Kofi Annan Scholarships: a life-changing year

In 2020, Mansfield was delighted to welcome its first cohort of Kofi Annan Scholars on the WeidenfeldHoffmann graduate programme. Named after the former Secretary-General of the United Nations and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Kofi Annan (1938-2018), these scholarships seek to provide exceptional university graduates from developing and emerging economies with the opportunity to study at Oxford. At Mansfield, we are grateful to alumnus Jan Fischer (PPE, 1989) for his generous support of the Kofi Annan Scholarships, and to the Kofi Annan Foundation for enabling this inspiring association. Kofi Annan Scholar Sarani Jayawardena (MSc Evidence Based Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation, 2020) reflects upon her experience of living and working at Mansfield.

Looking back at his life, the inventor Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) made a now well-known observation: ‘how subtle are the influences that shape our destinies’.

Winning a scholarship to Oxford was never going to be a subtle influence on my life. This University is the pinnacle of so many academic aspirations, the gateway to so many dreams, the home of so much learning and creativity. A scholarship to study here was always going to be life changing. I knew that back in May 2020, when I was awarded a Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Scholarship to study Evidence Based Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation at Oxford’s Department of Social Policy and Intervention.

Of course, I didn’t know then just how actively the Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Trust (WHT) sets out to transform lives. The WHT doesn’t only fund its cohort, it creates a community of scholars, leaders, and friends. Throughout the year, we were thrust into a series of challenges – discussing moral philosophy, building and pitching social enterprises, developing our skills in negotiation, debating, and public speaking. The year-long leadership programme is a how-to manual in building effective, ethical leaders. It is a fantastic experience – but again, far from a subtle impact on one’s life. Why then, you may wonder, did I start this reflection with Tesla’s quote?

The simple thing that I know completely changed my life at Oxford was being a part of the WHT cohort at Mansfield College, as a 2020/21 Kofi Annan Scholar.

Every Oxford college has its own story: centuries of history here, a beautiful chapel there, a notable alumnus or two. Mansfield shares many of these attractions of course. But its particular charm is more intangible and perhaps infinitely more precious: its values. Oxford is undeniably an elitist place, and to be part of a college that is persistently and practically making the University more accessible for students of all backgrounds and walks of life is a point of warmth and pride for me.

Yet, you may ask – what can culture do for you in the years of Covid? How can an institution you have only recently joined matter in a year beset by social distancing and seemingly never-ending, oft-repeating lockdowns?

I had the good fortune to live in Oxford in a Mansfield household with some of my fellow Kofi Annan Scholars, and one other Mansfield student. In a year when households were your most important social unit, our home became a family. We studied and lived together, supporting each other through the usual pressures of exams and dissertations, and newer trials of quarantines and winter lockdowns. We debated big ideas and told each other about the little things that made us who we are. We shared our thoughts, hopes, and fears. In a year when it was easy to feel alone, we created our ‘bubble’ of friendship and scholarship – the Oxford ideal.

For me at least, the experience of being a Kofi Annan Scholar did more than just shape my year at Oxford – it changed the way I look at the world, and my place in it. These Mansfielders inspired me to be bolder and braver in what I want to do in the years to come; to work towards a world that is better than the one we came into. A subtle influence, but a destiny changed. My gratitude to them will last a lifetime – as I am sure our friendship will.

‘In a year when households were your most important social unit, our home became a family.’