AUP Alumna Amy Sarr Fall Named to 100 Africans of the Year

In February 2018, New African Magazine recognized AUP alumna Amy Sarr Fall ’03/G ’06 as one of 100 Africans of the Year. The French-language version of the best-selling pan-African magazine provides commentary, insights and analysis on politics and economics from an African perspective. Since its launch four years ago, the 100 Africans of the Year list has named figures that enrich political life, business, science, culture and the arts – a kaleidoscope of talents emerge of women and men, an inexhaustible wealth that drives the primacy of action in Africa.

Fall was listed for her many cultural and social contributions, including her work as the founder and director of Intelligences Presse, which started with the launch of non-partisan political magazine Intelligences, as well as her commitment to the GE7 initiative to raise the level of education for children worldwide. Fall is also active in developing female leadership both in her home country of Senegal and internationally, though she believes that “one should be an actor of her/his own development.” She is also at the helm of citizen initiatives in Senegal, fighting for the scientific education of girls.

Fall, after a successful career in communication, moved into journalism, where she was the first woman in Senegal to invest in a media platform and founded her weekly French-language magazine, Intelligences, which has now blossomed into Intelligences Presse, responsible for not only for the first title, but a second magazine dedicated to the empowerment of women, Ambitions.

In 2017, Fall became a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador for Stateless Persons. The theme of “stateless persons” will be one of the themes of the GE7 Conference to be held in Paris in December, 2018. She has also met with world leaders, such as the Dalai Lama and former US President Barack Obama. She has been named as the Female Entrepreneur of the Year by Royal Air Maroc (2016) and has also been named Woman of the Year by the Calebasse Awards.

During her time as an undergraduate at AUP, she studied International Business Administration (IBA) and started a youth empowerment student recruitment campaign in Senegal. After graduation, Fall found success in communications in New York before returning to AUP, where she pursued a Master’s in Global Communications. After finishing her Master’s, she worked for French advertising and PR giant Publicis. In 2009, Fall decided to return to Senegal to create change from within her community.

Fall is a motivational speaker working with young people and women and has been invited to speak at events in schools, not only in Senegal, but internationally as well. In addition, Fall has spoken at conferences across the world, including in the United States (at George Washington University) and France (at Sciences Po).

The American University of Paris is proud to celebrate Amy Sarr Fall and her wonderful achievement.