Meet the Fellows – 3rd Cohort of the EAC Youth Fellowship. Over the past months, Fellows from all EAC partner states have been on a transformative journey; learning, collaborating and taking action. They will be graduating at the YouLead Summit 2026 in Arusha! 🎓

South Sudan’s fellows embody resilience, leadership and commitment to rebuilding communities. Abul Naomi Majur Dak – Founder of Eden Foundation, working with displaced communities on climate resilience. Akura John Ukuk – Bridging public health and youth leadership for regional cohesion. Poni Joy Jackson – Supporting survivors through gender-based violence response systems. Salva Aleu Wol Aleu – Leading agricultural empowerment initiatives for youth.

Day 2 Recap | #EACYouthFellowship Cohort 3 Day 2 grounded Fellows in the practical skills required to lead, collaborate and solve real-world challenges. Building on the foundation set on Day 1, the focus shifted to problem-solving, collaboration and leadership in practice; core pillars aligned with the Fellowship’s tracks in Leadership & Politics and Business & Enterprise, as well as its cross-cutting priorities of climate justice, gender equality and digital transformation. The Fellowship is organized under the YouLead Africa programme by @MSTCDC in partnership with @jumuiya, @jmkfhq, @TheJNLC, @elfafrica1 and with support from Danida Fellowship Centre.

The session challenged Fellows to move beyond surface-level thinking and dig deeper into the root causes of the challenges facing their communities and the region. Through practical tools and interactive discussions, they explored how to approach problems in a structured, intentional, and solution-oriented way. The key message? Effective leadership begins with the ability to clearly define problems and design solutions that are sustainable, inclusive and impactful.