JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA – The McCain Institute at Arizona State University’s (ASU) McCain Global Leaders (MGL) program completed the second stop of its four-country Changemaker Tour July 25 – 29 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The five-day tour included seven of the 26 total fellows in the 2022 McCain Global Leaders cohort. Participants in the Africa/MENA cohort came from Zimbabwe, Liberia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Iraq and Palestine.
“With a focus on peace, security and reconciliation, our McCain Global Leaders engaged in meaningful dialogues and brainstormed ideas to invoke action and continue to follow in the footsteps of Senator John McCain in fighting for a cause greater than oneself,” said Scott Nemeth, McCain Institute senior program manager for global leadership programs.
Focusing on the tour’s theme of providing peace and security through understanding and reconciliation, activities during the Changemaker Tour included a partnership with the Amani Institute. The fellows met with U.S. Embassy in Pretoria staff and visited the Apartheid Museum, Mandela House, Hector Peterson Museum and the Constitutional Hull Human Rights Precinct. Alongside these experiences, participants engaged with the Kliptown Youth Program which provides critical community services to a population of around 40,000 with an unemployment rate of 85%.
The cohort received impactful insight from MGL Global Advisory Council member and McCain Institute Trustee Elissa Massimino on leadership in South Africa and the peace and reconciliation processes.
“It’s such a privilege to join McCain Global Leaders in South Africa. Senator McCain always loved to be with those taking risks to move their societies forward,” said Elissa Massimino.
The next stop on the Changemaker Tour is Bogotá, Columbia with the Africa/MENA Cohort of McCain Global Leaders. Follow the Western Hemisphere cohort and their time in Bogotá on the McCain Institute’s Instagram and Twitter.