Chevening Scholars invited to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
African Chevening Scholars invited to the FCO to shape UK’s engagement with Africa.
2014/15 Chevening Scholars
Nearly 40 Chevening Scholars participated in roundtable discussions with staff at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in order to strengthen mutual understanding of the UK’s engagement with Africa, and the continent’s future prospects.
The event was a clear demonstration of the bilateral value Chevening can bring to scholars, their home countries, and the FCO by ensuring that the UK’s foreign policy in Africa, especially related to trade and development, also aligns with the needs and desires of citizens from its various countries. As future leaders, Chevening Scholars are well placed to understand the particular challenges and opportunities in their particular countries and regions and were happy to share their insights with staff engaged with Africa at the FCO.
The event concluded with a networking reception attended by partner organisations including DFID and UKTI. Several representatives from African diplomatic missions to the UK were also in attendance.
The insights gleaned from the scholars were synthesised and presented to the most senior of FCO personnel at a recent FCO Leadership Conference.
This engagement with scholars from Sub-Saharan Africa follows on from a series of recent events where Chevening Scholars from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Peru, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico have all been able to engage with FCO staff relevant to their region.