Foretia Foundation empowers youth with leadership skills.

The immersion programme which ran from August 18 to 20, is organised by the Denis & Lenora Foretia Foundation, through its think tank, Nkafu Policy Institute. 

According to Solange Dabou, co-lead of the 2024 Emerging Leaders Programme and Research Associate at the Nkafu Policy Institute, the main objective of the programme is to empower young Cameroonians with leadership potential to enable them better impact their communities. 

“We want to give them the skills, knowledge and competencies that will help them to drive a positive change within their communities. The programme for this three-day capacity building has different sessions covering several aspects of leadership like public speaking, understanding democratic standards and principles, policy analysis, moral leadership and amongst others,” Dabou told The Guardian Post. 

The research associate further explained that at the end of the training, the cohorts will each develop a community project to be implemented with the support of the Foretia foundation. 

Besides being affiliated to the Governance and Democracy Division of the Nkafu Policy Institute, Dabou noted that the trainees will engage in a one-year commitment with the foundation where they will contribute to the vision of the Foretia foundation which is to catalyse Africa’s economic transformation. 

Selection process

Going by the programme, the 2024 cohort represents a diverse group of talented individuals under the age of 35 years who have demonstrated remarkable leadership skills and a strong commitment to driving positive change in Cameroon. 

“Selected from a competitive pool of applicants, these emerging leaders have shown experience in team leadership, a deep understanding of Cameroon’s history and geopolitical complexity, and a proven track record in community engagement,” said the programme.

The application process included over 200 applicants from across the ten regions of the country. 

Enter facilitator

Going by one of the facilitators of the 2024 Emerging Leaders Programme, Dr Jean Cedric Kouam, it is important to equip the emerging leaders on how to engage in the elaboration of public policies, the stakeholders and adoption.

“Sometimes we think that public policy concerns only governments but it was important to inform them that they need to consider themselves as stakeholders in the elaboration of public policies and that they have to engage in the drafting of such policies,” Dr Kouam explained. 

He added that: “We educated them what a public policy is, the stakeholders in the process and what are the processes and approaches to having public policies”. 

He added that: “Even if government does not want them to participate in the adoption of the public policies, they need to push themselves and to do this, they need to meet the right persons, make their message clear enough, strengthen advocacy with policy makers, have face-to-face meetings, and sustain relations with policy makers”. 

Participant praise initiative

The initiative of empowering the young emerging leaders for greater impact in their different communities has been saluted by the cohort who describe it as transformative. 

“With the sessions we had so far, it has enhanced my capacity to build peace in my community and help young girls who inspire to be leaders,” Caltime Abdurahaman, a participant from the North West Region, said, adding that “for me it is a transformative journey which will not only help me but others who look up to me”. 

On her part, Fadimatou Djaouro Dairou, a youth leader from the North Region, expressed her delight to be amongst the 20 emerging leaders retained for the programme. 

“It’s a dream that is becoming a reality because I love to be amongst leaders like myself to learn and make my own contribution. I have learned a lot through the different presentations on networking, qualities of a good leader, crisis management, peace building, and branding oneself online and offline,” she stated. 

Similarly, Graphlain Wobyeb, a computer and mining engineering student at the University of Bamenda, appraised the programme.

“I have met top-notch people who have taught us on how to go about with our activities as a leader,” the cohort who is passionate about creating opportunities, promoting education and peace, and advocating for the rights of the underprivileged, mentioned.

“We were taught on how to impact and influence the audience to follow one’s presentation as a public speaker. Participating in this programme has been one of the greatest things I’ve done so far and I thank the organisers,” Wobyeb said.

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue No:3204 Tuesday August 20, 2024