The McCain Institute has selected Ismail Akwei to represent Ghana at the 2024 McCain Global Leaders Program which supports character-driven leaders from around the world who embody U.S. Senator John McCain’s legacy of serving a cause greater than oneself.

Ismail Akwei is an international journalist and Executive Director of the Media Literacy Development Foundation, a nonprofit he founded to advance democratic values among the youth of underserved inner-cities of Ghana through media and artificial intelligence literacy training to promote democratic inclusion.

Ismail Akwei is the first journalist and second Ghanaian to be selected for this program after Esther Akafia who participated in 2020.

He joins a diverse group of 22 leaders from around the world who are working on advancing democracy, human rights, and freedom for a 12-month fellowship and immersive learning experience.

The program is designed to advance each Leader’s personal and professional leadership journey and impact by providing training, resources, and access to highly relevant regional and global networks to prepare today’s leaders to meet tomorrow’s challenges.

The 2024 McCain Global Leaders Cohort will focus on defending democracy in response to the growing threat that democracy, human rights, and freedom are under around the world.

Projects run by Ismail Akwei's foundation include Zongo Media and the Junior Journalists and Communicators Club (J2C2), among others.

KOD