Meet Our Super Hero

Jean Narcisse Djaha, PhD

Next African Hero Fellowship Director Accomplished & Prolific Author of six books Global CEO, Globally TED Founding President, African Council on Foreign Relations

What Makes Jean Our SuperHero

The Next Young African Hero Fellowship Program was inspired by "The Next Young African Hero: Maximize Your Circle of Impact," a book I published in May 2025.

The book is also the result of long conversations I had with hundreds of people who insisted that I write a book. Those leaders, friends, and mentors who saw me grow from my little camp in San Pedro, Côte d'Ivoire, to becoming a young man on the road to success. The book is also the outcome of a long reflection on my life and a fierce question I have been asking myself for some time: Why do successful leaders often focus on the impact they can make in their communities and nations rather than the challenges they face down the road?

Born in a remote camp in Côte d’Ivoire with critical language and speech defects, my early school life was marked by extensive speech challenges. Jean faced many obstacles on his road to academic success and professional brilliance. Following college admission, my condition rapidly worsened, leading to school attendance failure, a constant warning, missed exams due to not having school materials, severe homelessness at times, and ultimately, temporary loss of hope.

I came to America a few years ago with an ambitious plan to study, work hard, and become a role model for thousands of young people in my generation who lacked the mental readiness, courage, and resources to overcome challenges and achieve what I have today. In nearly sept years, I was arrested by police for carrying and using a gun against an individual, causing significant damage to my life. I would face job losses, a criminal record for several years, and people losing trust in me. The police, after years of investigation, would prove me right. I have never owned or carried a gun in my entire life. Although this happened, I almost lost the authority that I had built with hard work and consistency over the years.

Hundreds of people and organizations, including Bouake Saint Marie Therese Cathedral, Catholic Charities, The Salvation Army, Institut Francais, and many more, played a key role in supporting my journey to success. They provided financial assistance in the form of food, pocket money, gas, lodging, car rentals, and many other essentials, allowing me to pursue my ambition to become a great leader.

You may have heard that a difficult situation doesn’t make or break you, it reveals you. Despite these setbacks, Jean, who applies prayer, hard work, integrity, and consistency, has remained on track for meeting exceptional academic and professional developmental milestones. His lifelong dedication to serving global citizens has never wavered, and that is what makes him our Superhero.

OUR HERO’S LEADERSHIP ROLE

Dr. Jean Narcisse Djaha, Founding President of the African Council on Foreign Relations, one of the rising Africa foreign policy-focused Think Tank based in Virginia, USA, with board members and staff across the globe, is a bold, visionary, and transformative leader who guide the Council into its next growth and development chapter. He leads the Council with an ambitious innovation, an exceptional creativity, a sharp integrity, super charisma, and intellectual curiosity, and embodies exemplary strategic move and innovative collaboration for impactful influence — all to realize the African Council on Foreign Relations vision and mission serving as a catalyst for change and positive transformation by bringing business, government, private sector, and social sector actors together to share perspectives, develop constructive ideas and opportunities, and promote Africa’s interest on the global stage.

WELCOMING THE UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE THE US, AFRICA, AND THE WORLD

It is the honor, privilege, and pleasure of Dr. Jean Narcisse Djaha to serve as the Founding President & Chairman of the Board of Directors of the African Council on Foreign Relations. Working with the extremely talented and dedicated Council leadership, Board of Directors, Global Advisory Board, the wonderful experts, distinguished fellows, senior fellows, and volunteers is truly a distinct privilege. They all represent the future of our great organization and wonderful African continent.

As Africa navigates through the drastic and thorniest challenges that the world of international relations has caused in the political, economic, and business ecosystems, there is one reality that cannot be ignored: Africa is the future of the world. In other words, the future of humanity is being played in Africa. As the opportunities become available daily, the African Council on Foreign Relations under the leadership of Dr. Jean Narcisse Djaha strives to produce innovative and positive outcomes that deliver exceptional value to our wider audiences while building high-performing and problem-solving leaders who continuously contribute to the greater good of the continent.

At the Council, Dr. Jean Narcisse Djaha strives to build on the emerging strength of the organization and its future record of achievements, advancing the institution to be ever more thriving, results-oriented, effective, influential, dynamic, and always focusing the daily actions to its founding vision, mission, values, and strategy.

WHAT DR. JEAN NARCISSE DJAHA BRINGS ON THE TABLE

We seek young people with the charisma and integrity to transform communities, businesses, and society. We prepare them to act with absolute charisma and integrity in their future endeavors.

Dr. Jean Narcisse Djaha advances the Council’s vision and mission by doing the following:

·Providing vision and leadership to the Board and staff, ensuring that the organizational values of collaboration, cooperation and consensus are upheld personally and fostered within the organizational culture.
Bringing visionary, sound judgment, personal integrity, ability to understand complex issues and challenges; creative problem solver; critical thinker; board management skills; broad community and nonprofit knowledge; experience working with donors, volunteers, and committees.
Design and implement strategic priorities which amplify the African Council on Foreign Relations’ core focus areas, ensuring the Council’s effectiveness and generating opportunities for further advancement and innovation as it expands.
Amplify ACFR’s voice and reach, engaging diverse stakeholders and nurturing and developing its Circle of Impact, growing its sphere of influence and the network of partners who collaborate in its impact.
Constantly developing a high-performing, attractive, positive, and inclusive culture and recruit, develop, empower, and retain diverse talent pool from diverse backgrounds and geographies and cultures.
Displaying strong entrepreneurial vigor and fiscal prudence in assessing financial investment and optimizing results, impact, reach as well as growth.

ACFR Founding President & Chairman’s Success Profile

The Founding President of the African Council on Foreign Relations is a strategic, influential, and galvanizing leader who bring the commitment to advance the Council’s vision, mission, and strategy, as well as the tenacity and emotional intelligence to foster long-term trusting relationships with team, Board, fellows, and supporters to amplify the Council’s global impact and voice. As an experienced strategic leader, he understands that as President, his role is demanding and requires bold leadership, strategic partnership building, integrity, charisma, and a consistent emotional intelligence balance with daily hope in the future, courage, and sense of achievement. In close collaboration with the Board and fellows, Dr. Jean Narcisse Djaha nimbly works to anticipate future challenges and opportunities and judiciously promote ACFR and its activities to meet Africa’s interests on the global stage.

LIVING ACFR’S CORE VALUES

The core values are the deeply ingrained principles that guide all of the African Council on Foreign Relations’ actions. These are the values that guide our organization, our thought leadership development, and our delivery to Africa and the world. As our organization grows and grows, these core values will never change.

At the heart of the African Council on Foreign Relations’ work lie a number of values, crafted by its founder, embraced by its board of directors, fellows, and exemplified by staff members in its daily operations.

Dr. Jean Narcisse Djaha’s strategic leadership is to align his foundational vision to the crucial of advancing the ACFR’s work in the fields of scientific & public policy research, development projects, executive education through leadership development fellowship programs, peacebuilding & sustainable development, values-based international cooperation and multilateralism as a new development model in Africa, and network coalition building – and a strong commitment to ensure the Council continues to not just promote, but embodies its core values of:

Striving for Africa to realize its objectives and development plans for the good of its sons and daughters.
Striving for innovative solutions in Africa through honest collaborations, partnerships, and relationships that treat the continent as an equal partner in development.
Striving for positive change by working to leave an indelible mark in the minds of those who believe in positive transformation in Africa.
Striving for values-based competitiveness by creating a strong competitiveness environment in African private, public, and social sectors in the global economy.

Visionary & Strategic Leadership

Dr. Jean Narcisse Djaha possesses the ambition, boldness, craft of thought, charisma, and integrity, as well as the humility and wisdom, to amplify the organizational values and grow its strategic impact. As a longtime social innovation thought leader, he is a skilled strategic thought partner to diverse stakeholders in advancing social innovation and multilateral impact of cross-sector organizations and has a track of proven record of pursuing great opportunities with integrity and dynamism.

Leading Through Innovation, Partnership, and Courage

Dr. Jean Narcisse Djaha has the drive and capacity to confidently implement a vision in an increasingly volatile environment of constant change and uncertainty, leading organizations and teams in an era of transformations, societal change, and technological revolution. Dr. Jean Narcisse Djaha has the drive and capacity to confidently implement a vision in an increasingly volatile environment of constant change and uncertainty, leading organizations and teams in an era of transformations, societal change, and technological revolution.