Case Study: The Mandela Rhodes Foundation

 

Situation

The Mandela Rhodes Foundation (MRF) was established in 2002 when the Rhodes Trust entered a partnership with Mr Mandela. It is a unique partnership seeking to benefit current and future generations of Africans by building exceptional leadership capacity in Africa. The MRF provides excellent educational and leadership development opportunities to young Africans who exhibit academic prowess as well as broader leadership potential. While pursuing their chosen postgraduate degree, each scholar benefits from access to leadership development programmes rooted in the principles underpinning the Foundation.

Challenge

The Mandela Rhodes Foundation is committed to created the future leaders of Africa. It contracted Interaction to…

  • Create a cutting-edge transformational leadership programme for Mandela Rhodes scholars to attend during their degree courses as a core part of the MRF mentoring programme
  • Support the scholars to share and deepen their visions, intentions and purposes and to develop related goals
  • Empower the scholars to achieve their goals by equipping them with practical tools for use in their personal, professional and vocational work
  • Provide scholars with an experience of connecting as human beings, beyond barriers such as race, class, gender or nationality
  • Support the creation of a network of leaders by developing deep and lasting connections between the scholars
  • Give scholars practical skills to develop their understanding, ability and practice of leadership, reconciliation and entrepreneurship

Solution

  • Creating a modular leadership programme, which scholars and mentors from different universities in Africa attended at intervals during their first year as scholars
  • Co-creating the Mandela Rhodes Mentor Programme for scholars
  • Partnering other consultants in South Africa to ensure a broad range of leadership skills were delivered
  • Building a community of scholars who could support and mentor each other as leaders in the present and future
  • Delivering one module on Robben Island to give the scholars a visceral connection with the prison environment from which Mandela led his country to freedom

Results

‘‘Through this programme our scholars and mentors learnt to…

  • Set and achieve purposes and goals, as scholars and in other areas of their lives
  • Enhance their ability to ground projects, activities and tasks within a meaningful sense of purpose
  • Learn skills to adjust or refine purposes as circumstances alter
  • Grow holistically by reflecting on and learning from their own process of development, through both successes and failures
  • Learn to identify particular issues and goals of significance to their role as scholars and to sustain their focus on chosen goals
  • Discover how to deepen and apply personal awareness
  • Learn to recognize where flexibility and creative thinking are needed
  • Reflect on and develop best leadership practices
  • Use various skills to manage and resolve problems
  • Align their learning with the development of their individual styles and skills
  • Practise effective communication skills
  • Work effectively with their lecturers, supervisors, or promoters
  • Contribute to the development of the mentoring programme and system.

‘‘The unanimously identified strength of the program was its purpose: its commitment to making a real difference by promoting values that stretch beyond self-interests, self-development and aggrandizement. In speaking of their initial feelings towards the MRF before having been selected, scholars mentioned the Characteristics Sought In A Scholar document as having moved and inspired them. All scholars expressed a commitment to developing these characteristics and a desire to be a part of the MRF’s vision by making a difference in their own spheres of influence.’’
— Mandela Rhodes Foundation Report

Further Impacts

‘‘Interaction is the most aligned to the leadership principles of our founder, Nelson Mandela.’’
— Scholarships Manager, Mandela Rhodes Foundation

‘‘I was really inspired by the work you do, your ability to bring so much across and to connect with people in a meaningful way in really difficult circumstances.’’
— Chairperson, The Community of Mandela Rhodes Scholars

‘‘I have found Interaction staff to be ethical, efficient, capable and extraordinarily creative. It is an awesome experience working with them.’’
— Rejoice Ncongo, Mandela Rhodes Foundation