President Barack Obama and U.S. government, private sector, and civil society leaders will meet with nearly 1,000 of sub-Saharan Africa’s most promising young leaders from August 1-3 at the Presidential Summit of the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders.

The summit, held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C., will feature a town hall with President Obama, a Congressional Forum, and an Expo with more than 100 organizations engaged with Africa. USAID Administrator Gayle Smith, Deputy Secretary of State Heather Higginbottom, Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Richard Stengel, Assistant Secretary for Educational and Cultural Affairs Evan Ryan, and Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Linda Thomas-Greenfield will also meet with the participants.

The young African leaders are convening in Washington after six weeks of academic study and leadership training at 36 higher education institutions across the United States as part of the Mandela Washington Fellowship. Alumni of the fellowship are playing a role in strengthening democratic institutions, spurring economic growth, and enhancing peace and security in Africa. The Mandela Washington Fellowship is the flagship program of the Young African Leaders Initiative, President Obama’s signature effort to invest in the next generation of African leaders.

Media representatives may attend these events upon presentation of one of the following: (1) a U.S. Government-issued photo media credential (e.g., Department of State, White House, Congress, Department of Defense or Foreign Press Center); or (2) an official photo identification card issued by their news organization; or (3) a letter from their employer on official letterhead verifying their current employment as a journalist. Additionally, they must present an official government photo identification card (i.e. a U.S. driver's license or passport).

To request media credentials for open-press events, please submit the online form at irex.org/yalisummit/press-info. For further information, please contact ECA-Press@state.gov. Participants and those watching the livestreams on irex.org are encouraged to use the hashtag #YALI2016 to join the conversation.