YLDP Block Week Training and Graduation - November 2019

About 80 percent of Zambia ‘s population are young people aged between 15 -35 being marginalized in all facets of development. With targeted investments, Zambia’s youth have the potential to be the innovators, creators, builders and leaders of sustainable development. Strategic collaborations in the country continue to identify, advocate for and monitor such investments to ensure every young person’s potential is fulfilled. Every year, the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung organizes block week trainings which are activities of the Youth Leadership Development programme, a programme designed to enhance leadership capacities of emerging youth leaders by equipping them with a unique set of skills required to better achieve their aspirations and fulfil their desired role in society. The block week training takes place more than once a year, therefore, they are scheduled for different dates in the course of the year but with the same objective. The block week trainings engage different professional external staff who train the youths during throughout the activity period. The November 2018 intake included young people from Trade Unions, Political Parties and Civil Society from Lusaka, North Western, Southern, Copperbelt and Central Provinces of Zambia. They are all young leaders in their own right. The participants were challenged to take up leadership in their own right as the future of Zambia lies on them. There was a lot of exchange of ideas through plenary sessions and therefore more knowledge was gained and shared. The graduation ceremony of the students enrolled took place at the end of the program and was graced by the presence of the FES Zambia Resident Director, Helmut Elischer, and notable representatives of partner organisations as well as political parties in Zambia.