On the 27th of April, we hosted our third and largest Alumni meetup yet in Durban with 22 Alumni from KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape, and Free State. This was the first time bringing this particular group together in-person and oh, was it one for the books.
With a mix of Alumni from all six cohorts, some based only a few kilometres away from one another and many working in the same sectors, this was an incredible opportunity for these Alumni to cultivate new connections and lay the ground for future collaboration. Seeing the group realise just how interconnected they already were, with only a few knowing one another before the day, was alone validation of the importance of coming together in this way.
A critical part of bringing such a group of young leaders together is also to get a sense of what they are currently experiencing in their work, the key challenges faced by their organisations and communities, especially considering the current political climate and upcoming elections.
By harvesting and sharing these stories, we have an opportunity to have very real and grounded conversations about what is being seen and felt by those in the country at the moment and to come a collective picture of what civil society is currently tackling and to create a starting place for communities of influence to emerge. It also lays ground for exploring what our Alumni, as young leaders in civil society, need, how we may support them and how they may support and sustain themselves and one another.
So, what are we hearing from this group of Alumni?
They are navigating leadership challenges that are complex and community-specific.
“Our fighting chance is to break away from state dependency and focus on the youth.”
Our Alumni shared that they have recently been experiencing a sense of apathy and non-engagement towards employment and educational programmes from the youth they are working with and that this can be partly attributed to the sudden increase of incentivised activities hosted by political parties and the various promises they make. With input from guest facilitator, Simanga Sithebe , we spoke about the urgent need to break away from this sense of dependency and that this comes from having the ability and opportunity to work. We need to focus on the youth and get CSOs to think differently.
Peer mentorship is a powerful and sustainable source of support in service leadership.
n conversation with Fellowship coaches Getti Mercorio and Kathleen Hornby Walsh , the Alumni expressed just how deeply they had been impacted by mentorship in their lives, both personally and professionally. Some shared the realisation that they had already been providing mentorship, often unknowingly, while others were about to enter into a role or relationship where an understanding of mentorship would be critical. Service leadership can be isolating and challenging at times, and it is so important to be supported in a way that allows you to sustain your work, and to support others to do the same. Peer mentorship offers a way of building on the existing trust, integrity, and respect of a community to provide a sustainable source of support for the self and others.
As always, it was a pleasure to watch our Alumni form such genuine and loving connections so quickly and effortlessly, experience firsthand their willingness to share and learn and dive deep into complex problems together and listen to their desire to take leadership of their community and the many brilliant ideas they have for how this might look.
Here a few pictures from the day!
