Scholarship and Student Exchange Program for Emerging Entrepreneurs

The African American Irish Diaspora Network (AAIDN) is a 501(c)(3) organization, whose mission is to foster relationships between African Americans and Ireland through shared heritage and culture. It is estimated that roughly a third of African Americans have some Irish ancestry, and AAIDN is working to build a community through which Irish and African Americans can connect not only through that ancestry, but also via other affinities to work for peace, human rights and economic empowerment for people throughout the world. AAIDN has received support from Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs in association with its Diverse Global Diaspora policy initiative.

In our world today, much can be gained from the vision shared by great Irish and African American leaders like Daniel O’Connell and Frederick Douglass, and John Hume and John Lewis. They believed that people working together across boundaries and differences could build a better world. That is the vision that we share at AAIDN and that we aim to advance through the next generation of leaders. Toward that objective, AAIDN has launched its Scholarship and Student Exchange Program for Emerging Entrepreneurs initiative.

The initial partnership in this initiative is being established with University College Dublin Smurfit School of Business and Howard University, one of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the United States. Two students from Howard University each year are being granted scholarships to study at the Smurfit Graduate School of Business. A potential service requirement for the students receiving the scholarships would be for them to provide tutoring and mentorship, while they are in Ireland, to local secondary school students.

In addition to the scholarships, the partnership will provide for further student exchanges. The student exchanges will involve cohorts of 10 to 15 students from each university who will spend a week to 10 days at the other institution. During that time the students will participate in specially design seminars conducted by the school’s faculty, meet members of the host country’s government, meet with local business leaders, and be provided with opportunities to experience local culture.

AAIDN’s goal is to create similar partnerships between leading institutions in Ireland and Northern Ireland and other HBCUs in the United States. Each program would modeled on the initial collaboration between UCD Smurfit and Howard University, but may be tailored for the partnering institutions. 

The major component of the funding for the scholarships will be offered by the host institution. Supplemental funding for the scholarships and the exchanged program is being raised through corporate sponsors. In addition, AAIDN held its Inaugural Diaspora Leadership Awards Gala on September 29, 2022 in New York City, and a portion of the proceeds raised through the Gala has been devoted to this initiative.

 As we look to the future, AAIDN has an important role to play in helping to build on the shared positive experiences of the African and Irish Diasporas, and particularly their experience together in America. And while there were times when Blacks and Irish were pitted against one another as they both strived to realize the promise that is America, there were many times and places where Blacks and Irish bonded together, lived together, worked together, and had families together because they shared the same determination, spirit, and values. This is the foundation on which AAIDN endeavors to help build our future together, and for which we are seeking your support.