Prossy Kawala, a radio DJ from Uganda, went from sharing shout-outs to promoting social change. “We thought we can do more, the radio can do more.” This led Kawala to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she worked with the non-profit organization Media Literacy Project [14]. During her 4-month stay, Kawala observed local government advocacy initiatives and supported an anti-hate speech campaign. She returns home to implement a media literacy and training program throughout the next six months aimed at increasing civic engagement and ensuring greater accountability from local government officials.
Kawala is just one of the 58 Community Solutions [15] Leaders who return home this week to implement projects aimed at promoting sustainable change in their communities. Community Solutions Leaders work in the areas of tolerance and conflict resolution, environmental issues, transparency and accountability, and women’s issues. In addition, Community Solutions Leaders participate in IREX’s Community Leadership Institute (CLI), strengthening their skills in project management, leadership, and teambuilding. As a result of their work , Community Solutions alumni from the 2011 program reported helping more than 9,000 individuals and 150 institutions through community development projects.
Drawing on her experience with the Media Literacy Project and the CLI, Kawala is anxious to begin her project. “This project empowers grassroots communities … and there is no other time than now.”
Community Solutions Leaders take back not only new skills and experiences, but also the vast network of connections they have made. They have access to continued mentoring and coaching, in addition to opportunities to work with their host organization counterparts through the Partnering for Stronger Communities grant, which allows their counterparts to travel to help implement projects.
As Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Adam Ereli [16]--who joined the Community Solutions Leaders in a final conference before they returned home--wrote in a recent State Department blog [17], “By forming personal networks with peers from all over the world these networks can -- and will -- create a better future, one idea and person at a time.”
See photos from the Leaders' final conference in the U.S. below.
Community Solutions [15] is a program of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs [18] of the U.S. Department of State and is implemented by IREX.