Young Leaders Fellowship

Benefits & funding

• One year of structured leadership development, built around facilitated conversations about the fellow’s own leadership and work.
• Coaching on the fellow’s own initiative alongside practitioners with deep experience in school-based violence prevention, working through strengths, gaps, what might break as the work grows, and what is being measured.
• Continuous learning programming connecting practice to the wider evidence base, drawing on academia, civil society, government leaders and children, including applied modules on pitching, compliance, recruiting and personnel management.
• Openings to speak into the field: conferences, policy briefs and expert seminars.
• Field exposure — a working map of the violence prevention ecosystem, plus networking sessions and guided reflection on positioning the fellow’s work.
• A monthly community of practice: each month one fellow brings a live challenge or innovation and the facilitated cohort works the problem together.
• One in-person convening of the whole cohort during the fellowship year.
• The Coalition publishes no stipend, award or application fee for this fellowship, and does not state whether travel and accommodation for the in-person convening are covered. Applicants should confirm with the programme team before committing.

Eligibility

• Aged between 18 and 35 at the time of application.
• Based in and working in a Global South country. The Coalition does not publish a country list, so borderline cases are worth raising with the programme team.
• Currently leading or contributing meaningfully to an active initiative on preventing violence against children in and through schools; this may include work with existing non-profits and with governments.
• Able to participate fully in English.
• Able to commit to a distributed, virtual cohort with regular sessions across time zones, and to join the in-person convening during the year.
• No degree or qualification is required, and no nationality bar is set.
• Selection prioritises a track record of sustained engagement, seriousness and clarity about the work even where the idea is early-stage, capacity to contribute to global conversations, and openness to peer learning. The Coalition also selects for equity in geography and gender.

Application process

1. 1
   Complete the online application form linked from the fellowship page while the call is open.
2. 2
   The programme team reviews applications against the published selection priorities.
3. 3
   Shortlisted applicants are invited to a short conversation with the programme team.
4. 4
   The cohort is announced — mid-July 2026 for the first cohort.

Program timeline

1. Call for applications for the first cohort published

   Jun 5, 2026

2. Application deadline for the first cohort

   Jul 4, 2026

3. First cohort announced

   Mid-July 2026

4. During the fellowship year

   one in-person convening; date and venue not published