Young Leaders Fellowship: Applications Open!

The Young Leaders Fellowship is a one-year programme for young leaders from the Global South working to prevent violence against children in and through schools. We support fellows to strengthen their leadership and to build the confidence to take their place as global leaders in this field.

Leadership development

To lead well is to profoundly transform yourself and the people around you. Fellows grow into leaders through:

Honest conversations about your leadership. Space to reflect on yourself and your work with people who care about it, in an environment that affirms your capabilities.

Confidence as a global leader. Reaching the point of believing that your work matters, that your ideas are vital to the field, and that you belong in the conversations shaping it globally.

A voice in the field. Opportunities to participate directly in conversations that shape the field’s direction, including conferences, policy briefs, and expert seminars.

One in-person convening. The cohort comes together in person once during the year.

What more do the Fellows receive?

Continuous learning. Regular programming that connects your practice to the broader evidence base, drawing on knowledge from academia, civil society, government leaders, and children themselves. This includes applied modules on pitching, compliance, recruiting, and personnel management.

Coaching on your initiative. You work through a structured analysis of your own initiative alongside practitioners with deep experience in school-based violence prevention. You ask harder questions of your programme: where are the strengths, where are the gaps, what might break as the work grows, and what is being measured.

Field exposure. You build a working understanding of the violence prevention ecosystem: who the key actors are, how influence moves, and what it takes to build a credible presence. Networking sessions and guided reflection help you build relationships and map a strategy for positioning your work in the broader field.

Community of practice. Each month, one fellow brings a real, current challenge or innovation in their work, and the cohort works the problem together. Sessions are facilitated and grounded in the realities of violence prevention work.   

Who is the Fellowship for?

The fellowship is for young leaders from the Global South who are passionate about preventing violence against children in and through schools. The first cohort will bring together 8 to 10 fellows. The work can take many forms: NGOs, school-based organisations, government-linked efforts, community-based organisations, and social enterprises. Ideas can be early-stage. What matters is that you are passionate about the work and clear about what you are trying to do.

Age
Between 18 and 35 at the time of application.

Geography
Based in and working in a Global South country.

Work
Currently leading or contributing meaningfully to an active initiative on preventing violence against children in and through schools. This may also include work with existing non-profits and governments.

Language
Able to participate fully in English.

Format
Able to commit to a distributed, virtual cohort with regular sessions across time zones, and to join the in-person convening during the year.

How will the Fellows be selected?

The selection will prioritise:

A track record. Sustained engagement with work on preventing violence against children in and through schools.

Seriousness and commitment. You are committed to the issue of preventing violence against children in and through schools and clear about what you are trying to do, even if the idea is early stage.

Ability and interest in shaping the field. You have, or could plausibly develop, the capacity to contribute to global conversations on violence prevention in schools.

Openness to peer learning. Willingness to grow, are curious about others and their work, and the ability to thrive alongside peers across very different contexts.

We will select for equity in geography and gender. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to a short conversation with the programme team.

Application timeline

The application will remain open till 4 July 2026. The cohort will be announced mid-July.

If you have any questions about the form / concerns about your eligibility for the fellowship, please reach out to fe*********@*********************ls.org.