Hillary Clinton meets the first cohort of the Hillary Rodham Clinton Scholarship programme at Swansea University

The university launched the scholarship programme in partnership with Sky earlier this year, and five exceptional individuals were selected over the summer and granted a fully-funded, postgraduate, one-year scholarship to study at Swansea University’s Hillary Rodham Clinton School of Law.

The scholarships aim to support the next generation of leaders committed to addressing urgent global challenges, including the rights and protection of children online, the climate crisis and cyber security. 

During the seminar, the scholars discussed their areas of research with Mrs Clinton, and shared their hopes and ambitions for the future. They also had the opportunity to ask Mrs Clinton about her own experiences of working as a politician, diplomat and lawyer.

The Global Challenges scholars include:

• Otgontuya Davaanyam is a 28-year-old qualified lawyer from Mongolia. She is currently participating in the Women in International Law mentorship programme arranged by the American Society of International Law, and is working as an intern for Fifty Eight, which conducts research into modern slavery and child labour in supply chains. She hopes to develop her research into modern slavery through the Global Challenges programme, and use the skills she will gain from the programme to promote human rights in her home country.

• Angharad Devereux, 26, who grew up in Swansea, holds degrees in Human, Social and Political Sciences from the University of Cambridge, and a master’s in Global Politics from the London School of Economics. Her area of focus for the Global Challenges programme is protecting children from online harms, and she is currently undertaking a review of strategy to prevent online radicalisation with colleagues in the School of Law.

• Ruwadzano Patience Makumbe, 27, is a Zimbabwean human rights lawyer. Prior to embarking on the Global Challenges programme, she was the Strategic Impact Litigation Specialist for the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum. Ruwadzano most recently worked on a major case challenging the shutting down of the internet by the government of Zimbabwe as a violation of digital rights and freedom of expression. Her focus for the Global Challenges programme is human rights law.

• Twenty-three-year-old Charlotte Morgan from Aberdare is a Cardiff University graduate who has an extensive history of volunteering, and currently undertakes a number of voluntary roles, including with Trussell Trust Food Banks and the Welsh Centre for International Affairs, including assisting with the Wales Schools Debating and Schools Model UN Conference programmes. Her research during the Global Challenges programme will focus on modern slavery, and after completing the programme, she hopes to work for a charitable organisation which has an emphasis on global issues.

• Andrea Stanišić, 25, is a former project assistant in the Centre for Democracy and Human Rights think tank, where she undertook research assignments on issues ranging from the rule of law, human rights and social inclusion to Euro-Atlantic integration, security and defence. She is currently working closely with the American Bar Association on its Justice Defenders Program, and intends on continuing her research into environmental human rights when she embarks on the Global Challenges programme.

Launching the scholarship programme earlier this year, Mrs Clinton said: “I’m delighted that this partnership between Sky and the School of Law at Swansea will be able to achieve something truly unique, with an urgency that the challenges we face today demand. These scholars will embody our shared values of working together across disciplines and geographic boundaries to improve conditions and opportunities for all, and especially for women, children, the marginalised and the disenfranchised."

Professor Elwen Evans, head of the Hillary Rodham School of Law, said: “The five inaugural Global Challenges scholars are all exceptional individuals and committed advocates for change. They have a range of complementary skills to offer the programme and bring global perspectives from Africa, Asia and Europe, as well as local experiences from here in Wales.

It has been a real privilege to introduce the Scholars to Secretary Clinton, and we look forward to working with them, the Secretary and Sky, and our other partners, in seeking to tackle some of the global challenges we face.”