Students and tutors from Uganda who took part in the first summer school on leadership under the project Together for a New Africa (T4NA) held their first meeting in Kampala to discuss the way forward.
During the meeting, participants shared impressions and experiences on what the school was for them and how it felt to them. In addition, during the meeting there was a moment to share and deepen insights on Leadership for unity based on the words of Chiara Lubich on Politics and Unity; Chiara Lubich is the foundress of a Movement (called Focolare) which aims at and promotes universal brotherhood. Moreover, they also had a dialogue about the challenges young leaders face in different communities (work, school, villages and other institutions) and how leadership in unity can help to overcome these challenges.
The resolve of the meeting was that before the second training, students and tutors would share the knowledge they acquired with other young leaders in schools and/or universities and the community.
Earlier on February 25th 2019, Tutors and the responsible leaders of the Focolare movement in Uganda who participated in the 2019 first summer school on leadership had a chance to meet and share with the former Vice chancellor of the Catholic University of Eastern Africa Fr. Professor John C. Maviiri in Kampala on the Project Together for a new Africa. During the meeting, the tutors shared with the former chancellor on the strides Together for a New Africa has made.
Among the things discussed during the meeting was about the first summer school that took place in Nairobi Kenya in January 2019. Professor Maviiri was happy to hear that more than 20 participants from Uganda took part. The team further shared with him about the main goal of the Project together for a new Africa. Professor Maviiri was impressed by this new initiative that will see new and formed leaders emerge to offer new leadership in Africa.
Professor Maviiri expressed his satisfaction with the idea of the project and promised to take part whenever his schedule allows. Professor Maviiri, who is currently the deputy Chancellor of the Uganda Martyrs University in Kampala added that some of the staff from his university who are interested in developing leadership and training of young people to become transformational leaders will be interested to partner with together for a new Africa as Lecturers. He added that Uganda martyrs University was founded on training young people to be transformational leaders in the society.
Together for a New Africa started in 2014, and has involved young people, institutions and networks in its elaboration. Since Africa is large, the organizers decided to start in Eastern Africa Region and the Democratic Republic of Congo in the pilot phase and to do so with specific attention to the challenges faced by the Great Lakes region. But the objective is to replicate and extend the initiative to the whole African continent after the successful conclusion of the pilot project.
