News archive 2009

$1.7m Carnegie grant for African Leadership Centre

14 Aug 2009, PR 167/09

King’s has been awarded a grant of $1,680,500 from the Carnegie Corporation of New York to fund Peace and Security Fellowships at the African Leadership Centre (ALC). The ALC equips young Africans with the skills and knowledge to become leading analysts and policymakers on peace, security and development in Africa.

The African Leadership Centre was formed in July 2008 as collaboration between King’s and Kenyatta University. The ALC aims to produce a cadre of young Africans with expertise in peace, security and development that will enable them to formulate and implement future policy in this area. The knowledge of these young leaders is intended to lead to transformative change at national, sub-regional and regional levels. Apart from providing training and mentoring, the ALC also aims to evolve into a pan-African centre of excellence on peace, security and development.

The Carnegie grant will contribute to building the next generation of African scholars in peace, security and development in African Universities. It will enable 21 young African scholars over three years to complete Master’s courses in ‘Conflict, Security and Development’, or ‘International Peace and Security’ at King’s, starting in 2010. These scholars, who will be Fellows of the ALC, will benefit from institutional visits and exchanges with other scholars working in this field, and receive supervision to undertake specified research as part of an attachment to a core number of African universities. The grant will also facilitate the development of a network of select African universities to develop and sustain programmes on peace, security and development. 

Dr Funmi Olonisakin, Director of the Conflict Security and Development Group at King’s who leads on the project, comments: ‘The ALC aims to contribute to Africa’s long-term social and economic development by addressing root causes of problems and ensuring the next generation of leaders are able to develop new policy approaches to promote stable, peaceful and vibrant African societies. As a “bridge-building” tool between academia and the world of policy and practice, the ALC will build a new community of leaders in Africa, generating cutting-edge knowledge for transformative change on the continent.

‘We are enormously grateful for the generous support of the Carnegie Corporation, which will help to secure the work of this much needed Centre over the coming years.’

Dr. Tade Aina, Program Director, Higher Education in Africa, Carnegie Corporation says: ‘The Corporation is pleased to support King’s College efforts to contribute to building the next generation of leaders and academics in the field of peace, security and development. This work through the African Leadership Center and in collaboration with African universities will not only contribute to bringing in much needed African perspectives and voices to the global discussions on peace and security but also help build African capacity and expertise in this important field.’

King's College London is committed to translating its world-class research into practical solutions that work on the ground. The College has had a long-standing commitment to Africa and a strong core of African experts and Africanists, many of whom have made significant contributions to African-led processes, such as Desmond Tutu, an alumnus of King’s and more recently Visiting Professor at the College.

Members of staff have: participated actively in the drafting of a security policy framework for Liberia; supported the creation of a Child Protection Unit in ECOWAS; supported the Defence Review in Uganda; conducted a threat assessment for post-Genocide Rwanda; and contributed to the Common African Defence Policy for the African Union. King’s also facilitated the establishment of the Kofi Annan Institute for Conflict Transformation at the University of Liberia.

This wide range of expertise will be used by the African Leadership Centre to inform, train and mentor African Fellows in areas key to Africa’s peace, security and development. In addition, the resources of the Conflict, Security and Development Group and the War Studies Department, which has a network of more than 100 academics, will be available to support the ALC, which will maintain a small unit at King’s until about 2015.

Notes to editors

Carnegie Corporation of New York
The Carnegie Corporation of New York was created by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to promote ‘the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding’. Under Carnegie's will, grants must benefit the people of the United States, although up to 7.4 percent of the funds may be used for the same purpose in countries that are or have been members of the British Commonwealth, with a current emphasis on Commonwealth Africa. As a grantmaking foundation, the Corporation seeks to carry out Carnegie's vision of philanthropy, which he said should aim 'to do real and permanent good in this world'.  www.carnegie.org


King's College London
King's College London is one of the top 25 universities in the world (Times Higher Education 2008) and the fourth oldest in England. A research-led university based in the heart of London, King's has more than 21,000 students from nearly 140 countries, and more than 5,700 employees. King's is in the second phase of a £1 billion redevelopment programme which is transforming its estate.

King's has an outstanding reputation for providing world-class teaching and cutting-edge research. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise for British universities, 23 departments were ranked in the top quartile of British universities; over half of our academic staff work in departments that are in the top 10 per cent in the UK in their field and can thus be classed as world leading. The College is in the top seven UK universities for research earnings and has an overall annual income of nearly £450 million.

King's has a particularly distinguished reputation in the humanities, law, the sciences (including a wide range of health areas such as psychiatry, medicine and dentistry) and social sciences including international affairs. It has played a major role in many of the advances that have shaped modern life, such as the discovery of the structure of DNA and research that led to the development of radio, television, mobile phones and radar. It is the largest centre for the education of healthcare professionals in Europe; no university has more Medical Research Council Centres.

King's College London and Guy's and St Thomas', King's College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts are part of King's Health Partners. King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC) is a pioneering global collaboration between one of the world's leading research-led universities and three of London's most successful NHS Foundation Trusts, including leading teaching hospitals and comprehensive mental health services. For more information, visit: www.kingshealthpartners.org.



Further information
Melanie Haberstroh, International PR Officer
Public Relations Department
Email: melanie.haberstroh@kcl.ac.uk
Tel: 020 7848 3076

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