Class of 2025

We are delighted to announce the 2025 Yale World Fellows. These 16 extraordinary individuals are leaders working in environment, technology, politics, media, the arts, human rights, international development, and justice sectors around the world. They include a Nigerian singer-songwriter, a Turkish politician, and a Pakistani police superintendent.

“World Fellows are operating with remarkable savvy and often immense courage on the frontlines of the fight for a better world,” said Emma Sky, director of Yale’s International Leadership Center, which houses the World Fellows program. “In this era of global upheaval and uncertainty – which drives many to cynicism and apathy – the 2025 World Fellows are daring to envision and build an optimistic future. We very much look forward to welcoming them to Yale.”

The World Fellows program is Yale University’s signature global leadership development initiative and a core element of Yale’s ongoing commitment to internationalism. Each year, the University selects 16 individuals from over 4,200 applicants for an intensive four-month period of academic enrichment and leadership training. Since the program’s start in 2002, it has welcomed over 400 Fellows, representing 101 countries.

The mission of the World Fellows Program is to enable extraordinary individuals, from across the globe and from diverse disciplines, to increase their capacity to make the world a better place. The International Leadership Center, part of the Jackson School of Global Affairs, runs parallel initiatives for practitioners in climate, peace and security to cultivate leadership for today’s most acute and complex challenges.