COBIS GSL World Catalyst |

Facilitator Blogs

In November, a total of 191 young people aged 11-18 from 19 different countries around the world connected online for three days of sharing, learning and action, as part of the COBIS GSL Leadership Weekend.

With our young participants attending from several different time zones, they were split into morning and afternoon cohorts and coached by 10 of our amazing GSL Facilitators. The young people explored topics such as Leadership, Social Action, Resilience and Wellbeing.

We asked our facilitators to tell us about their experience and their highlights of working on the programme, which we now share with you!

NADIA SIBANY

The change is coming…

So yet another amazing online GSL programme, this time the World Catalyst. It was amazing to have young people from so many different countries join us on this 3 day journey of connection, leadership, self awareness, wellbeing and social action.

It was truly amazing to work with such bright and aware young leaders. They had incredible discussions with each other in their smaller groups and the power of dialogue and contribution provided a strong sense of connection, some shared experiences which really expanded our awareness and empathy.

We explored our own self awareness also, by developing our emotional intelligence and authenticity. Looking at wellbeing and practical self care techniques as well as resilience and how to stay true to our individual gifts, talents and desires.

One of the best ways to do this is to honour our passions.

The young people in my group shared their passions in various forms and linked that with the issues in the world that they want to see eradicated once and for all.

By combining their talents and passion for change in this way, they were able to create a powerful energy, a force if you like, that knows no bounds. This will be the driving motion that will take their social action into a movement that will have a profound impact both locally and globally.

It is such an honour to create and hold space for this kind of resolving energy and I am very grateful to be a part of GSL and of the change that is coming. The creativity and global awareness that our young leaders have is always so inspiring and it really gives me hope for our future.

These young people are leaders of themselves, leaders in their own right and global leaders of the future. With authenticity, love and compassion….we will see the change we all want to see in our World.

Equality, justice and more happiness for all.

KATIE REES

The participants in my group were ages 11-13 years and I was blown away by their maturity, intelligence and understanding.

On the second day of the programme, we delved into the global and local challenges humanity faces today, such as extinction, drought and the Coronavirus. The students spoke with such knowledge that they led the conversation and I felt I was back in a university politics seminar!

One participant highlighted the issue of economic water scarcity, which she had seen in her country, Nigeria. The issue wasn’t a lack of water but a lack of infrastructure that enabled residents to access that drinking water. The group discussed how what could be seen as a local issue (such as deforestation of the Amazon rainforest) may be caused by global demand (for soya production and wood), and have global consequences (climate change). They highlighted the difficulty with decoupling local from global, and could see the domino effect one decision or action can have in other areas.

Not even teenagers yet, these students understood that to resolve the issues we face today, we have to understand the interconnectedness of them and the holistic picture. It was an impressive and inspiring conversation to facilitate and one that left me feeling hopeful for the future, the future with these young people a key part of.

MAYA BAHOSHY

In Maya’s vlog she discusses the importance of looking after your own Wellbeing. She explains that the only way that you can be a true leader is if you are well in yourself.

LINA AKBAR

The young people represented in my group were between 11 – 15. All students displayed an understanding of leadership. They wanted to learn more about leaders empowering their teams and looking after each other in times of challenges. They acknowledged some of their tutors and teachers who supported them in times of hardship and accelerated their motivation when it seemed impossible to achieve their milestones.

The students left the programme wanting to take on projects which would raise awareness of taking positive action to creating a change in their local community. They really understood the concept of, the little boy throwing a starfish back into the sea, and saving one would be making that change needed to keep the survival of starfish within the sea. This led them to understand that leadership is not all about the bigger picture, which is always highlighted in the mainstream media, but it’s about all those leaders who are making changes be it a small step but a vital step.

They spoke candidly about the issues they recognized within their local community and country and how they could start to make small dynamic changes, either by gathering momentum within their school community and help support charities to further their cause and hence be a part of something that is big!

The young people in this group showed great promise on how they would like to see the world in the future and to take positive action, confidently taking on a leadership role.

KATHERINE WYATT

In Kath’s vlog, she discusses the topic of Passion. One of the key themes of GSL is to explore your passions and to use those passions to make change.

MICHELLE ROCHE

Wow! What an incredible few days, with such an inspiring group of young people!

I’m always blown away by how switched on, how aware, and how passionate so many of you are to contributing to a better world. We can learn so much from each other during this time, sharing a space – albeit virtual – with people from different countries, and from such different backgrounds to ourselves. We learnt about some of the issues people face in Bangkok and Turkey, Italy and Prague. We learnt that often they weren’t too dissimilar.

The Global Social Leaders program invites young people to find their own inner leader. To understand that within each and every one of us there is a leader. First and foremost, a leader of ourselves, and our own lives. We discovered talents and skills that we have been developing through everyday interactions, through team sports, through our hobbies and interests, that were also reflections of qualities that we saw in the leaders that we admired – like listening skills, team work, compassion, negotiation, kindness…

We learned about Greta Thunberg and the impact she has had in the world, as a great leader, we also looked at how wolves put their old and sick at the front of the pack and the leader stays behind to have a full view of everyone. We talked about our friends and family and the qualities they had as ‘leaders’ and role models. Great leaders come in all different shapes and sizes.

I hope that all of the young people were able to come away from GSL with new connections, a new way of understanding the world, and a new way of understanding themselves – and that they too are leaders!

Thank you for such a great few days! And I hope to see you all again sooon!

JONNY BAKER

Jonny has a message to all those involved in the COBIS GSL World Catalyst, from the delivery staff to the amazing young people that were involved!