategy, which guides the organization’s efforts enabling 30 million young people to secure dignified and fulfilling work by 2030.

Having the opportunity to use technology became a way through which the Mastercard Foundation and inHive could ensure that as many young people as possible were able to participate in the process of putting the committees together. For example, it allowed many alumni to apply while living and working in remote areas, where they run community projects or conduct research.

We also provided a range of slots at different times of the day, working around alumni’s job schedules or caring responsibilities. In this way, we ensured that women and men who face differently gendered expectations on their time were accommodated. In the end, 50% of applicants were women and 13 of the 21 committee members are exceptional young women. 

Internet and communication platforms can be a double-edged sword though. Having a stable connection is a challenge when Wi-Fi networks are unreliable. It can also be a barrier if airtime costs are too expensive. And so, what the example of our use of technology demonstrates is our broader approach of giving young people choices, so that women and men applying for the roles on the committees could find a way to participate in a way that suited their needs and circumstances.

Different Application Methods for Different Skills

Abdallah gained many practical soft skills during his gap year after secondary school. They allowed him to better transition to the world of work and start his business – something he believes needs to be better integrated into the education system in Ghana.

Another example of a choice that we put forward to young people applying for a place on the alumni committees was to answer three questions about themselves and their motivations either in a written form or through a video.

Abdallah, who is on the Ghanaian committee, chose to write his application responses. One of the reasons, as I find out when he spoke to me from a ‘locked-down’ Accra earlier this year, was his extensive experience with writing applications and CVs, which is the bread and butter of his business operation.

In addition to a printing company, which he runs with his brother, Abdallah also works as a freelance graphic designer and a writer. His ‘side-hustle’ is to help people with their cover letters and resumes, while also writing blogs and social media content.

Abdallah embodies the entrepreneurial spirit that is embedded in the Mastercard Foundation Young Africa Works strategy. He started with a simple WhatsApp group for friends so that they can share advice and tips as he and his friends were struggling with unemployment. Fast forward a few years and he has turned his personal initiative into a source of income.

Being able to write his application allowed Abdallah to use his strengths and skills. On the flip side, having a choice to move away from a written form towards a narrative video made the selection process more open to young people’s diverse talents and encouraged creativity, too.

Arlette is an alumna of the Scholars’ program and earned her bachelor’s degree at Quest University, Canada through the African Leadership Academy. She returned to her hometown, Kigali, two years ago, where she now works. She is thinking about her future career pathways, including pursuing child counselling, whose access is still limited despite the rising number of mental health illnesses among young people.

Arlette believes that it is often a challenge for young Rwandans to communicate their personal contributions and individual achievements.

However, having been exposed to similar recruitment processes through college and job applications, she has learnt how to write a strong application over the years, and was well prepared for the committee selection process: 

“Maybe it is cultural, but to students, it doesn’t come easily to talk about yourself. It helped me that I knew how to write a personal statement and that the process was similar to other applications I did before.”

Arlette told me that she was luckily spared some of the negative exchanges that happen during interviews when potential employers try to assert their superiority and put the applicants down. She felt her application for the committee was a pleasant experience, and she especially appreciated the openness and transparency in our communication.

The Way Forward

As the committees start their journeys, it is already clear that they consist of young people with complementary skills and a multitude of experiences. As a team, they are able to understand, represent and engage the breadth of MCF alumni around the world and contribute to addressing their needs and desires, not least employability and entrepreneurship support.

Enabling young people to make choices and decisions in the selection process was our way to recognize the diverse lived experiences of the continent’s young women and men, and the need for the committees to capture this richness.

There are certainly many other ways through which the processes can be more democratic, inclusive, and led by the young people themselves and we are keen for the committees to implement the improvements they deem fit in the future.

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