KENYA WILDLIFE SERVICE’ PAUL UDOTO IS GOING PLACES
(Posted 10th August 2017)
(Paul seen here with the author at the Nairobi Safari Camp)
Kenya Wildlife Service Corporate Communications Manager Paul Udoto Nyongesa has been awarded this year’s Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Award in the US.
His one-year professional advancement programme will take place at the Arizona State University’s (ASU) Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication in Phoenix City. He is the first Kenyan fellow to be based at the school and the only Kenyan to win the prestigious and globally competitive award this year.
At the Cronkite School, fellows pursue studies, receive leadership training and forge professional affiliations with journalism and public relations organizations in Arizona and across the nation. Fellows live in downtown Phoenix, participate in academic study at ASU, develop professional affiliations and friendships, receive mentoring from Cronkite faculty and experience a rich cultural immersion into American life.
Cronkite’s curriculum for the fellows includes the Humphrey Seminar, a year-long course in global leadership; other ASU coursework of their choice; opportunities for fellows to interact with their American counterparts at conferences, meetings and seminars; professional experiences and the Washington Global Leadership Forum, a four-day seminar in Washington during which fellows learn about U.S. institutions, federal agencies and international organizations. The program builds lasting ties between U.S. citizens and their worldwide professional counterparts through independently designed programs unique to each participating university.
The Humphrey Program brings young and mid-career professionals from designated countries to the United States for a year of non-degree graduate-level study, leadership development, and professional collaboration with U.S. counterparts. It is a Fulbright exchange activity funded by Congress.
The Program provides ten months of non-degree academic study and related professional experiences in the United States. Humphrey Fellows are selected based on their potential for leadership and their commitment to public service in either the public or the private sector. The Humphrey Program fosters a mutual exchange of knowledge and understanding about issues of common concern in the United States and the Fellows’ home countries.
The Program offers Fellows valuable opportunities for leadership development and professional engagement. It also provides a basis for establishing long-lasting, productive partnerships and relationships between citizens of the United States and their professional counterparts in other countries, fostering an exchange of knowledge and mutual understanding throughout the world.
More than 5,600 men and women from 161 countries have been honored as Humphrey Fellows since the program began in 1978. Approximately 200 Fellowships are awarded annually. Slightly more than 70 Kenyans have benefited from the program in the last 40 years.
Fourteen major universities in the United States host Humphrey Fellows. These host universities are chosen for their excellence in the Program’s designated fields of study and for the resources and support they offer Humphrey Fellows.
Humphrey Fellowships are awarded competitively to candidates who are mid-career professionals in many fields. Applicants are required to have an undergraduate degree, a minimum of five years of substantial, full-time, professional experience, limited or no prior experience in the United States, demonstrated leadership qualities, a record of public service in the community, and strong English skills.
The Humphrey Program is a Fulbright exchange activity. Its primary funding is provided by the U.S. Congress through the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State. Co-sponsors include other governmental agencies, multinational organizations, and private donors. The Institute of International Education (IIE) assists the U.S. Department of State in administering the Humphrey Fellowship Program.
The program was started in 1978 in honor of US Senator and Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey for his exemplary leadership, his tireless devotion to public service, and his sincere hope for greater understanding among nations. A senator from Minnesota for 27 years and vice president from 1965-1969, Humphrey was a lifelong advocate of programs fostering human rights and international understanding. He pioneered landmark initiatives in support of human rights and international cooperation such as the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1963, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Peace Corps.
During a eulogy at Humphrey’s funeral, President Jimmy Carter remarked: ‘From time to time, our nation is blessed by the presence of men and women who bear the mark of greatness, who help us see a better vision of what we can become. Hubert Humphrey was such a man‘.
All the best to Paul in his studies and no doubt will many look forward to his return to KWS afterwards!
