BOONE, N.C. — Mandela fellow Henry Chibutu of Zambia will deliver an “Ignite” talk during the closing group ceremonies of the 2017 Mandela Washington Fellowship at Appalachian State University.

Chibutu will make the same presentation in Washington, D.C., for the Mandela Washington Fellowship Summit.

Chibutu’s talk “Where are the Leaders? Stand up!” emerged as the winning presentation in a competition for the Appalachian fellows.

Described as TED-like presentations, the three- to five-minute talks are a key part of the leadership training each fellow receives. The aim is to ignite questions and lively conversation among audience members. The talks provide a platform for fellows to share the work they are doing or plan to do in their home countries, or to share thoughts on an issue of importance to them.

Chibutu’s talk was one of three that made it to the finals of the Appalachian competition. The others were Zimbabwean Natalie Tatenda Foti’s “To Serve is to Lead,” and “Poverty among Women: A Weapon of Mass Destruction” by Elodie Alla of Côte D’Ivoire.

Each of the competition’s “Ignite” talks rests on one of three themes: innovation, empowerment or servant leadership. The themes underpinning both Chibutu’s and Foti’s talks are servant leadership. The theme of Alla’s talk is empowerment.

The summit, in addition to networking and panel discussions, will feature an “Ignite” talk by a fellow from each of the institute partners. The audience will include representatives from the U.S. State Department and USAID.

In the event that Chibutu must cancel his presentation, Alla will be the alternate speaker in Boone and Washington, D.C.

‘Where are the Leaders? Stand up!’ by Henry Chibutu

Henry Chibutu’s “Ignite” talk was crafted while visiting Appalachian State University as a 2017 Mandela fellow. The TED-like presentation calls to his peers to move away from a selfish mentality and seek to serve others. He was chosen to present his talk in Washington, D.C., at the Summit meeting of 1,000 2017 Mandela fellows.

‘To Serve is to Lead’ by Natalie Tatenda Foti

Zimbabwean Natalie Tatenda Foti’s “Ignite” talk was crafted while visiting Appalachian State University as a 2017 Mandela fellow. In “To Serve is to Lead,” a call to servant leadership, she exhorts her peers to “…shine in that small God-given corner that the face of corruption has nowhere to hide. Speak so loud even in the smallest of platforms that the voice of inequality has no chance of survival.”

‘A Weapon of Mass Destruction’’ by Elodie Alla

Elodie Alla of Côte D’Ivoire, a 2017 Appalachian State University Mandela fellow, said that poverty among African women is “a weapon of mass destruction.” In her “Ignite” talk of the same title, she said the way to conquer is through leadership, literacy training and access to training. She emboldens her listener: “Say no to poverty. Long live women. Long Live Africa.”

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About the Office of International Programs

Appalachian State University combines a strong liberal arts foundation with a comprehensive, pervasive and integrated commitment to global engagement. The Office of International Programs assists App State in fulfilling its global engagement mission by working to develop awareness, knowledge, appreciation and respect of cultural differences — in both domestic and international contexts — in the university’s students, faculty and staff, as well as in the surrounding communities. Learn more at https://international.appstate.edu.

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, cost-effective education. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.