My fellowship has been the most impactful personal and professional development opportunity of my life. I wanted a post-college experience that would push my limits, expand my comfort zone, and help me discern the next steps in my career journey. And this has been the case.
Speaker Series
Princeton in Africa is honored to bring together experts from all over the world, to discuss timely and interesting topics related to the African continent. Please follow our Instagram, and other social media platforms, so you do not miss news of upcoming speaker events.
No upcoming events are planned. Stay tuned.
–December 3rd PiAf Speaker Event
Language & Storytelling: How to Write and Speak About Africa
We were honored to host the esteemed panelists: Dr. Uzodinma Iweala, CEO of The Africa Center & Author of notable novels such as Beasts of No Nation and Speak No Evil; and Dr. Mgbechi Ugonna Erondu, Anesthesiologist, Fiction Writer, and alumni of Princeton in Africa 2010-11 BIPAI Botswana. They crafted a rich conversation about identity, language, and how to shape the narrative surrounding the African continent.
“There is a unique perspective that Africans who grew up in the diasphora can bring.”
Mgbechi Ugonna Erondu
“(My work) is about narrative change, and how it relates to the African continent.”
Uzodinma Iweala
If you missed it, please visit our youtube channel to watch a recording of the event and stay tuned for our future speaker series installments!
–January 27th PiAf Speaker Event
The Covid-19 Pandemic: Health and Economic Impact, Responses, and Lessons from Africa
We had the privilege of engaging with three experts on The Covid-19 Pandemic, Dr. Brahima S. Couibaly, Dr. Mogomotsi Matshaba, and Dr. Ahmed Ogwell Ouma. They discussed Health and Economic Impact, Responses, and Lessons from Africa.
Dr. Brahima S. Coulibaly is the vice president and director of the Global Economy and Development program at Brookings Institution. He was previously serving as director of the program’s Africa Growth Initiative. He joined Brookings from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System where he was chief economist and head of the emerging market and developing economies group. In that capacity, he oversaw the institution’s work on emerging markets and developing economies, provided intellectual leadership on economic and financial issues facing these economies, and often represented the Federal Reserve in international meetings and working groups on relevant topics.
Dr. Mogomotsi Matshaba, Principal Investigator for Collaborative African Genomics Network (CAfGEN) Group is Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, Retrovirology, Baylor College of Medicine, and Executive Director- Botswana-Baylor Children’s Clinical Centre of Excellence. He sits in several Ministry of Health Committees as the pediatric expert; Botswana National HIV Guidelines Committee, TB/ HIV Integration Technical Working Group, Drug Forecasting, and Purchasing Committee, TB/HIV Drug Resistance Technical Working Group, Adolescent HIV Guidelines Committee. Internationally he is a member of the Southern African HIV Clinicians Society, serves in the Adolescent HIV Prevention and Treatment Implementation Science Alliance (AHISA) at the Forgaty Institute, NIH, and member of the Child Survival TWG, Inter-Agency Task Team (IATT), UNICEF.
Dr. Ahmed Ogwell OUMA currently serves as the first Deputy Director at the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC)—a specialized agency of the African Union (AU). In this capacity, he works closely with governments and other partners to safeguard the health and wellbeing of African nations. Dr. Ogwell is a well-respected expert in public health with over 25 years of experience in different settings ranging from the national government, non-governmental organizations to the United Nations system and the AU. His expertise includes: Health emergencies including response to disease threats; preventing and controlling non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including mental health; influencing health policy; and practicing global health diplomacy.
“The story of how COVID-19 impacted Africa and how Africa has responded to it is still being written”
Dr. Brahima S. Coulibaly
In this informative event, our speakers explored the pandemic’s impact and the future projections for the African Continent. If you missed it, please visit our youtube channel to view a recording of the event.
Our History
In 1999, a group of Princeton alumni, faculty, and staff launched Princeton in Africa as an independent affiliate of Princeton University inspired by the University’s informal motto, “Princeton in the Nation’s Service and in the Service of All Nations.” In 2010, the program opened up to include graduates of any US accredited university in order to meet the growing demand from host organizations and allow more young professionals access to the unique opportunities afforded by PiAf. During the past 20 years, we have placed over 600 Fellows with more than 100 organizations in 36 countries, while developing more strategic partnerships across Africa and creating more opportunities for our alumni community to engage with the continent and with one another.