Second Annual Leadership Development Seminar for Afro-Colombian and Indigenous Fulbright Scholars

The Second Annual Leadership Development Seminar for Afro-Colombian and Indigenous Fulbright Scholars, hosted jointly by Phelps Stokes and Fulbright-Colombia, took place in Bogota in January, 2010. 

Fifteen Fulbright Scholars and five Martin Luther King Scholars participated in the Seminar, which was held from the 26^th to the 29^th of January, 2010, in Bogota.  The Scholars ranged in age from 18 to 48 and came from various Afro-Colombian and indigenous regions of the country, including San Andres island, as well as major Colombian cities.  Among the universities that were represented at the Seminar were the National University of Colombia, los Andes University, the University of Cartagena, the University of Chocó, and the University of Medellin.  These Fulbright Scholars are currently in the process of applying to Master’s and Doctoral programs in the United States, and will begin their studies in the United States this fall. 

The Seminar touched on various subjects relevant to the leadership development and upcoming transition facing the Fulbright Scholars.  They were introduced to subjects such as Afro-Colombian and Indigenous history, the basic elements of leadership, conflict resolution and coalition building, and US-Colombia relations.  The different lectures and discussions were led by established leaders from both Colombia and the United States, such as General Luis Alberto Moore of the Colombian National Police; Dr. Rosa Garcia, the Director for Afro-Colombian Issues at the Ministry of the Interior; Dr. Alfonso Munera of the University of Cartagena and former Colombian Ambassador to Jamaica; Dr. Traxon Rachell of Walsh University; Dr. William Smith of Wheelock College; and Ms. Heather Dawn Thompson of the Cheyenne River Sioux and former Policy Director for the National Council of American Indians.

The Seminar was a resounding success and received media coverage from El Tiempo, Colombia’s foremost newspaper; RCN TV, a major Colombian television news outlet; and NTN 24, a regional television news outlet that broadcasts throughout the hemisphere.  The Third Annual Seminar will take place in Bogota in December of this year.  

Fulbright Scholar Lincoln Bent was featured on eltiempo.com, the online edition of Colombia’s most important newspaper.  He is a Raizal, which means that he is from Anglophone San Andres Island in the Caribbean Sea. You can also watch a brief interview with Lincoln below.