“Knowledge is power” might be a perfect motto for the “Chevening” scholarships that the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office offers every year to outstanding scholars around the world.
We use these to help many people with leadership potential build their personal leadership capacity and understand the issues faced by many leaders today.
Next year will be the Chevening Programme‟s 30th anniversary. During this period, it has built a network of over 41,000 alumni around the world. This includes 200 Ethiopians who have been able to study at top UK universities. We believe the scheme not only helps boost international leadership skills but also enables the scholars to return to their countries able to make a difference – while in the process fostering good bilateral relationships in areas which matter to us.
This year we have witnessed an alumnus of the Chevening Programme rise to a top leadership position in Ethiopia. The newly elected Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Demeke Mekonnen studied Conflict Resolution at the Department of Peace Studies at Bradford University, West Yorkshire in 2002/03. We hope his earlier studies have been and will be useful to him in his professional life and that he continues to see the UK as a natural partner in certain fields. We have, for example, worked closely with him as Education Minister because of the substantial support we give in this sector to improve the capacity and quality of education in Ethiopia, through the UK‟s Department of International Development.
For the 2013/2014 Chevening scholarships we are inviting applications from Ethiopians who wish to study Human Rights, International Relations, Political Leadership and the Private Sector. I encourage Ethiopians that meet the requirements of the scheme to apply at Chevening. Good Luck!