The American India Foundation (AIF) felicitated 27 young leaders from the US and India on the completion of their 10-month-long service under AIF’s William J Clinton Fellowship for Service in India. These young Fellows contributed their skills and resources to NGOs in the field of livelihood, education and public health across 15 states in India.

The event brought together philanthropists, CSR practitioners, leading businessmen, NGO founders and the Fellows, who shared testimonials and glimpses into their journey of service in India along with an art exhibition portraying the impact of their work on the ground.

“We’re always delighted when a cohort of AIF Clinton Fellows completes a Fellowship journey in India,” said Mathew Joseph, Country Director-AIF. “Through values like teamwork, perseverance and humility, they address the challenges they face in their service and ultimately succeed in making positive and lasting impacts in their host organisations. This makes the AIF Clinton Fellowship for Service in India one of the best service-based leadership programmes in the world.”

The William J Clinton Fellowship for Service in India helps shape the next generation of leaders committed to impactful change while also strengthening civil society to be more efficient and effective. The Fellowship pairs a select number of highly-skilled young professionals with leading NGOs and social enterprises in India in order to accelerate impact and create effective projects that are replicable, scalable and sustainable. Placed in NGOs across 15 states in India, over 10 months, these 19 Fellows from the US and eight from India have contributed their skills and resources to create solutions that are replicable, scalable, and sustainable.

Three Senior Fellows were also felicitated during the event. Those present on the occasion included Mark A White, Mission Director of USAID-India, Meagan Fallone, CEO of Barefoot College International and Nishant Pandey, CEO of the American India Foundation.

Since the first batch of Fellows, who assisted in the post-earthquake rehabilitation of Gujarat in 2001, the AIF Clinton Fellowship Program has successfully paired 452 Fellows in service with 202 NGOs and social enterprises across 23 states, thus representing a collective force and organised network dedicated to social change in India.