Cameroon’s 2020 Emerging Leaders Begin Fellowship in Yaounde

The Nkafu Policy Institute, a think thank at the Denis and Lenora Foretia Foundation in Yaounde has launched the second edition of the Emerging Leaders program. The launch was done on Monday, October 26 2020 at the Muna’s Foundation with 20 young leaders drawn from the 10 regions of the national territory. Opening the session, the Chief Operation’s officer at the Nkafu Policy Institute Mrs Fri Asanga, urged participants to be  leaders that are not always tomorrow’s winners but today’s winners that are always leaders

According to a concept note from the Nkafu Policy Institute, Cameroon is suffering from a leadership crunch. This claim can partly be attributable to poor governance of institutions, and a decline in democratic norms, human rights, and individual liberties. No thoughtful endeavor has ever been set up, to ascertain and encourage young leaders to respond to the realities of a multi-ethnic and bilingual Cameroon.

Meanwhile, UN Women states that  Africa has the youngest population with over 40% of the population below the age of 15, while about 20% of the population fall between 15-24 years age. This presents the continent with an opportunity to harness the potential of its youth in the realization of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Africa’s own Agenda 2063.

The research by UN Women also demonstrates how young people are facing incredible challenges and even life-threatening risks, disproportionately carried by girls and young women. its shows many young people are still experiencing interlocked forms of discrimination, limited political inclusion, high levels of poverty, and limited access to health, educational opportunities, entrepreneurship and decent jobs. However, young people are also already contributing to the resilience of their communities, proposing innovative solutions, driving social progress and inspiring political change, in urban as well as rural contexts.

Emerging leaders according to the Nkafu Policy Institute  are highly-motivated critical thinkers, who shall be involved in a three day training program at the Denis and Lenora Foretia Foundation. It is meant to expose  young scholars and professionals to large- scale policy and public service that will prepare them as  the next generation of leaders and public servants, to encounter the challenges involved in realizing the 2035 vision for an emerging Cameroon. The emerging leaders’ program in policy and public service is a unique leadership and career accelerator program for Cameroonians below the age of 35-years.

Fedinant Sonyuy, participant at the 2020 Emerging Leaders program talks to the press

The training organized with support from the National Endowment for Democracy   will run from the 25th-28th October 2020. Attendees will be divided into 4 groups (of 5 individuals each),  and are expected to  organize events displaying the leadership skills learned in the course of the three days training in their respective regions of Cameroon.
They will also be involved  with the Governance and Democracy Initiative at the Nkafu Policy Institute for a certain period and  shall focus, among other things, on carrying out research, writing of short articles, and crafting out short policy-oriented videos that can be published on various media platforms, notably on the website of the Nkafu Policy Institute or any credible print or online media.

At the end of the training session; it is expected that the 20 participants should gain the basic knowledge to write good policy briefs, recognize the need to be actively involved in public service activities in their respective communities and create awareness on governance issues and the rule of law in the country.

Source: Bantu Voices