“The Fourth Estate has shined a bright light on some of the dark corners of his part of the world, exposing bad governance, corruption and misappropriation of funds,” said Eisenhower Fellowships President George de Lama.
PHILADELPHIA (PRWEB)
May 23, 2023
Braimah Sulemana, the Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa, has been awarded the 2023 James and Carol Hovey Eisenhower Fellowships Impact Award for his pioneering investigative journalism of accountability in Ghana. Sulemana, who became an Eisenhower Fellow from Ghana in 2019, received the new Annual Impact Award to recognize an Eisenhower Fellow or a group of Fellows for exceptional project achievement for generating a positive impact. The winning project is the establishment of a regional independent nonprofit journalism organization called The Fourth Estate.
“The Fourth Estate has exposed bad governance, corruption and misappropriation of funds by shining a bright light on some of the dark corners of Sulemana’s world,” said Eisenhower Fellowships President George de Lama. “In the two short years since its founding, The Fourth Estate’s incisive reporting has yielded impressive results.”
Sulemana’s news organization’s well-documented stories have forced numerous public officials to comply with new asset declaration laws, led to the return of illegally secured state lands back to the government from the family of a late politician, originated exposing and ceasing the illicit distribution of fake covid-19 negative test certificates, and precipitated the prosecution of a medical practitioner who used his facility to sexually exploit female patients, according to de Lama.
“None of these things ever would have happened if not for Braimah and his reporters,” de Lama said. “His project exemplifies EF’s mission to create a world that is more peaceful, prosperous and just.”
A distinguished panel of Eisenhower Fellowships Trustees, Fellows, outside experts, and senior staff picked Sulemana’s innovative journalism startup as the winner out of more than two dozen project submissions from around the world in a highly competitive field. The panel noted that The Fourth Estate project is directly related to Sulemana’s fellowship program and has produced wide-ranging impact that extends to promoting transparency and good governance, as well as protecting public health and prosecuting criminals. The group also acknowledged that his work comes at considerable personal risk and has proven to be sustainable.
Sulemana will receive a $10,000 USD prize to support the work of The Fourth Estate. EF Chairman and former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates will present Sulemana with the James and Carol Hovey EF Impact Award at the 70th Anniversary World Forum, scheduled for October 13 at the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco, the site of the signing of the United Nations Charter in 1945.
Founded in 1953 as a birthday present to President Eisenhower in his first year in the White House, Eisenhower Fellowships bring together diverse, innovative leaders from around the globe who tackle some of the most pressing challenges of our time to better our world. Since 1953, over 2,500 mid-career leaders from 119 countries have benefited from the unique, customized experience of an Eisenhower Fellowship.
The organization will mark the 70th anniversary of its founding with a World Forum in San Francisco, from October 12-14, 2023, that will include hundreds of Eisenhower Fellows and other thought leaders from around the world who will focus on emerging solutions in some parts of the world that can be applied in other countries and regions. The conference, named Leaders Confronting Global Challenges: What Works? will address pressing transnational issues.
For additional information, contact Erin Hillman at ehillman@efworld.org or 215-546-1738.
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