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To be a Leader Project

Vision of the future

We train young people with limited economic resources who have various social and cultural problems in our country. A program that accompanies them in their process of human development over time, to empower them to make conscious and constructive decisions that lead to leadership and a life plan with purpose and meaning.

21st Century Skills
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Overview

HundrED has selected this innovation to

21st Century Skills in Latin America and the Caribbean

Web presence

2016

Established

2.46K

Children

1

Countries
Target group
Students
Updated
November 2020
If young people do not find their sense of purpose, they will not be able to improve our country and make a positive impact on their lives, families and surrounding communities.

About the innovation

Why did you create this innovation?

The national figures for suicides in young people, as well as early pregnancy in girls between 14 and 17 years old, in addition to alarming data on school dropouts, self-harm, and domestic violence. So, there was a need to create a program in which young people meet in groups by discovering themselves and finding out who they are by thriving on emotional security and a sense of purpose.

What does your innovation look like in practice?

It is an educational project, with a psychosocial approach.
The project has a duration of 3 years per group of beneficiaries. A target group is an entire school grade, whether it is ninth, tenth, or eleventh (last three school years). It is developed in three modules: “Discovering myself” for grade 9, (Emotional Security), in grade 10 “Relating” (Interpersonal Relationships) and “Projecting myself” (Life Plan) dictated in grade 11 during 26 sessions of two hours each per school year. A total of 78 sessions are held over 3 consecutive years at the high school.
The process of implementing a school lasts from 3 to 4 years. Initially, a preliminary diagnosis of the school population is made, followed by an adjustment to the program, then it is implemented in the aforementioned grades, including teacher training in skills to promote human development in the.
Completing the process in grade 11, the results for each school year are released to show the impact and change on students.

How has it been spreading?

We currently work in five public schools in Bogotá (Colombia), located in impoverished areas of the city benefiting 1.755 young people. In 2021 we will begin the implementation phase in these schools and add one more year to the program (grades 8 to 11) including entrepreneurship in the program.
In 5 years, we hope to have tripled the impact.
By working on the meaning of life and decision-making with young people, we have built empathetic, cooperative and social environments, breaking down barriers of low self-esteem, resentment, dishonesty and mistrust. Managing to graduate young people with meaningful lives and a vision of the future.
Indirectly we have reduced early pregnancy, dropout rate and consumption of psychoactive substances and other serious issues of our youth.

If I want to try it, what should I do?

The organization should be contacted to start the diagnosis by making adjustments to the program and train the teachers who will facilitate the sessions. The implementation time of the program lasts from 3 to 4 years at each school.

Impact & scalability

Impact & Scalability

To be a Leader Project is a youth program that helps students in risk groups to develop their social emotional skills by empowering them and reflecting about their future perspectives. This program is highly impactful as it lasts around 3 to 4 years, which means that students and their mentors can plan long-term objectives together.

HundrED Academy Reviews

Once the curriculum and methodology are in place, this program seems relatively low cost and easy to replicate. It is notable that they were able to pivot with the pandemic to focus on reducing school dropout, demonstrating flexibility and resilience.

Strengthening their self-esteem and showing them they can build a life- project of their own, can take adolescents away from risk behaviours. The project helps broadening the spectrum of possibilities for those who think they don’t have many options.

- Academy member
Academy review results
High Impact
Low Scalability
High Impact
High Scalability
Low Impact
Low Scalability
Low Impact
High Scalability
Read more about our selection process

Spread of the innovation

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