In March we started the new cohort of the LEAP YOUth 2023 with with 37 participants from 20 countries with an insight into the Thinking Dimension of the Inner Development Goals (IDG).
Beginning of April we had an onsite Meeting in Cologne with around 20 participants and volunteers.
April and May we spent in the Relating Dimension of the IDG , exploring our ways to relate to each other, to ourselves but also to nature.
5 Peer Groups have also formed and are running well.

We are struggling with commitment of the participants currently, but hope that this will get better after the exam period is over.

The engagement is quite low and we are wondering whether it makes sense to host a big kick-off meeting again next year so people feel connected right away with their peers and understand the program better.
This could also help with the forming of peer groups. The Peer Space was helpful for people to get to know each other, but they needed much more facilitation (via Discord) to actually form the groups. But having Peer Groups more flexible and an additional Peer Space has been perceived well.
We are wondering why the webinars and workshops are not very frequented. How can we bring additional value to the group?

37 Participants – 29 women & 8 men between the age of 19 and 36 – from 20 countries & 18 chapters.
53 Volunteers, out of which 29 are LEAP alumni and 24 are professional coaches.

During all interactions we remind people to arrive with an open mind and heart to ensure that they are open to learn from each other.

We are struggling a bit to keep participants with weak internet engaged. Unfortunately, that concerns most of our participants from Africa.

“I enjoy these reflections and I believe they are a very good way to go over the new concepts and help us pay more attention to them.”

“I appreciated the opportunity to not only explore the theoretical aspects but also engage in discussions and find common ground to generate new ideas. Collaborating with nature is essential for ensuring a sustainable future. As my grandmother always said in Turkish, “Suyun akışına ayak uydur, akıntıya karşı kürek çekme,” which translates to “Go with the flow of the water, don’t row against the current.” It emphasizes the importance of adapting to nature rather than resisting it. We have witnessed instances of regenerative nature, such as Chernobyl, where the power of nature to heal itself is evident. We just have to use the flow to our advantages without constraining the nature. “

“The workshop allowed me to broaden my horizons and look at topics that were previously unknown or incomprehensible to me. The approach presented was extremely valuable and opened my eyes to a new view of the world.”

In June and July we will focus on the Being Dimension of the IDG.
In August we will take a break and reassess the commitment of the participants.
We also plan to host the onsite Midterm from August 20th to 27th in Switzerland, but we still need to fundraise for it.
Additionally, we started the recruiting phase for both LEAP YOUth positions and we hope that we have found at least one suitable person until end of July.

Conscious Leadership based on Inner Development Goals, especially the 1st Dimension BEING with the skills of Inner Compass, Integrety & Authenticity, Openness & Learning Mindset, Presence, Self-awareness

We have just finished the impact assessment for Module 1: BEING.
Almost 9 out of 10 people say that they would recommend this module to other change agents and all participants agreed that the module increased their knowledge, skills and capacity to become a conscious leader.

Participants report an increase in all 5 skills of the BEING Dimension: Inner Compass, Integrity, Openess, Self-awareness & Presence.
They also mentioned that several other skills of the Inner Development Goals increased, but some also decresed, we assume due to them realizing that they might have overestimated their level of skills before starting the program.

All participants feel a shared sense of belonging, connection, trust and support by their peer groups and I feel that their ideas and contributions are valued and recognized.

Over 90% of participants say that their learnings have contributed to their personal wellbeing and their resiliance as a leader.

• Impact Management: We are doing it for the 1st year and we need to assess what is helpful.
• When we design the LEAP processes we need to keep team and volunteer capacity in mind.
• Fundraising & Impact need to be a priority.
• It is sometimes hard for participants to fully understand all layers of the program and therefore keep participants engaged.

In the cohort 2022 we have 44 participants from 23 chapters and 4 partners. They come from 23 different countries and have agender balance of 25 female & 19 male participants. We have 66 volunteers engaged, out of which 27 are alumni and 39 are professional coaches. 

Generally all oikos members (no matter what chapter/country they are from or what or financial background they have) can apply to be part of the program. This year, for the first time, we also had some people outside the organisation apply and we accepted two, one from Mexico, one from the US.
During the selection process we made sure to strive for a balance between chapters and countries of origin to ensure diversity. We even reached out to chapters that did not apply in person, giving them more time to send a representative. It was also important to take a gender balance into account. We have more female YWs in our community so we specifically encouraged men to apply as well and reached a more balanced cohort this year.
Since most of our participants are students, available funds to pay for international exchange are often limited. Some of our participants from countries like Georgia, Azerbaijan, Serbia or Egypt face harder economic situations and funding provided by the grant is in many cases the only opportunity for them to attend international projects.

LEAP News
https://oikos-international.org/news/refreshing-the-leap-new-names-of-familiar-programs/

onsite Kick-off Meeting
https://oikos-international.org/event/leap-youth-2023-onsite-kick-off/

Module 1: BEING
https://oikos-international.org/news/being-the-leap-youth-module-1/

Testimonials:
“Having to get to meet people and listening to what they have to say about their counciousness as leaders was a great experience. I got to understand that i was not the only person having the problems i have, but is rather a common challange. This is to say that being an introvert is common amongst us. But getting to understand that self awareness and presence and openness are some of the things that make a being, I got to develop how to express myself. The breakout sessions created to interact with other participants from a different background has opened a part of me that has been closed for quite sometime. This got me to understand that my being is as well as that of others.”

“I will try to be really in the here and now (presence) to get things done in a good way, instead of thinking to much about the future and the past. In my workplace it is also important to be always open and curios to learn new things to develop even further/faster. No matter in which place I am, being honest is the prerequisite for every leadership practice.”

“This module helps me with a current conflict I helf in myself and one of my family members. It helps me to take my own responsibility and showing compassion to myself instead of only showing compassion to the otheer person, which is very exhausting. I try to trust that the other person can manage its own feelings.”

“I think it impacted me in several ways (see also above). It somehow made me more calm and self-aware. I feel like I am getting to know myself even better which is such a good feeling. I can’t say it often enough how importan self-reflection is and how great it feels to also talk about it with others. The module also taught me to become a better listener and I really appraciate that. Overall, I had such a good time during the onsite event in Graz and I am so so grateful for this opportunity and alls the great and inspiring people I get to meet <3”

“The first thing that comes to my mind is the Gallup strength assessment. I find it super helpful to see 5 of my strengths written down. I think everyone has dealt with this in some context, but it’s something else to read it in black and white. At first I wasn’t quite sure what the questions would really do for me, but I was able to identify with the attributes surprisingly well and that was also my aha experience for this block. I was very intrigued that I found myself in the descriptions, although I would not have mentioned these strengths of myself first.”

“This module was very useful for me and I can already see that I am implementing the knowledge I got in my personal life. Especially finding out my strengths was very helpful for me, because now that I know them, I can see clearly the path I should take and ways to use them.”

“As upcoming leaders or personas who find themselves in leading roles it’s challenging to make big decisions. Problem is: You’re kinda obliged to take responsability and expertise to make these decisions but very often you neglect your personal feelings, needs and wants because you priorize the task. I found myself in a lot of situations where everybody was satisfied except me. I mostly put the blame on me because I always expressed myself too little or too indistinct within those situations. Thanks to this model I noticed that being clear and frank about who I am is not only affecting the satisfaction level of my decisions but also better for working in a team where people can rely on me because they trust and respect me for my openess.”

“I found the Being Module very interesting. Express our challenges to different people in the onsite Kickoff was inspiring. Through communication I have been inspired by other people. Also opening to other people and listening carefully. With the help of this module and especially in person, I have learned to open to other people, since sometimes it is hard for me to open up to others. Also learn to ask powerful questions about a challenge, so that others can reflect on it and also learn to identify my own values and make a relationship about the chosen ones. Express our challenges through thoughts, feelings, and body postures. I found it very motivating to know in detail some of my strengths thanks to the CliftonStrengths-Assessment. I’m practicing in my daily life some of my five strengths: Adaptability, Empathy, Responsibility and Harmony. I have learned a lot of techniques in these Module regarding the relationship with myself and to others. I found the Inner compass very important. These are just issues that I hadn’t given much thought to before the LEAP Program. It is very important to understand how you feel personally. What are my values, strengths and purposes and how do they drive and impact the whole? In fact, I am reflecting on the inner compass, presence, integrity and authenticity, openness and learning mindset, and self-awareness. I have been practicing mindfulness for a long time and I found it quite interesting to have seen here in the LEAP Program how others practice this practice.”

“I am more confident about my capabilities and that my skills are not the same as everyone elses (as I thought before). I am unique and I am embracing it. I feel more free to express my opinion, and usually it seems that I was the only one thinking that way. Since then, I feel more trust from people, admiration and following the lead. It has allowed me to fulfil my role as a leader in a fast-paced environment, and people turn to me for advice and decision making.”

In July we start with the Module 3: RELATING and we will have our onsite Midterm Meeting from 22nd to 31st of July in Churwalden, Switzerland.

We also want to focus more on Fundraising in the next months to create a basis for the next LEAP YOUth cohort 2023.

We are midway through the LEAP Program and have finalized the Modules Thinking, Relating & Being.
We had a break in August where we asked participants to recommit to the program if they wanted to continue with the 2nd part of LEAP. Out of the 37 participants that we started the cohort with 20 recommitted.
Peer Groups are still running well after the recommitting and participants are utilizing their 1:1 coaching.

We also held a Midterm Meeting with 22 people out of which 3 where from partners. One of them will join the oikos International Team as a new LEAP Program Manager and another has joined the program afterwards. During this meeting 4 project groups formed to bring their learnings of the LEAP to the public in creative ways.

Once more we learned that onsite Meetings and especially the Midterm is a key motivator for the participants & volunteers.
The process of forming peer groups took longer, but most of them are running very well and people enjoy it.
One issue with the low commitment might be Discord. People are not active there and don’t enjoy it.

22 participants in the Midterm from 11 different countries. 17 females & 5 males.
20 participants recommitted from 12 different countries. 17 females & 3 males.

During all interactions we remind people to arrive with an open mind and heart to ensure that they are open to learn from each other. We saw that worked very well at the Midterm Meeting especially.

Unfortunately, we lost all of our participants from Africa. We assume it was because of the connection issues which lead to them not being able to really connect with the cohort and topics.

“I did not expect it but I really enjoyed the being module. I learned a lot about myself and about my peers at Leap Youth. I was surprised how similar yet different we all are and how insightful a simple conversation can end up being. I also learned about the sides of my personality that I have to develop and pay attention to which I think is something I will not forget anytime soon.”

“I liked how I was able to look at different issues from a completely different perspective.
The workshop allowed me to broaden my horizons and look at topics that were previously unknown or incomprehensible to me. The approach presented was extremely valuable and opened my eyes to a new view of the world.”

Until the end of the year we still have two more Modules, Collaborating & Acting.
We want to get those projects from the Midterm going and ready to be brought to the public by the end of the cohort in December.
We also need to work on Strategy in October/November and present it to the community in December for feedback.
There are two new team members in the LEAP YOUth team that need to be onboarded and handed over important information before Michael & Alexandra leave.

Conscious Leadership, Personal Development, Coaching,

We have finalized the LEAP YOUth cohort 2022 with 40 participants out of which 26 received a certificate (meaning they completed 70% or more of the program).
Out of those participants everyone would recommend the program.

We also held the LEAP Summit with over 130 participations in total from 14 countries. The Summit was a participant driven project of this year’s cohort where they brought their learnings to a broad audience.
Based on the extensive feedback of the participants and volunteers we created a strategy for the LEAP YOUth 2023.

We admitted less people this year. It was quite difficult to keep everyone engaged and motivated with such a big cohort and this was reflected in the numbers of Certificates and applications for Peer Facilitators.
For 2023 we want to add open Peer Learning Spaces to take out some pressure of Peer Groups. There were a few groups were people dropped out and they did not really work well anymore, but did not have a place to come back to.
We will also simplify the evaluation process for participants. We created too much data, which took a long time for participants to fill out and for us to sort and in the end the data was inconclusive.
We want to make reflections and Inputs more engaging and are trying out a new Program called Reflect (created by an oikos Alumni). A lot of participants did not enjoy the Reflections and Input Materials and would have wished for more exercises and more tailored information.

We had 40 participants & 61 Volunteers in the LEAP YOUth and 130 in the LEAP summit with in total 35 different nationalities.

Out of 40 participants 18 were male and 22 female. This is the closest we have ever come to a balance. Among the 61 Volunteers we have a balance 39/22 women/men.

Given the divers group we encouraged active exchange in a safe space among the members & volunteers. However, it was difficult to build a bridge between participants of the onsite Meetings and those that could not join onsite.
Among the volunteer team we managed to connect closer again after COVID but still need to work on building the bridge between LEAP Alumni & professional coaches and also the LEAP Alumni of different cohorts.

“I’m leading an internal responsible leadership program based on the Inner Development Goals at my oikos Graz chapter (chapter LEAP). The chapter LEAP is an empowering, inspiring internal program aimed at growing leadership competencies for personal development and professional life. It teaches you about sustainable and responsible decision-making and leadership, and helps you to get more clarity about your purpose, values, and actions.”

“What does LEAP mean to me?
It helps me support myself in a very positive and progressive way of personal development and freedom of mind.”

“As the president of oikos Kano, we have recently hosted one of the days of the oikos academy. The program is aimed to promote the integration of sustainability in universities’ curriculum. through the organisation of this event, I realised that my co-creative skills have really improved especially in team work and delegation of responsibilities. By that, we got to have a wonderful experience of the Academy Day, which has been of positive impact.”

“I have strengthened my relationships with friends and family – I am able to communicate with humility, honesty, listen actively, and compassionately. Now, I understand the differences of people better and approach it with a curious and open mind, as well as an open heart, and spreading kindness in my surroundings. Now I feel that I can make sure that the special people in my life are being seen and understood, and I can feel the same from them. It causes a chain reaction of change.”

We started the LEAP YOUth cohort 2023 on February 25th with 37 participants from 20 countries and 53 Volunteers including 29 LEAP Alumni.
In March we will hold an onsite Meeting right before the Winterschool in Witten.
In the next three months we will also tackle the Modules Thinking & Relating.
We will also do intensive fundraising for the onsite Meetings and the LEAP salaries.