GSL World Catalyst @ Home 2021 - Global Social Leaders

GSL World Catalyst @ Home

26 – 28 February 2021

The GSL World Catalyst @Home was a virtual leadership development programme that took place over three days, from the 26th to the 28th of February. Over 600 young people applied to the programme via the Hello World app, by uploading individual video submissions answering the question… What is a local or global issue you are most passionate about?

There were only 300 spaces available on the programme, and the applications were of a very high quality, which made it even more difficult for the team to decide who would make it through!

The 3-day programme set the foundation for each participant to embark on a social action project over 30-days, followed by a graduation celebration showcasing all the fantastic impact everyone achieved in their local communities.

The GSL Catalyst is designed to support participants enhance their leadership skills, develop the right mindset, gain greater understanding of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, connect with other young people around the world, and either begin or improve an existing social action project. The programme also focuses on the themes of well-being and mental health, as now more than ever we need to learn to navigate ourselves to changing contexts.

Guest speakers attended the programme to inspire, empower and motivate the students on day one and day three. Ed Brooks and Katy Granville-Chapman talked about Compassionate Leadership. Dami Omole gave an insight into her social action journey, drawing on themes of leadership and perseverance, and

As part of the Catalyst, participants wrote a collective poem on resilience… Please click here to read it!

GSL Challenge Examples

Some Highlights From Our Amazing Participants

After the programme, the participants were set a 30 day challenge. Young people from 69 countries worked on social action projects and collectively spent 8,359 hours raising a combined total of £20,438 through their efforts!

See some of the examples below:

Drew raised $10,000 – helping veterans, children and homeless people with food and clothing and also started 5Help Foundation – a non profit organisation
Jesus created a video to educate his community about reducing pollution
Ahmad used his passion and skills in basketball to teach a group of underprivileged children how to play
Izabella delivered workshops teaching primary school children about Emotional Intelligence using the traffic light system
Harshita raised £48 by encouraging fellow students to dress up for Wildlife Wednesdays

Kudakwashe created a video demonstrating his work in helping to recycle waste and clean the rivers in his local community
Hrishita – started a petition in Surat, India getting 4750 signatures and painted garbage lorries with slogans encouraging recycling
Michael– taught primary school children about having an entrepreneurial mindset
Atyantika focused on educating women about proper disposal of sanitary waste & Kyeong-Min started the Period Poverty Pixel project and wrote a book helping educate children about menstruation

Daily Reflections

A Few Thoughts From Participants During The Course Of The Weekend

“It was eye-opening to be in a Zoom call with people from around the world who came from different, highly varied walks of life.

It was inspiring to hear many of them share their ideas and feelings and truly made me feel as though I were a part of a global community.”

Atyantika, 15

“I always put too much pressure on myself, not forgiving myself for the little mistakes I make and leading me to become anxious, but the course helped me to think that I should be more aware of my wellbeing because it’s something very important.”

Kyeong-Min, 15

Programme Feedback

“I will always remember the live sessions. I loved listening to more inspirational young leaders like me. Especially, I will remember the poem about resilience.“

“I will remember how GSL catalysed my contribution towards the community I live in; I felt empowered to take action and make a change.”

“The wonderful conversations we had in our team. Despite being from different parts of the world, we managed to relate and learn from each other which was, definitely the most amazing part.”

“Everyone’s passion and dedication towards creating global change. I found it very inspiring, and it fuelled me to work hard on my independent challenge.”

“I will remember the love and passion during discussions, that encouraged me to become a better social leader, and made me believe in my power to influence other people.”

“One thing I will always remember is the realisation I had of the power of people and specifically us youngsters. Each of the three sessions helped me to understand how connections and communication as well as certain common goals can make an impact on society and plant seeds for change.”

The Delivery Team!

This Catalyst was facilitated by our wonderful experienced Future Foundations coaches, Nadia Sibany, Katie Rees, Shane Franklin, Jason Moore and Michelle Roche. They were supported by moderators by Zhane Hope, Jess Kemp, Joy Yambasu and Milly Dobson.