Nkhumeni (Khume) Ramulifho
2022 IVLP Impact Award Project: Youth LeadershipSouth Africa
Nkhumeni (Khume) Ramulifho was born in Lwamondo Village in South Africa. His primary focus is to ensure that young people are given access to opportunities so they can fulfill their individual talents and gain meaningful skills. He completed higher education at Vaal University of Technology, where he studied human resources management. He then continued his studies further at University of Johannesburg, University of South Australia and Wits University. Khume has been a member of Democratic Alliance, the 2nd largest political party in South Africa for 24 years, where he has served as student activist, youth leader and regional chairperson, and took part in many leadership-development programs locally and internationally.
Khume led the Democratic Alliance Youth at regional, provincial and national levels between 2001 and 2010. He worked for the South African Police as a personnel officer and joined Holcim Pty Ltd as assistant HR Manager until 2006, when he decided to focus on politics full-time. Khume served as Councilor in the City of Johannesburg in 2006 to 2009. After the 2009 General and Provincial Elections, he was elected to serve in Gauteng Provincial Legislature on the Education Portfolio Committee as Democratic Alliance Shadow MEC for Education.
IVLP Impact Award Project: Youth Leadership
This project trained 262 participants from 5 different schools in underserved areas to be involved in community elections and civic engagement. The young participants were active in their schools, homes, and communities to advocate for the importance of holding elected officials accountable and demanding transparency from them.
The project followed the local electoral cycle and identified the barriers that prevent young people from actively participating in electoral processes. Participants communicated and engaged effectively with stakeholders. Open access to social and traditional news media allowed the project and its message to be easily accessible to all participants and the greater public. The success of the project has led many community members and potential professional partners to ask for it to become a regular program that covers a wider area.
IVLP Exchange Experience
Khume was a participant in the IVLP Transparency and Accountability in Government, organized by the U.S. Department of State and the Institute of International Education.
U.S. Communities Visited Virtually
Colorado Springs, CO; Washington, DC; Cleveland, OH; Madison, WI; Milwaukee, WI; Burlington, VT