Lead up initiative

Changemaker: Harerimana Josué

Country of implementation: Burundi

With 35% of the population under the age of 25 in our country, there is an alarming skill gap, limited community engagement, and almost no opportunities for networking or discussing ways to improve local communities. To address this, Josué and a group of his friends decided to organize an initiative aimed at providing youth with the skills they need to thrive both professionally and personally.

The Lead Up initiative took place from May 5th to August 9th in Bujumbura. Participants in the program were young people aged 18-25, concerned about the current and future development vision for the years 2040-2060.

The project provided participants with an opportunity to connect, discuss, and learn from each other about how to use design thinking frameworks to engage and build sustainable solutions for the critical issues facing our communities today. They were trained in design thinking, pitching, proposal writing, and fundraising, equipping them to apply what they learned in implementing their own projects.

Lead Up initiative included a wide range of activities such as guest speaker lectures, roundtable discussions, debates, workshops, and community outreach creating an interactive environment where participants could maximize their potential and come up with their own solutions to social issues.

The initiative selected 30 participants from many applicants across five different universities in Burundi.