The African Leadership College (ALC) Mauritius has once again rolled out the red carpet for its graduation ceremony. Following the successful hosting of Dr. David Moineh Sengeh, Sierra Leone’s youngest-ever Minister of Education in 2023, this year’s ceremony will feature distinguished guests including the Vice-Prime Minister of Mauritius and Minister of Education, Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun, and Julie Gichuru, the Chief Public Affairs and Communications Officer at the Mastercard Foundation.
The event is set to take place on Thursday, February 29th, 2024, at the Trianon Convention Centre, in the heart of Mauritius. About 150 undergraduate and graduate students from programs in Social Sciences, Business Management, Engineering, and Computing will officially be conferred accredited degrees in collaboration with Glasgow Caledonian University. The event promises to be yet another unmissable opportunity for both students and graduates to learn from some of Africa’s most inspirational women leaders.
A passionate afro-optimist, Julie oversees corporate, programmatic, policy and thought leadership communications at the MasterCard Foundation with the help of her team across Africa and Canada. Before taking up her role at the Foundation, Julie spent two decades in broadcast, print, digital media, and development communications. Having spearheaded investigative news television and programming at the beginning of her career, she also conceptualised and launched several top news and current affairs shows in addition to developing the pan-African television show, Africa Leadership Dialogues.
In 2008, Julie Gichuru became the first woman to be awarded the Martin Luther King Salute to Greatness following her repeated appeals for non-violent action after the 2007 elections in Kenya. Over the past decade, she has worked closely with several key institutions such as the World Bank Group, the African Development Bank, various UN agencies, as well as the World Economic Forum. In 2019, she was named one of the 100 Most Influential African Women by Avance Media and also listed as one of the 100 Most Influential Africans by New African in the same year.
As a key opinion leader in driving conversations and curating impactful engagements around African leadership, growth, and development, Julie Gichuru is excited to be the keynote speaker at ALC’s graduation ceremony. Veda Sunassee, Chief Executive Officer of ALC, welcomed the addition of Julie Gichuru to the list of world-famous personalities chosen to inspire the next generation of leaders at their graduation ceremony:
“Julie is not only a successful entrepreneur with an impressive track record, but also a pioneering journalist with regards to the promotion of non-violence and African leadership. At the African Leadership Group, we firmly believe that success is not defined by obtaining a degree, but rather through the acquisition of key skills and other capabilities required to become ethical entrepreneurs and leaders of tomorrow. As such, our educational model at ALC is tailored to nurture those young agents of change that our continent and our world need for a better future for all of us.”
