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Alexander McLean (activist)

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Alexander McLean
Born1985 (age 38–39)
NationalityBritish
Alma materUniversity of Nottingham, University of London
Known forFounder of African Prisons Project

Alexander McLean (born 1985) is a British activist,[1] humanitarian,[2] and lawyer.[3] He is the founder of Justice Defenders (formerly African Prisons Project, or APP), which is based in Uganda and seeks to improve the lives of people imprisoned in Africa.[1]

Life and work

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McLean was born in 1985[2] and grew up in the "southern outskirts of London."[4] His father is Jamaican and worked as a retired tool maker while his mother was from Surrey and worked for United Airways.[2] He has an older brother and sister.[2]

McLean attended Kingston Grammar School, having been awarded a scholarship.[2] At a young age, he became fascinated with social issues and the criminal justice system.[2][3] In his teens, he worked for a quadriplegic who suffered from multiple sclerosis and volunteered at a hospice.[2]

After high school, McLean visited Uganda to volunteer as a hospice worker[3] at the Mulago hospital in Kampala.[5] There, he was motivated to start Justice Defenders in 2007[6] after observing that prison inmates were not given proper medical care[2][7] and seeing the conditions at Luzira Upper Prison.[8] After coming back to the United Kingdom, McLean fund-raised to provide good health facilities and educate inmates in Ugandan prisons about the law, beginning the organization.[6][9]

McLean attended the University of Nottingham, graduating in 2007.[1] He was the first in his family to earn a university degree.[4] After graduation, he moved to Kampala, where he created a team of local and international staff and volunteers with the goal of professionalizing the African Prisons Project and increasing its impact.[1]

McLean studied at the University of London by correspondence, receiving a Master of Laws in 2009 and being called to the bar of England and Wales in 2010.[1]

Honors and awards

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  • UK Charity Volunteer of the Year 2006[1]
  • UK Young Philanthropist of the Year 2007[1]
  • Overall Winner, Beacon Prize for Philanthropy 2007[1]
  • University of Nottingham Alumni of the Year 2007[1]
  • UK Graduate of the Year 2007[1]
  • Winner, Vodafone World of Difference Prize 2008[1]
  • Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (2008)[1]
  • Ashoka Fellow[1][4]
  • Time Top 30 Under 30[10]
  • Grinnell College Innovator for Social Justice Prize 2020
  • Qatar Foundation WISE Award 2020

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Alexander McLean | TED Fellow | TED.com". www.ted.com. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Williams, Sally (8 April 2011). "An English prison reformer in Kampala". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  3. ^ a b c "How African prisoners are learning to fight for their own rights". ideas.ted.com. 3 June 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  4. ^ a b c "Alexander McLean | Ashoka United Kingdom". uk.ashoka.org. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  5. ^ "Giving prisoners a break | On the Up". www.ontheup.org.uk. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  6. ^ a b Batist, Danielle. "Unlocking potential – inmates study their way out of African prisons : January 2015 : Contributoria - people supporting journalism". www.contributoria.com. Archived from the original on 6 August 2016. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  7. ^ Standard, Pacific (2 April 2015). "The 30 Top Thinkers Under 30: The Non-Profit Founder Who Advocates Surrounding Yourself With… — Pacific Standard". Medium. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  8. ^ "African Prisons Project - The Rumi Foundation". The Rumi Foundation. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  9. ^ admin (26 August 2014). "From forgotten prisoner to University graduate". Virgin. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  10. ^ Begley, Sarah. "These Are the 30 People Under 30 Changing the World". Time. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
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