ILT enhances capacity of young people in leadership for the SDGs

34 young people (18 male, 16 female) from 23 African countries took part in the Regional International Leadership Training (ILT) held from 2 to 6 August 2024 on the sidelines of the 9th Africa Scout Jamboree in Gitega, Burundi. The participants, supported by a team of adults coaches, mentors, contributors and guests, came from Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Comoros, Congo Brazzaville, Cote d’Ivoire, DR Congo, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Tanzania, and Zambia.

The ILT aims to enhance youth leadership across Africa by equipping Scouts and young leaders with skills and competencies in Scouting values, leadership, project management, communication and advocacy, community mobilization, ethical decision-making, team development, monitoring and evaluation, and knowledge on Sustainable Development Goals enabling them to effectively contribute to the development of their communities and countries. It builds on similar trainings held previously and the Developing Leadership in Young People in Africa project that has been supporting and developing young leaders that have gone on to take leadership roles in the community, their NSOs and even at the regional levels.

The trainers noted the participants’ excitement about the knowledge, skills, and experiences they were receiving at the training. Meeting with participants from other countries and sharing experiences and solutions to the challenges they face as young leaders made them acquire more knowledge about what's happening in the continent. “As trainers, what we aim is to share with them our experiences, to share with them some notions about leadership, to help them know, discover their leadership, to shape it in order to become better leaders for the community, for themselves in their own life, and also for Scouting,” said Marie-Annick Ng’uessan an ILT mentor from Cote d’Ivoire.

Reflecting on the importance of preparing young people to take up leadership[ roles at all levels, Peter Ampumuza, a Youth Advisor to the Africa Scout Committee  believes that in order for our movement to grow exponentially, and in order for us to continue to have more people that play an active role in society, it is incumbent upon the Scout movement or any organization to train its young people to take on leadership, because it is leadership that drives the change that we deserve.

“The young people must rise and take up their spaces. It is us that will effect the change that we want to see. So, if we just sit back, it might be hard for us to have our voices heard. That is why we need to be active when it comes to advocacy, and to ensure that the policies that are in our communities and our countries are policies that are not only favour the young people, but promote an inclusive society where all the young people can rise up and fully utilize and exploit their God-given potential,” he encouraged young people.

Besides attending the training, the young people had the double chance to also join the 9th Africa Scout Jamboree, which was officially opened by H.E. Evariste Ndayishimiye, President of the Republic of Burundi at the Bungere National Scout Centre in Makebuko, Gitega. The jamboree which brought together over 1,000 participants from 31 countries from Africa and beyond under the theme “Safe Spaces, New Experiences” to share, learn and grow together in a spirit of mutual openness and acceptance, while placing great importance on the everyday life and interaction on the campsite. The participants were encouraged to take advantage of the activities offered at the jamboree to further build on their skills particularly through the Africa Development Village and enhance their abilities to lead change in their communities. 

After the training, the young people are expected to provide leadership at different levels of their communities, their NSOs, initiate community projects to actively contribute towards the SDGs. The Youth Advisors to the Africa Scout Committee working with the coaches and mentors will continue to support the young people through further capacity building.

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This training was implemented as part of the Scouts for SDGs global initiative, thanks to the longstanding support and partnership of Alwaleed Philanthropies via the World Scout Foundation. Scouts for SDGs enables young people with skills for life and empowers them to take the lead in community development efforts to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).