Global Programs.

Young Leaders Conference

The Young Leaders Conference leverages leadership to solve region-specific issues through networking and guided discourse about community issues.

About the Program

What is it

The Young Leaders Conference is focused on leveraging leadership to solve region-specific issues through regional networking and guided discourse about community issues. The conference is held bi-annually in different regions worldwide and is tailored for community development practitioners aged 25-35.

Over an intensive three-day program, the conference functions as a hub for young leaders within the same geographical region to congregate and carve solutions to their communities’ most pressing needs in the areas of health, education, and economic security. 

Region-specific Leadership

We come to you! The Young Leaders Conference is unique in that it is a nomadic program. Each year, it is held in a different region across the world and focuses on the specific issues facing communities in that area. Participants meet to dissect – through discourse – the prevailing community challenges within their region. Through carefully selected speakers and training materials, young leaders are provided with leadership skills and connected to the vibrant networks they need to tackle their communities’ challenges individually and collectively. 

Background
Kosovo
Peru
Egypt
North America
Tanzania

Conference Structure

How Does it Work?

The conference exists in two parts:  

  • Mandatory participation in the three-day conference program; 
  • Optional participation in the Vision Planning Webinars and accompanying small grants and mentorship.

Three-Day Conference

The first segment is mandatory participation in the three-day conference, which involves daily discussions on community development issues relevant to the conference’s host region. These discussions will be moderated and introduced by selected experts in the field. This segment aims to illuminate those critical challenges that plague many of our communities and devise roadmaps to solving them through regional collaboration and idea-sharing.

Vision Planning

After the three-day segment, participants can join Vision Planning webinars that equip them to build a project from conceptualization to the pre-implementation phase. At the end of the webinars, participants will have the opportunity to submit their project plans for a chance to receive funding and mentorship from Young Leaders Program Alumni. If selected, participants will refine their project plans with the guidance of a mentor and will receive funding to strengthen the impact of their work during implementation.

After Completing the Conference.

What next?

As an alum* of the Young Leaders Conference, you will be eligible to participate in MCW Global’s alumni-exclusive programs: The Community Leaders in Africa Internship program and the Alumni Ventures Fund program.

Hear from our Alumni.

Conference Alumni Testimonials

From Kosovo to AlbaniaEgypt, Peru to North America, our Young Leaders Conference has brought together some of the brightest young minds to map out solutions to their community challenges.

Keep reading to hear what our alumni have to say about their experiences with the Conference.

After going through the Young Leaders Conference in 2021, I have learned many things from cultural awareness, leadership, diversity and inclusion, and other topics essential for impacting the online community. My project is solely based on preventing digital authoritarianism and investigates the root causes of authoritarianism, and builds solutions through advocacy, campaigns, and education. Empowering the internet users and digital advocacy helped me make these skills from the Young Leaders Conference, and I hope that these learnings will help me strengthen the project that I am working on. I would recommend others to learn as much as possible because this program helped me expand my leadership capabilities, meet with other fellows from the US and Canada, and work with mentors on my project, which have helped guide my project. One of my best advice is to be open-minded and encourage others to gain much experience from this program because it can help with your personal and professional development in the future.
James Paek, United States
Young Leaders Conference 2021
These three days were more useful than the months I spent in college. I learned about business and leadership. I learned so many things you can’t imagine. I was able to come up with a vision plan and strategies for action. The Young Leaders Conference exceed my expectations.
Victoire Ingabire, Rwanda
Young Leaders Conference 2018
I never thought I could make a strategic plan, study my stakeholders, and learn about obstacles for my small idea. This is my first time at a foreign conference and it was a pleasure and an honor to be a part of the conference. This has been an amazing experience.
Mohab Mustafa, Egypt
Young Leaders Conference 2018
YLC was the first time I had the opportunity to share my ideas for making a real change in my community. Definitely, the best part was getting to know more young people from around South America. I made friends for life and the networking we accomplished is really important for the development of our own projects. Thank you MCW for giving me this opportunity and believing in me!
Verónica Solano, Peru
Young Leaders Conference 2020
Young Leaders Conference for me was an unforgettable experience that expanded my network regionally and globally. I have made great friends and today I even have the pleasure to collaborate with some participants of the conference. It created a community of like-minded change-makers that support each other no matter what.
Eleni Nanaj, Albania
Young Leaders Conference 2019
Being part of the three day conference in Kosovo was a life changing experience for me and also my first step in my long journey with MCW. During this time I got to learn more about topics that I am interested in and most importantly learn how to write a project which I later implemented in my hometown in Albania. During the conference I got to meet other likeminded youngsters from Europe and I also got to know more about MCW organization and their opportunities.
Nevila Muka, Kosovo
Young Leaders Conference 2019
YLC was an unforgettable experience, as it allowed me to expand my knowledge of mental health, gender equality and leadership. I also got to meet incredible young people with the same conviction to make a social impact in their community. I am very happy to have been a part of YLC, Peru.
Claudia Tarazona, Peru
Young Leaders Conference 2020

Vision Statements

Youth become agents of social change through leading social enterprises.
Abdallah Hanbak, Egypt
A generation of Egyptian youth who are politically aware.
Heba Khaled, Egypt
A world where the waste is turned into potential.
Almohtadey Metwaly, Egypt