The Mekatilili Fellowship Program (MFP) is a gathering of creative and innovative African youth aimed at building 21st Century skills. Through this program, fellows will be exposed to learning opportunities, internships and meaningful work while acquiring professional development training to prepare youth for the job market.
Unlike traditional vocational training, MFP adopts pedagogy and creative learning techniques that strives to empower learners. These constructionist techniques are drawn from the Lifelong Kindergarten group at the MIT Media Lab and inspired by Mitch Resnick’s 4 P’s of Creative Learning: Projects, Peers, Passion, and Play.
The fellowship aspires to create open ended, playful, passion, and peer-driven learning while driven by the following core values:
- Inclusivity: Bring together a diverse group of young talent from various regions. Inclusivity is not just bound to the participant selection criteria but also refers to an openness to bold ideas.
- Collaborative: Creating a brave space for open collaboration among participants to enhance quality of ideas, inspire constructive feedback and build lasting relationships.
- Africa-focused: Nurturing and developing talent in Africa to spur a new generation of makers, scientists, researchers, innovators and change-makers who will use their skills to create a better future for the continent.
- Replicable: Adaptable, well-structured and based on a sustainable model to create long-lasting impact.
MFP is a unique opportunity for makers to work on projects that they are passionate about and to collaborate with peers on a global scale while co-designing appropriate solutions that can help us to get one step closer to realising the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).