CDA Lentz's Remarks at Opening Ceremony of Tanzania NextGen Leaders Fellowship

Mabibi na Mabwana, Waheshimiwa. (Ladies and Gentlemen, Distinguished Guests.)
Habari za asubuhi. (Good morning.)
Ni heshima kuwa nanyi. (It is an honor to be with you.)

I look out across this room, at all of you, and I see passion, hope, excitement, and the faces of leaders—not just of the future—but of the present.

As I understand it, you were all chosen for this intensive fellowship because you have already demonstrated your potential to lead and inspire others. You have already proven yourselves—and now this amazing program, the Tanzania NextGen Leaders Fellowship, spearheaded by Mr. Joseph Brighton Malekela, is prepared to give you the training, the connections, and the mentorship to take it to the next level.

I want to commend the work of Joseph Malekela and Neema Chusi for their vision, and the African Leadership Initiatives for Impact and HakiElimu for doing the innovative, hard work—day in and day out—of "partnership and movement building," as HakiElimu says on its website. I am honored to represent the United States of America and to join the Irish Embassy and UNDP as partners and supporters of this Fellowship and all of you.

There are 7,500 alumni of U.S. exchange programs in Tanzania today. They are leaders in government, civil society, the media, sports, and business. And now, many of them will be your mentors.