2006
Christopher Bradford and Frederick Swaniker
Johannesburg, South Africa
Community Improvement & Economic Development, Education & Youth Leadership
The Bold Idea:
African Leadership Academy aims to create long-term political stability and economic growth in Africa by developing future generations of principled, ethical African leaders. The Academy, a coeducational boarding school for talented 15-18 year-olds from all African nations, will prepare its students for a lifetime of leadership in Africa with an innovative curriculum focused on leadership, entrepreneurship, and African studies. The Academy’s vast network of future leaders will collaborate to create widespread positive change and enable the continent to overcome the problems wrought by unethical or ineffective leadership in the 50 years since independence. Over the past 50 years, 32 of the 54 African nations have experienced violent conflict; corruption has cost the continent approximately 25 percent of its GNP; and 50 percent of sub-Saharan Africans have survived on less than $1 per day.
Biography:
Fred and Chris began pursuing their dream to develop leaders who could overcome these problems after meeting as graduate students at Stanford University. Fred has seen firsthand the importance of leadership on the African continent, having witnessed the powerful impact of Nelson Mandela’s leadership at the end of Apartheid in South Africa. Chris has seen the transformative power of outstanding educational experiences on young Africans, having launched the Summer Academy at Cape Town with Fred in June 2005. Together, Fred and Chris bring a deep base of experience to this venture. Fred has lived or worked in seven African nations, including time spent as a consultant with McKinsey & Company and as a founder of one of the top elementary schools in Botswana. Chris brings business and education experience to the Academy, including two years as a teacher at one of the leading secondary boarding schools in the UK. Fred has a BA degree from Macalester College and an MBA from Stanford University. Chris has a BA from Yale University and an MBA and MA in Education Administration from Stanford University.
Moment of Obligation: Why did you want to create your new organization?
Chris: During a study visit to South Africa in 2003, I was struck by the limited opportunities available to most African youth, despite a widespread conviction about the importance of education. When Fred shared his idea for African Leadership Academy, I was hooked. My life had been shaped by transformative educational experiences in high school and college, and I want to create these experiences for others. My commitment was strengthened in 2005 as I witnessed the impact of a one-month summer program we established in Cape Town on our African students. Our students gained confidence and recognized their power to positively affect the world; they learned to understand peers from different backgrounds, and they became passionate about their community and continent. In the months since launching the program, I have been consistently driven by one thought: if we could see measurable impact in a one month summer camp, what might African Leadership Academy accomplish in a two-year program?
Fred: In June 2003, as I reflected on my experiences growing up and working in several African countries, one thing that stood out was how ineffective leadership had stunted Africa’s development. As I pondered this issue further, I was struck by how just a few effective leaders—such as Nelson Mandela—could transform entire nations in Africa. I realized that the only way Africa could stop lurching from one crisis to another and become self-reliant was to develop more outstanding leaders who could collaborate to drive change throughout the continent. I also realized that these leaders would not be developed overnight, and that an exceptional institution could be created to develop these leaders over many decades for Africa. This led to the concept of the African Leadership Academy.
Gall to Think Big: What has given you the ability to take on deeply entrenched social problems?
Chris: Institutions that transform lives inspire me, and I believe that my hybrid background in business and education has positioned me to create such an institution. I have taught physics and economics to high school students, worked in brand management at Procter & Gamble, served as a consultant to a Fortune 500 company, and worked with Fred to launch the Summer Academy. Each day, I face new problems that I know little about, but my diversity of experiences and my network of friends, family, classmates, and co-workers guides me to solutions. Finally, I don’t think we should underestimate the impact of the Silicon Valley ethos that pervades Stanford University, where Fred and I met as graduate students. The entrepreneurial spirit is deeply entrenched in the Stanford culture, and our classmates and teachers have consistently offered wisdom and support as we follow our dreams and build our vision.
Fred: My first experience with launching a school in Africa came at the age of 18, when I helped my mother establish a primary school in Botswana. I was essentially the full-time “headmaster” of the school for almost a year – I managed teachers, dealt with students and parents, and taught classes. This experience taught me the mechanics of setting up schools of excellence in Africa, and gave me a passion for entrepreneurship. As I grew older, I became involved in more entrepreneurial ventures. At 24, I was a founding member of a biotech start-up in Cape Town. At 27, I got involved in launching another educational venture—a summer camp (www.summeracademyct.com) that focused on developing leaders from around the world. We had 70 students in our first year and it was a huge success. Each successive entrepreneurial experience instilled in me the confidence to think big and believe that I could pull off something as daunting and bold as the African Leadership Academy.
New and Untested: Describe what’s innovative about your new work.
African Leadership Academy will be the first school with a comprehensive focus on developing African leaders. Four innovations will enable African Leadership Academy to successfully develop a pipeline of African leaders. First, African Leadership Academy will be the only school in Africa drawing the most outstanding students from across the continent (literally all 54 countries in Africa), irrespective of their ability to pay. Students from all nations and socioeconomic backgrounds will attend the Academy and learn from each other. Second, we will focus on developing African leaders from the tender age of 15 or 16, while most existing leadership development initiatives in Africa tend to focus on adults. We believe secondary schools provide safe environments in which students can experiment with leadership as they develop their value system and the skills required to compete in the global economy. Third, the Academy’s unique, integrated curriculum in leadership, entrepreneurship, and African studies will be the first of its kind in the world. And finally, African Leadership Academy will make a deep investment in its “network” and career placement services for alumni. ALA career counselors and mentorship programs will engage with alumni throughout their professional careers to ensure that each alumnus is able to find his or her niche as an agent for positive change on the continent.
Seeing Possibilities: What do you believe are the most important qualities to do social change work?
Chris: 1) Discipline to set and meet milestones in an unstructured, entrepreneurial environment. 2) Conviction that your vision, if properly implemented, can bring about the desired change. 3) Willingness to Learn as much as you can about the problem and your constituency. You must seek to understand and evaluate the feedback you get along the way.
Fred: 1) Courage to tackle the bold problem you’re passionate about, despite all the naysayers. 2) Perseverance to keep going in those moments when everything seems to be going wrong and everyone is telling you you’re crazy. 3) Understanding of the problem you’re trying to solve; I think it helps if you have personally experienced the problem.
Which musical artists/albums get you going?
Chris: My two favorite albums are probably Life’s Rich Pageant by REM and Darkness on the Edge of Town by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. But recently I have been listening to a musician named Andrew Bird, who blew me away when I saw him perform live a few years ago.
Fred: I love African artists, like Kadja Nin (a gorgeous Burundian woman—I’d like her to sing at the Academy’s opening event!), Salif Keita, Youssour N’dour, and Angelique Kidjo.
What books do you recommend (pleasure, work, and anything in between)?
Chris: Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela, The Fate of Africa by Martin Meredith, The World is Flat by Tom Friedman, and Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire.
Fred: Good to Great by Jim Collins, and The Shackled Continent: Africa’s Past, Present, and Future by Robert Guest.
Which websites do you visit often (work and/or personal)?
Chris:
Fred:
Any last words, thoughts or advice to other social change leaders?
Chris: What would you do or what problem would you solve if you weren’t afraid? Once you know the answer to that question, put yourself on the path to doing it.
Fred: Don’t wait—start now! Just do it!
