Bezos Scholars Program @ The Aspen Institute Announces 2012 Scholars

Scholars to Attend Aspen Ideas Festival and Create Local Ideas Festivals

ASPEN, Colo., May 17, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Bezos Scholars Program @ the Aspen Institute is pleased to announce the selection of the 2012 Bezos Scholars. This prestigious all-expense-paid scholarship brings together 12 of the nation's top public high school juniors and 12 exceptional educators for a week of exploration, dialogue and debate at the acclaimed Aspen Ideas Festival, June 26 – July 2, 2012. And for the second consecutive year, in the spirit of global citizenship and global connectivity, the Bezos Scholars Program will include five outstanding students and an educator from the African Leadership Academy in South Africa.

In Aspen, Bezos Scholars will connect with visionaries from around the globe—international leaders, thinkers, entrepreneurs and creative artists—and engage in lectures, presentations, debates and discussions that span a vast range of critical topics. Past Scholars shared meals and intimate roundtable discussions with Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, oceanographer Sylvia Earle, Twitter co-founders Biz Stone and Evan Williams, and author and New York Times columnist David Brooks, among other notables.

This extraordinary leadership development experience is a journey that begins in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and continues throughout the following school year as Scholars return home with inspiration, tools and resources to launch their own Local Ideas Festivals.

"The power of two is very evident on the Aspen Institute campus—it's an Educator and Student Scholar team experience," says Jackie Bezos, president of the Bezos Family Foundation. "When Scholars return home inspired by the Aspen Ideas Festival, they mobilize their community around big ideas in the form of a Local Ideas Festival. It's about putting education into action – creating a ripple effect that is transformative for schools and communities."

Bezos Scholars from the African Leadership Academy (ALA) in South Africa include:
Nokwanda Ramatheko of Johannesburg, South Africa
Eyerusalem Assefa of Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia
Bradley Opere of Nairobi, Kenya
Varishth Torul of New Grove, Mauritius
Gabriel Wamunyu of Nairobi, Kenya
Ryan Findley of the ALA Leadership & Entrepreneurship faculty

ABOUT THE BEZOS SCHOLARS PROGRAM @ THE ASPEN INSTITUTE

12 Student Scholars and 12 Educator Scholars from around the U.S. Twelve public high school juniors are chosen through a rigorous application process that focuses on academic achievement, demonstrated leadership and community engagement. Upon selection of Student Scholars, an educator from each represented school is invited to participate, cultivating a unique leadership development opportunity.

Five Student Scholars and an Educator Scholar from the African Leadership Academy. For the second consecutive year, Bezos Scholars will include five outstanding students and an educator from the African Leadership Academy in Johannesburg, South Africa. Founded and directed by Aspen Institute Global Leadership Network Fellow Fred Swaniker, the African Leadership Academy is an intensive two-year program that develops, connects and supports individuals who will lead the continent toward a peaceful and prosperous future.

Replicating the Aspen Ideas Festival. Following a week at the Aspen Ideas Festival, each team of Student and Educator Scholars plans a Local Ideas Festival that focuses on an issue of relevance in their respective hometowns—from Athens, Georgia to Nairobi, Kenya. In addition to putting ideas into action that inspired them in Aspen, Scholars will continue to connect with their peers across continents and cultures to deepen the impact of their festivals. During the next academic year, Scholar teams apply for $1,000 seed grants to launch sustainable Local Ideas Festivals. The Bezos Family Foundation also provides Continuation Grants to five alumni schools seeking to sustain festivals. The foundation has provided grants to 66 first-time festivals and 35 continuation festivals since the first Local Ideas Festivals were launched in 2006.

"This year, the Aspen Ideas Festival brings thinkers and actors across a variety of fields to engage around the theme Big Questions," says Kitty Boone, vice president of public programs at the Aspen Institute. "It's inspiring to witness these amazing kids and educators in action on the Aspen Institute campus, then see the spirit of the Aspen Ideas Festival replicated through Local Ideas Festivals that explore Bezos Scholars' own big questions."

Learn more about the Bezos Scholars Program @ the Aspen Institute:
Website: www.bezosfamilyfoundation.org/scholars
Facebook:  www.facebook.com/bspaspen

ABOUT THE PARTNERS

Bezos Family Foundation
The Bezos Family Foundation supports rigorous, inspired learning environments for young people, from birth through high school, to put their education into action. Through investments in research, public awareness and programs, the foundation works to elevate the field of education and improve life outcomes of all children. www.bezosfamilyfoundation.org

The Aspen Institute
The Aspen Institute mission is twofold: to foster values-based leadership, encouraging individuals to reflect on the ideals and ideas that define a good society, and to provide a neutral and balanced venue for discussing and acting on critical issues. The Aspen Institute does this primarily in four ways: seminars, young-leader fellowships around the globe, policy programs, and public conferences and events. The Institute is based in Washington, D.C., Aspen, Colorado, and on the Wye River on Maryland's Eastern shore and has an international network of partners. www.aspeninstitute.org

The Aspen Ideas Festival
In a ground-breaking outgrowth of its mandate to create opportunities for deep dialogue, the Aspen Institute created the Aspen Ideas Festival to engage a broader audience in a discussion of some of the significant ideas and issues that touch all parts of our society. Alongside its partner, The Atlantic, the Festival offers a stimulating and invigorating celebration of some of the liveliest minds on today's world stage.
www.aifestival.org

SOURCE Bezos Family Foundation