“Social Media for Social Good” Workshop with Beth Kanter

Posted on May 17, 2012 by admin

"The power of networks, networking, social media, and women in ICT"

On Monday May 14th, Akilah was honored to welcome to our campus Beth Kanter, a leading pioneer in the communications and marketing industry for the nonprofit sector. Beth is a published author and blogger, named by Fast Company as one of the most influential women in technology in 2009 and one of Business Week’s “Voices of Innovation for Social Media”. In Kigali for a conference on women’s leadership and empowerment in East Africa, Beth was kind enough to lead a two-hour workshop for our Year 2 students on using social media to enact social change – a useful topic given Akilah’s focus on community service and Social Change Projects (See more photos from the workshop on our Facebook Page>>).

Providence and Nadine brainstorm on the values of networking

The workshop began with the simple question, “What is a network?”. From there, Beth launched into a discussion on the various forms of a network – your group of friends, a circle of business professionals, online platforms like Facebook – and the importance of networking. Students learned that networking is not just a social pastime, but also a professional imperative: it is a way to develop relationships with mentors, to know what is going on in your industry, and to recruit support for your business or initiative.

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Marriott International Recruits Akilah Students

Posted on May 11, 2012 by admin

After a rigorous application and interview process, Akilah students received good news this week: 14 of our soon-to-be graduates have been accepted into training programs through Marriott International that are specially fast-tracked to careers!

Marriott receives a warm welcome to the Akilah campus

On April 24, Marriott representatives traveled to the Akilah campus in Kigali, Rwanda to meet the 14 applicants and present on the history, morals, and culture of Marriott International. The presentation was no-nonsense and thorough, but when tested on their knowledge of Marriott facts, our students were well prepared:

“Can anyone tell me when Marriott was founded?”                                                                                                                                      “1927″, replied Allen Kazarwa without missing a beat.                                                           “And who knows how many properties Marriott International currently owns today?” “Over 3,700″, Solange Dukunde answered with confidence.

Allen, Grace, and Noella show off their business plans before going in for their interviews

But this was just the beginning of the test. After the presentation, Marriott took turns interviewing each Akilah student, pushing them on their knowledge of hospitality management, customer service, and hotel property operations. The students even brought in something a little extra to prove their financial and business prowess: the business plans developed in their Introduction to Entrepreneurship course. The interviewers were obviously impressed, as every one of our students who applied for this training/career program made the cut!

Students play close attention during the Marriott presentation

After their graduation on August 17th, these fourteen students will travel to begin their 10-month long training programs at Marriott hotels in two Middle East locations: Oman and the United Arab Emirates. They will be working in the Food & Beverage Department, the Finance & Human Resources Department, and the Front Office Department. After the ten month training, these Akilah graduates will return to Rwanda to open up Marriott’s very first hotel in Africa (besides South Africa) in downtown Kigali, projected to open its doors around June 2013. Additionally, two other Akilah students are currently applying for a position as a marketing intern in the Marriott Dubai. We are so proud of our students and excited for this next chapter in their lives, as they leave the Akilah campus to kickstart their careers in the Middle East with Marriott Hotels!

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Akilah’s Partnership with Women for Women International on the Culinary Arts Training Program

Posted on May 1, 2012 by admin

Last fall, the Akilah Institute was

Akilah and Women for Women International welcome you to the graduation ceremony!

approached by Women for Women International (WfWI) with a proposal to jointly develop a Culinary Arts program to educate vulnerable women in essential cooking skills (Read our press release on the program here>>). Although Akilah’s focus is a 2-year Business Diploma in Hospitality Management (soon to be expanded with a Diploma in Entrepreneurship in September 2012), Akilah and WfWI share the same mission of helping women and bridging the gap between education and the business community. The partnership was ideal as Akilah provided the technical knowledge, curriculum development, and understanding of the Rwandan hospitality industry while WfWI lent financial support and selected the program participants. After six months of rigorous training, both academic and practical, fifty-three women received their Culinary Arts Certificates last Friday night, April 27th, at a graduation event at Heaven Restaurant in downtown Kigali, Rwanda (See more pictures from the graduation ceremony on our Facebook page >>).

Trainees prepare a feast in the kitchen of Heaven Restaurant

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Akilah Commemorates Holocaust Remembrance Day

Posted on April 26, 2012 by admin

Last Thursday, April 19th, marked Holocaust Remembrance Day, or Yom HaShoah. This day is a national memorial day in Israel, and serves to commemorate the approximately six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust. Signed into law in 1953 by Prime Minister Ben-Gurion and President Ben-Zvi of Israel, the date was chosen to observe the anniversary of the Warsaw ghetto uprising in 1943.

Fountain outside the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre

Moved by this holiday, and due to Rwanda’s own past, the students of Akilah took the initiative to coordinate a field trip amongst themselves to visit the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre. Thirty senior students planned to travel from the Akilah campus to downtown Kigali to pay their respects at the Centre, a not-for-profit museum dedicated to honoring the victims of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. They not only proactively come up with the idea, but also made arrangements such as transportation and the purchase of flowers to be presented at the mass grave site. One of the students, Salama, was nominated to give a prayer after the dedication of the flowers. The students also collected donations from the Akilah students and staff totaling 50,000 Rwandan Francs, or roughly $80 USD, to contribute to the Centre’s genocide orphan fund.

Students Constance and Emmanuella lay the flower arrangement on the grave; Akilah students donate to the Centre's genocide orphan fund

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Social Change Projects

Posted on April 18, 2012 by admin

Social Change Projects are a very integral part not only of the Akilah curriculum, but also of the Akilah spirit and mission. Our students begin planning their Social Change Projects in their Leadership & Ethics course during their second semester of Year 1, and continue building upon these projects until graduation. Students are tasked with identifying major problems in their communities and coming up with a creative solution to address these problems, using the toolbox kit developed in partnership with Girls for Change.

A youth leader speaks in Bumbogo about the importance of innovative business ideas.

Our Year 2 students are still very active in the commitment they initiated in their first year at Akilah, and are managing some very impressive projects. Here are some examples of current Social Change Projects underway by our Year 2 students:

-Creating awareness around human rights: After working with and receiving training from a club in Nyamata, our students established their own Akilah Human Rights Club on campus. They then partnered with the National Human Rights Commission and organized a two-day Human Rights training at Citi Mount Hotel in Kigali on March 15th and 16th.

-Fighting domestic violence against women in Kimironko: This group made T-shirts and designed them with a message aimed at sensitizing the public about domestic violence. They are now planning to support women in that neighborhood to open up their own bank accounts as a means for self-empowerment.

Akilah students reward the best business plans with the supplies to get their ideas up and running: a juice cantine (left) and chicken farm (right)

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Celebrating New Mentor Relationships

Posted on March 29, 2012 by admin

On the 13th of March 2012, the Akilah Leadership & Mentoring Program (ALMP) Phase II was initiated with 18 new Mentors & Mentees.

Students line up before being introduced to their mentors

The event was well attended, and involved both the old and new Mentors. We have an amazing group of Mentors this year, including Deputy National Coordinator of the FAWE Rwanda Chapter Donatha Gihana, CEO of Serenity Spa Chantal Gatali, Director of Development and Communications at ROC Partners Jamie Boiles,  and CEO of Inzuki Designs Teta Isibo. The ceremony kicked off with an introduction to ALMP and how it functions, led by Program Manager Irene Kagoya.

A networking session was then conducted in which old Mentors shared their experiences and advice with new Mentors on lessons learned and how to best mentor the Akilah students.

We were also honored with the presence of Anne Mortensen, the Global Process Leader of IBM, a key program funder and supporter from the UK.  She made a brilliant presentation on the intricacies of mentoring and shared her personal experiences of mentoring as well. Continue reading →

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International Women’s Day at Akilah

Posted on March 15, 2012 by admin

Last Thursday marked International Women’s Day (IWD), a holiday to celebrate the progress and achievements of women around the world. At Akilah this day has a particularly special meaning, as we strive to prepare our students to be not only leaders and entrepreneurs in Rwanda, but also role models of female empowerment for future generations (See more pictures from International Women’s Day on our Facebook Page>>).

Green Class decorations

In order to properly celebrate, we held a contest where each class had to decorate their classroom based on this year’s IWD theme of “Connecting Girls, Inspiring Futures”. On Wednesday we announced the competition, noting that they must collaborate as a team, and gave them each a small budget to purchase materials. The following day we allotted two hours for decoration, and at 2pm the judging promptly began!

Blue Class decorations

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A Special Video Message from the Akilah Students

Posted on March 11, 2012 by admin

Happy International Women’s Day from the Akilah students and faculty!

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Information Sessions: Akilah Tours Rwanda

Posted on February 21, 2012 by admin

Our next academic year begins in September 2012, and we are looking forward to a very strong class, both in our ongoing Hospitality Management Program and our flagship Entrepreneurship Program. But in order to receive a diverse pool of qualified applicants, we needed to have a thorough recruitment process- thus, Akilah decided to host information sessions around the country! (See more pictures from the info sessions on our Facebook Page>>).

Co-founder Elizabeth Dearborn Davis with students Emmanuella and Ernestine in front of our new Akilah banner

We did not go about this on our own, however; after interviewing many students, we selected four to be our Admissions Associates. Each Associate was assigned a province, and spent two weekends traveling to their respective town to find a suitable venue and do flyering. After much planning, we were finally ready to travel and present on the Akilah admissions process.

Akilah staff and students Emmanuella and Ernestine prep for the first info session in Gisenyi

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2011 Highlights at Akilah

Posted on February 14, 2012 by admin

Akilah received a $30,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Bob Zoellick, President of the World Bank, spoke at an event for Akilah, sponsored by the Marriott in Washington D.C.

Akilah CEO Elizabeth Dearborn Davis met with Rwandan President Paul Kagame to discuss Akilah’s progress and vision.

All Akilah students completed Social Change Projects, community service projects, in 6 villages around Rwanda.

All Akilah Diploma students completed at least one internship in the Hospitality and Tourism industry

Read more about the companies where Akilah students completed their internships >>

American Ambassador to Rwanda, Donald Koran, visited the Akilah campus.

Two Akilah students received a scholarship to complete their internship at a luxury restaurant in Hong Kong.

Akilah co-founders Dave Hughes and Elizabeth Dearborn Davis got engaged!

Aloisea Inyumba, the Rwandan Minister of Gender, was the Guest of Honor at Akilah Night 2011, a reception on campus for our government and private sector partners.


 

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