If you are a young person eager to take action against gender inequity, Plan’s Youth Leadership Academy is the perfect program for you, and we are now accepting applications. I had the opportunity to participate a few years ago and wanted to share a little with you about my life-changing experience.
As a sophomore in high school in 2021, I was becoming more attuned to the state of our world’s climate, following more frequent extreme weather events and dire warnings from the international scientific community that 1.5℃ of warming was inevitable. I felt compelled to preserve a healthy and sustainable world for my own and future generations.
Eager to act, I sought programs that could help me translate that energy into change and soon discovered Plan International’s Youth Leadership Academy. I was drawn to the chance to build my advocacy toolkit and implement a Leadership Project in my own community.
My Youth Leadership Academy experience was transformative. During the four-day in-person retreat in Washington, D.C., I learned more about the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the fight to achieve freedom for girls online, met with inspiring youth activists, learned strategies for organizing and engaging with stakeholders, and fleshed out the vision for my Leadership Project.
One of my most memorable experiences was listening to climate activist Wawa Gatheru as she introduced our group to the concept of intersectional environmentalism. She spoke about how climate injustice is a social injustice that disproportionately affects marginalized communities and how the movement should center these frontline voices in pursuit of a better world. Recognizing the connection between global issues — like how climate disasters result in mass displacement and disrupt girls’ education — made me a better, more considerate advocate. Knowledge is powerful, and having access to a rich landscape of nuanced conversation felt emboldening.
Building off the momentum from the in-person intensive, I launched my own Leadership Project called G.A.E.A., or Green Allies and Environmental Advocacy. For me, the opportunity to lead a project like this is what truly sets the Youth Leadership Academy apart from other programs. Throughout the following nine months, I was mentored by one of Plan’s Youth Advisory Board members and attended recurring workshops to learn critical skills like fundraising, building a network and using social media to amplify my message.
These sessions, along with implementing my project, were immensely beneficial for my professional development, especially in learning to take up space.
For example, as a part of my Leadership Project, I was set to interview an executive from an oil and gas company and was uncertain of how to approach the conversation in a productive way. My mentor worked closely with me to write out questions I wanted to ask. She provided advice on open conversation without compromising on my values and remaining firm in my call for more rapid change as a young person with relevant lived experience in our warming world.
I have continued to carry with me invaluable skills, like how to strike this balance, in my advocacy since attending the YLA. Finding my niche and translating a large-scale issue into grassroots efforts remains critical to my advocacy as I promote clean energy in a new state with different decision-makers — having moved to Georgia for university and now combating fossil fuel expansion at the Georgia Public Service Commission. It was inspiring to hear this same sentiment echoed by like-minded peers, including my mentor. I have developed lifelong relationships and found a space where I can grow as a person and a leader.
Since the YLA, I have remained within Plan’s network. Plan’s mission resonates deeply with my own vision for a more equitable world — one that integrates children, especially girls, into the forefront of change. In 2021 and 2022, I was able to further my advocacy with Plan by participating in an International Day of the Girl Takeover with AstraZeneca and an Innovation Hub with The Body Shop, where I met with leaders to advise on meaningful youth engagement and provide feedback on their activism. In 2023, I joined Plan’s Youth Advisory Board with two other YLA alumni — and now mentor new participants in creating community change.
If you are a U.S.-based student in grades 8–11 (or you know someone who is), don’t miss out on applying for the Youth Leadership Academy!
This year, the program will focus on three key issues: gender and health equity, youth civic and political engagement, and protection from gender-based violence.
You’ll kick off the program at the five-day retreat in Washington, D.C., from July 21–25 at American University, followed by a year of mentorship and support for your Leadership Project. Learn more about the program on the YLA page and apply today!
