The 22nd of February saw the successful launch of a life-changing initiative; the Roberta Annan Scholarship. The scholarship named after our founder, Roberta Annan is a partnership with the prestigious Condé Nast College of Fashion & Design and the Center for International African Fashion Education(CIAFE).
The scholarship is a two-part program which will fund a new student each year to study at the college. The successful candidate will take the College’s Foundation Course and then move on to a BA in Fashion Communication & Industry Practice. Their tuition fees and living expenses will be included in the scholarship grant.
The launch event included an “In-Conversation” with Roberta Annan and Emily Chan, Sustainability Editor, British Vogue. They talked about the reasons behind Roberta’s scholarship.
Roberta Annan says, “This is a wonderful opportunity for some truly creative and entrepreneurial individuals from Africa to be able to study at one of the most prestigious fashion colleges in the world. Africa is overflowing with creative young people with drive and vision, and this scholarship will change not only their lives, but the lives of the people in the communities where they will hopefully launch great businesses, armed with this training. I’m very proud and optimistic that this partnership will make a real difference.”
Along with the Roberta Annan Scholarship, a second initiative was launched, Global Fashion Perspectives. The CEO of the College, Nick Isles provided an insight into what this initiative, saying “The idea is to explore ways to bring about new collaborations in the fashion industry through bringing together views from diverse global and regional voices. The aim of the program is to exchange knowledge, develop thinking, influence attitudes and policy and increase understanding. There will be a lot of elements to this including events, symposia, research, publishing, student engagement, new curricula, and new policy ideas. One of the first things to happen, and this is really exciting for us, is the launch of a bespoke trio online programs created for and targeted specifically at Sub-Saharan Africa. These course modules will be about, Styling & Creative Direction, The Business of Luxury, and Digital Content Creation & Contemporary Marketing Strategies.”
The programs are being developed with the African Fashion Foundation and the Centre for International African Fashion (CIAFE) and will marketed specifically to the African fashion and media industries and the professionals who work therein. The program will be heavily discounted to be affordable for potential candidates from the Sub-Saharan region.
