LEAP - Leadership purpose for a sustainable world

What were our achievements in the last few months?

LEAP YOUth 

Our flagship leadership program - LEAP YOUth has kicked off the 2023 cohort in March with an online  meeting, followed by an onsite meeting taking place in Cologne, on 23-26 March. A total of 37 participants from 20 countries are taking on their responsible leadership journeys within the cohort, supported by the voluntary work of 29 LEAP alumni and 24 professional coaches.

Last 3 months these 37 courageuse LEAP YOUth participants have been diving deeper into the topic of Conscious Leadership based on Inner Development Goals. In this quarter they especially focused on the 2nd Dimension THINKING with the skills of Critical Thinking, Complexity Awareness, Perspective Skills, Sense-making, Long-term Orientation and Visioning; and also RELATING - exploring our ways to relate to each other, to ourselves but also to nature. 

LEAP Researchers

Parallely another track of our Leadership Program - LEAP Researchers has kick started its third cohort enrolling 17 Early Career Researchers from world wide universities. Over the past three months, the program supported the evolution of their personal and professional competencies (e.g. practicing listening & empathy, conflict management, setting boundaries, leveraging their own strengths etc). The LEAP Researchers participants have been also matched with the student groups to accompany them in their local sustainability projects and transforming education activities. They are jointly preparing for the upcoming oikos Academy. Last but not least, the participants took true ownership of their learning process, started several peer groups and are currently planning the upcoming sessions, for example around the theme of engaged scholarship. Whilst, in co-creation with the researcher, we have been building teaching competencies that will motivate and support students; developing new course(s) with sustainability at its core; empowering intellectual courage and confidence and much much more.

Key learnings:

• The value of onsite kick-offs for participants' engagement & peer group dynamic is definitely something we need to reflect and rethink for the next iteration of the LEAP YOUth program in 2024 - observing that building strong onsite connections has a major impact on the rest of the process afterwards.

• We are wondering why the online webinars and workshops are not very frequented. How can we bring additional value to the group?

• We are struggling a bit to keep participants with weak internet engaged. Unfortunately, that concerns most of our participants from Africa.

• International collaborations and financial support are absolutely crucial for running the next LEAP Researchers edition in 2024.

• Prioritizing and putting emphasis on Fundraising & Impact towards the second half of the program brings needed motivation and security for the coordinating team.

Impact stories and testimonials that make us very proud…

LEAP News 

https://oikos-international.org/initiatives/leadership-program-leap/leap-youth/

Testimonials:

"I appreciated the opportunity to not only explore the theoretical aspects but also engage in discussions and find common ground to generate new ideas. Collaborating with nature is essential for ensuring a sustainable future. As my grandmother always said in Turkish, "Suyun aksna ayak uydur, akntya kars kürek çekme," which translates to "Go with the flow of the water, don't row against the current." It emphasizes the importance of adapting to nature rather than resisting it. We have witnessed instances of regenerative nature, such as Chernobyl, where the power of nature to heal itself is evident. We just have to use the flow to our advantage without constraining nature. "

"The workshop allowed me to broaden my horizons and look at topics that were previously unknown or incomprehensible to me. The approach presented was extremely valuable and opened my eyes to a new view of the world."

“I am so glad to be part of the LEAP Researchers program, and each month I get more inspired. Last month, after we had a discussion on the communication of research to the public, I brought it up to my supervisor and he couldn't agree more. With his support, I got to share part of my research in 4 newspapers and got quite some interest.”

Future aspirations for the next 3 months?

 LEAP YOUth

• Reassessing the participants’ commitments; 
• In July we will start the Module 3: RELATING and we will organize and host our onsite Midterm Meeting from 20th to 27th of August (location TBD). 
• We also want to focus more on Fundraising in the next months to create a basis for the next LEAP YOUth cohort 2024.
• And last but not least finalize the first phase of recruitment for the next LEAP Project Manager(s)

LEAP Researchers

• Further develop the LEAP Researchers in terms of methodology, evaluation, impact measurement, establish it as a flagship oikos program; 
• Building the oikos LEAP Researchers community with alumni gathering planned in fall; 
• Exploring the collaborations with PRME i5, UN, 4EU+

Thank you for believing in us!

Big thank you to everyone that donated to this campaign, we were overwhelmed with joy to see each of your 31 DONATIONS and all the support, you helped a student-led organization grow and widen their impact. 

Willing to support further?
At oikos, we are constantly looking for people with Fundraising, Admin, IT expertise to support us in our venture. Do you know someone or you would like to contribute where you can?
Contact us via email and let’s grab a coffee and discuss further!

Last but not least, follow us on social media & stay tuned for more oikos magic and opportunities.

All the best,

Darija and the oikos LEAP team

Links:

• LEAP News & Info
• Read the Onsite Kick-off Meeting Article