Program Overview

Program Overview2013-10-21T18:45:13+00:00
About the Program

The Leadership Program is an intense three-week team-focused experience aimed at stimulating young scholars to think about ways of positively changing their communities and the world. The issues in the world of today and the solutions for the Africa of tomorrow require a certain degree of dynamism in leadership that has been greatly lacking. In a rapidly evolving world, the Leadership Program challenges young leaders on:

– How to be “change-makers” at every level of the leadership spectrum and

– What it takes to succeed, to innovate and to grow

The Program forces young leaders to take a serious introspective look and to know themselves and their role in the world. This program prepares young leaders to tackle problems with a new sense of urgency and seek ways of promoting upward social mobility in the continent as a whole.

A Unique Perspective on Citizenship

During the three weeks on the program, students gain new perspectives on what it means to be a global citizen and how they can contribute to the world given their Cameroonian heritage. Therefore, with the goal to increase individual knowledge of Cameroon, they will be continually exposed to its rich history, its socioeconomic systems and the cultural diversity that makes it unique. During the various discussion sessions, these young scholars learn from an outstanding cadres of leaders – entrepreneurs, business leaders as well as policymakers. They experience Cameroon through the inner-workings of government, business and civil society and spend time visiting leading companies, parliament and developmental institutions. They will definitely be exposed to the issues of the day and get the opportunity to think and discuss how they can contribute in formulating solutions to the many problems.

A Leader in Action – “Disruptive Innovators”

One of the main objectives of the Leadership Program is to challenge the students to “think outside the box” and to look for unconventional solutions to very conventional problems. Innovation is only possible when people think “outside the box”. Our focus is on “disruptive innovations” – innovations that fundamentally change our understanding of a particular issue. The Leadership Program stimulates their thinking on these issues by using practical and relevant case studies.

Projects That Make A Difference

During the Leadership Program students are assigned to one of three teams and each team is assigned a particular project. If assigned to the Farmers Team the team will be tasked to help devise a strategy for a group of farmers with the Cassava Farmers CIG, to expand the market for their crops. If assigned to the Orphanage Team, students will be tasked to help develop a strategy to make the orphanage financially sustainable. Finally, if a student is part of the Business Team he or she will be tasked in helping the Nkanguu Poultry Farm define a strategy to double productivity within a year.