Young Leaders Visitors Program 2009
The Swedish institute Young Leaders Visitors Program 2009, phase one, took place in Sweden between May 25 and June 12, 2009. The second phase took place at the Swedish Institute in Paris, France in November 16-18, 2009.
Thirty-three candidates from Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, West Bank-Gaza and Sweden were selected as participants in the Young Leaders Visitors Program 2009. Drive, motivation and commitment to social change were decisive factors in the selection procedure.
Design of the Program
Young Leaders Visitors Program 2009 consisted of six modules covering themes such as team building, personal development, leadership training, gender, human rights and a thorough introduction to the latest tools in social media. For the participants from the Middle East and North Africa, there was also a part of intensive study visits, where each participant got hands-on experience with top actors and organizations within the opinion making spheres of Sweden today.
Program methodology: experience based learning (EBL).
The Young Leaders Visitors program uses a methodology called EBL.
The program methodology of YLVP is based on creating learning experiences that make a difference for the participants as individuals. Rather than having a traditional monologue-based “teacher to student” approach, YLVP has chosen a dialogue-based and participative setting for the program. Learning is about participants and mentors/facilitators exploring together to achieve real impact and greater understanding, rather than having just one answer delivered. The strongest learning tool used in YLVP is “Experiential Learning”. Experience-based learning, “learn to learn”, supports development of a progressive and life-long learning approach.
The methodology is made up by:
1. The participants’ work with tangible task(s) that generate experiences (learning by doing).
2. The participants’ perform reflections on what they have actually experienced, (learning by reflection).
3. Through the reflections participants make conclusions and generalizations made based on these experiences (defining the learning).
4. The participants´ apply the learning to a new task or new phase of a task/project in order to try out the relevance of what was concluded and generalised in the previous step (learning by taking action).
Project Assignment
Development within the digital and technological areas during the last decade has dramatically changed the way people communicate and interact with each other. Traditional monologue based communication is replaced by conversation. Internet and mobile communication technologies have opened up for applications and solutions such as Bambuser, Twitter, Skype, MySpace, Hi5, Facebook, Ning and many many more. Anyone today having the possibility to access the Internet can be a content provider, a potential opinion builder and a change agent.
During parts of the YLVP 2009 all participants were divided into smaller teams assigned with a project task related to the areas of the program. The assignment for each project team was to develop an idea and a concept for an innovative information solution through the main support by the use of social media.The projects task strived to further strengthen the participants in understanding the possibilities of digital and social media and encourage them to explore and create opinion building for social change through digital and social media solutions. The project assignment functioned as a way for the participants to explore group dynamics and leadership to provide personal development and an intercultural perspective.
The social media solution that each project group created supported:
- the overall objectives of the program
- the sustainability and the continuation of the YLVP network
- social change within areas of human rights, freedom of expression and equality
YLVP MODULES 1-6
Module 1: Teambuilding and opinion leadership
Module 2: Social media
Module 3: Opinion leadership
Module 4: Study visits
Module 5: Intensive study visits
Module 6: Young Leaders Network Conference and closing of the program
Module 1 – Team building and opinion leadership
Working on the social arena and understanding the objectives
Date: 25th – 26th of May
The team building promotes essential tools a working team needs to reach a greater efficiency. The YLVP 2009 Ning platform has amongst other functioned as a tool for opening up the social arena among the participants to start to develop relations between each other. The YLVP 2009 Ning functioned as a source providing the participants with the context of the program with the purpose to make participants feel more secure and aware about the program. The team building aims to spend time to open up the social arena even more as well as providing the participants with deeper understanding of the framework they will be within during the program. Furthermore the team building aims to contribute to increased understanding of individual difference and its potential constructive impact on a team.
Module 2 – Social Media (part 1)
Introduction to tools for change and global communication and mobilization
Date: 27th – 28th of May
This part of the program focuses on introducing the participants to the concept social media and social media as an opinion building tool and a tool for mobilizing for social change.
-What does social media and its possibilities mean to opinion building?
-What does it mean to the public?
-Examples of social media for social change and mobilisation on a local, regional, national and international level.
To get into a more concrete and practical level participants were introduced to and practiced with a number of social media related tools and techniques.
Module 3: Opinion leadership (part 1)
Creative principles and idea development
Date: 29th of May
During this part participants started to work on ideas related to their project mission. They worked in their small project teams. Participants got introduced to creative principles and tools and methods for idea development. Each project group applied idea development methodology in their working process. Since the idea development focus on the project mission social media and opinion building were a core part of the process.
Module 4: Study visits (part 1)
Date: 1st of June
Module 3: Opinion leadership (part 2)
Group dynamics and concept development
Date: 2nd of June
This part focused on interpersonal relations, from a group dynamic point of view, within a group and how it is affecting the level of a group being effective. Participants continued to work with their project tasks developing their ideas into concepts. Reflection and process sessions as part of the experience-based learning were performed during the day. A short follow up session were performed related to the study visits.
Module 2: Social Media (part 2)
Tools in depth
Date: 3rd of June
Project groups continued the work of forming and developing their ideas into concepts. There were a shorter 45 min seminar during the day on different aspects of information flow and social media implementation based on the problems arising from the projects.
Module 5: Intensive Study Visits
Date: 4th – 5th of June
During the Intensive Study Visits participants spent two days within companies, organisations or institutions. The purpose of the Intensive Study Visits for participants was to gain experiences of how Swedish organizations, companies or institutions use or plan to use social media in practice when it comes to opinion building. The visit also aims to strengthen relations between the Middle East/North Africa and Sweden.
Module 3: Opinion leadership (part 3)
Situation-based Leadership, Change Management and Concept Development
Date: 8th of June
This part focused mainly on leadership in relation to group development and leadership in relation to change. A minor session brought one perspective of leading and initiating opinion building.
Module 4: Study visits (part 2)
Date: 9th of June
Module 3: Opinion leadership (part 4)
Finalisation of concept, group dynamics and presentation
Date: 10th – 11th of June
This part focused on personal development and increasing of self-insight. Reflection and process sessions as part of the experience-based learning and group and personal development were performed each day.
The group mission focused on finalising the concept development into a sustainable concept related to social media and opinion building. Participants also spent time on preparing presentations for an audience.
Module 6: Young Leaders Network Conference and closing of the program
Date: 12th of June