Young Citizen Training Program / Youth Academy (YCTP / YA)

Young Citizen Training Program (YCTP/YA) is a Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES Rwanda) program that aims to provide professional skills and knowledge for young Rwandans to ensure their role as active citizens in the socio-economic development of Rwanda. At FES we are convince that youth is key in creating a fair and sustainable future. With this program we want to empower those that are already active in shaping society.

The Young Citizen Training Program/Youth Academy (YCTP/YA) is a eight months part time residential program in Kigali for 20 /24 young women and men between the age of 21 and 35. Participants come from civil society organizations, government institutions, trade unions, media, private sector, universities etc. from all 30 districts of Rwanda. The main aim of the program is to empower those young citizens representing various organizations and institutions to contribute to the processes of achieving becoming active in their communities.

YCTP/YA furthermore improves networking opportunities by creating a space for the Young Citizens to connect with each other but also with other stakeholders throughout the program. This gives them the constant opportunity to exchange ideas and explore opportunities for collaboration.

The Program focuses on:

• Concrete projects which drive social & political change
• Strengthen collective activism and youth engagement rather than personal career development of participants.
• Being political and value-oriented
• Establishing connections to projects and activism of participants
• Social democratic values

The uniqueness of the program is that it provides:

• Space for social and professional interactions
• Platform for young professionals to exercise their potentials.
• Opportunity to explore various leadership traits
• Critical thinking through soft skills

The program has a long-term approach. Even after the end of the 8 month training program participants stay engaged through an alumni network. The network provides a a platform to stay connected, engage in civic affairs and to contribute to the development of their communities.