Class of 2003

Top political advisors to British Primer Minister Tony Blair and Mexican President Vicente Fox, two African members of parliament, and an Australian Internet entrepreneur are among the 2003 Yale World Fellows.

“The Yale World Fellows Program is building a global network of individuals who are poised to assume leadership roles in their own countries and on the global stage,” said President Richard C. Levin. “The accomplishments and experiences of the 2003 World Fellows made them stand out in a pool of hundreds of impressive applicants to the program.”

The Fellows selected for the 2003 program from more than 500 applications representing more than 100 countries also include NGO leaders from India, Indonesia and Zimbabwe, a human rights lawyer from Nigeria, a prominent women’s rights activist from Egypt, a refugee doctor from Iraqi Kurdistan, an HIV/AIDS activist from China, an anti-corruption campaigner from Slovakia, a technology entrepreneur Germany, high-level international trade experts from the European Union, Colombia and Chile and a Canadian Army Colonel who ran United Nations peacekeeping operations in Kosovo.

“Those selected for the World Fellows Program have demonstrated an extraordinary personal commitment to making a difference, at the local, national or global level,” said World Fellows Program Director Daniel Esty, a professor of environmental law and policy at Yale. “Each one has an exceptional record of achievement in his or her field and a demonstrated capacity for leadership at the highest levels.  In addition to expanding the personal and professional horizons of the fellows, the World Fellows Program seeks to provide a vantage point on the world for the entire Yale and New Haven community,” said Esty.