LEADERSHIP BEYOND THE BALLOT.

Theme: Transformation – Ethical Leadership And Public Integrity

Eligibility: JNLC alumni around Kampala are particularly encouraged to apply.

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Uganda’s population is largely youthful and has witnessed a growing participation of young people in leadership and governance processes at national, local government, community, and institutional levels. The recent 2025/2026 elections have ushered into office a new generation of youth leaders entrusted with representing the aspirations of their constituents and contributing to national development.  Under the 2021–2025 Country Programme, UNDP partnered with the Julius Nyerere Leadership Centre, Makerere University, and selected universities and tertiary institutions to strengthen leadership capacities among young women and youth. Through this initiative, approximately 916 young people (384 women and 532 men) received leadership training. The programme has demonstrated tangible results in building a credible leadership pipeline: during the 2025/2026 elections, about 25 programme alumni contested for elective positions, of whom 16 who are so far traced were successfully elected.

While these young leaders bring energy, innovation, ambition, and strong commitment to public service, many face challenges in navigating complex governance systems, ethical dilemmas, balancing public accountability, with citizen’s demands and expectations for effective service delivery. Their participation occurs in a broader political, economic and social context, which shapes how they exercise their abilities. Politically, young leaders frequently encounter barriers such as limited political space, patronage systems, polarization, intense competition, and pressure to conform to established power structures. Economically, limited access to financial resources, high youth unemployment, and constrained opportunities for economic empowerment can hinder meaningful engagement in leadership and public life. Socially, societal norms, gender biases, limited mentorship opportunities, and unequal access to education and professional networks can affect confidence, representation, and influence, particularly for young women and marginalized groups. At the same time, youth leaders must navigate an increasingly complex and rapidly evolving national and global landscape characterized by digital and technological transformation, artificial intelligence, emerging cybersecurity threats, climate change, demographic transition, the proliferation of misinformation and disinformation, and increasing citizen demands for transparency, accountability, inclusion, and tangible results. These dynamics underscore the critical need for sustained leadership development, mentorship, networking opportunities, and practical governance to equip young leaders with knowledge, skills and resilience required to contribute effectively to, democratic governance, inclusive development, social cohesion and social transformation. Uganda’s youth are at the intersection of influencing local dynamics while also shaping subnational, national, regional and international perspectives in an extremely rapidly globalizing world environment.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is fundamentally transforming governance systems and public administration across the globe.  Cutting edge technologies, Artificial Intelligence (AI), big data analytics, digital technologies, and evidence-based policymaking are increasingly recongnized as critical enablers of effective leadership, responsive governance and efficient public service delivery. However, many emerging leaders have limited exposure to these technologies and insufficient opportunities to develop the skills required to harness their potential for governance and development outcomes. Strengthening their capacity to leverage digital innovations is therefore essential to enhancing policy effectiveness, promoting transparency and accountability, and advancing inclusive and sustainable development. In view of the above context, deliberate investment and support for the newly elected youth leaders through structured mentorship, practical governance skills exposure by experienced leaders, and opportunities for peer learning collaboration and networking is critical. Such investments will strengthen ethical and accountable leadership, enhance transparency and integrity in public service, improve decision-making, and position the young leaders to deliver meaningful results for their communities and for transformational leadership in Uganda and broader Africa. UNDP in partnership with the Julius Nyerere Leadership Centre (JNLC) proposes to convene a one day high-impact National Mentorship Symposium that will bring together the 15 elected youth leaders under the alumina and seasoned leaders from the realm of politics, government, elders, academia, civil society, the private sector, and international development organizations to have a strategic engagement.

The symposium will serve as a platform for intergenerational learning, an influence for leadership transformation, innovation, and capacity development to steer mindset change while fostering a community of practice among emerging leaders committed to ethical and impactful public service. This aligned with mentorship that is long lasting.

2.             Goal

To strengthen the capacity of elected youth leaders to exercise ethical, accountable, innovative, and transformative leadership that advances good governance, inclusive development and sustainable development outcomes within an evolving, subnational,  national, regional and global context

3.             Objectives

The symposium will seek to:

1. Strengthen ethical, values-based leadership among elected youth leaders by fostering integrity, transparency, accountability, and mindset transformation, while building practical competencies in governance, public decision-making, stakeholder engagement, and effective service delivery.
2. Introduce participants to technology driven leadership opportunities, where, digital tools, Artificial Intelligence, and select digital governance, data analytics and communication tools, to enhance their capacity for data-driven leadership, decision-making and leadership effectiveness.
3. Foster mentorship, peer learning, networking, and collaboration between elected youth leaders, women leaders, and experienced leaders from diverse areas to facilitate knowledge exchange, best practice sharing, and leadership development for the immediate and longer time. Inspire participants to develop measurable leadership action plans and commitments for community impact.

4.             Methodology

The methods for the one-day high-level mentorship symposium bringing together newly elected youth leaders and distinguished leaders from government, academia, civil society, development partners, and the private sector will include:

• Inspirational keynote addresses
• Mentorship dialogues
• Expert panel discussions
• Leadership masterclasses
• Introduction and practical demonstration of select AI and digital governance tools
• Networking sessions
• Leadership commitment and action-planning exercises
• Peer to peer engagement 

5.             Participants

The symposium will bring together approximately 25 participants, alumni of the JNLC Leadership Programme including:

• Newly elected youth leaders – Youth council leaders
• Youth Leaders who contested but were not successful this time round.

Special emphasis will be placed on ensuring gender balance and inclusion of leaders from diverse regions of Uganda.

6.             Expected Results

By the end of the initiative:

• Improved understanding of ethical and transformative leadership.
• Participants acquire practical skills in AI and data-driven decision-making.
• A mentorship network linking young leaders with experienced mentors is established.
• Enhanced collaboration among youth and women leaders is fostered.
• Leadership curricula are updated to reflect emerging governance and technology trends such as AI.
• Participants develop individual leadership action plans for implementation within their communities and institutions.
• Increased commitment to transparency, accountability, and citizen-centered leadership is achieved.
• Documentation of the leadership development journey for future actions and knowledge management.

7.             Sustainability

The initiative will establish a continuous mentorship and peer-learning platform coordinated by the Julius Nyerere Leadership Centre. Participants will be connected through periodic virtual engagements, leadership roundtables, and knowledge-sharing forums and strategic knowledge sharing. The curriculum modernization component will ensure long-term integration of digital governance and AI competencies into future leadership development programmes.

 

8.             Conclusion

Uganda’s future depends significantly on the quality of leadership exercised by its young leaders today. Investing in their ethical grounding, governance competencies, technological readiness, and practical leadership skills is essential for building accountable institutions and responsive public service systems. The proposed National Mentorship Symposium and accompanying capacity-building initiatives provide a timely opportunity to nurture a new generation of leaders who are innovative, principled, inclusive, and committed to delivering transformative change for their communities and the nation.