For decades, education focused on helping young people gain knowledge. Today, young leaders also need character, creativity, digital competence, entrepreneurial thinking, and the confidence to turn ideas into action.

The Global Peace Foundation’s (GPF) youth leadership initiatives are built around this reality. Across Asia, Africa, and beyond, programs such as the Global Peace Leadership Corps (GPCorps), the Presidents’ Fellowship in Kenya, the North Korean Young Leaders Assembly (NKYLA), the Global Youth Summit (GYS) in the Philippines, and the Global Peacebuilders Leadership Program (GPLP) in Nepal equip young people with the skills and values needed to lead in their communities, workplaces, and nations. Together, these initiatives reflect a common belief that leadership can be learned, practiced, and strengthened through service, mentorship, innovation, and real-world experience.

Group photo from the GPLP community-level peacebuilding session led by Juan Camilo Mora Gonzalez

Character: The Starting Point for Leadership

Every GPF youth program begins with character. Participants explore values such as integrity, responsibility, respect, and service while learning how these principles shape leadership decisions. Character education is not treated as a separate subject. It is woven into leadership training, community projects, mentorship, and teamwork.

This focus reflects GPF’s model of Moral and Innovative Leadership, which encourages young people to pair ethical decision-making with creative problem-solving. The goal is to develop leaders who can earn trust, build relationships, and address challenges with both conviction and practical skill.

Saksham Nari Proposal Writing Workshop

Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Young people are often the first to identify challenges in their communities and the first to imagine solutions. GPF programs help participants transform those ideas into action.

In Kenya, the President’s Fellowship provides mentorship, leadership development, entrepreneurship training, and community engagement opportunities. Fellows gain practical experience while working alongside mentors and peers who challenge them to develop solutions that create positive impact.

The Global Youth Summit in the Philippines also encourages innovation through collaborative learning, sustainable development discussions, and youth-led solutions. Participants engage with issues ranging from education and technology to climate action and community development, developing ideas that can create measurable change.

Raksha Adhikari presenting on the topic of “digital literacy” for fellow Global Peacebuilders.

Preparing Youth for a Digital Future

Digital skills have become essential leadership tools. Communication, collaboration, information management, and responsible technology use all influence how young people learn, work, and lead.

GPF’s leadership initiatives encourage participants to engage thoughtfully with technology while strengthening critical thinking, communication, and problem-solving skills. Digital competence is paired with ethical leadership, helping young people use technology to advance education, social impact, entrepreneurship, and civic engagement.

North Korean Young Leaders Assembly 2025

Learning Leadership Through Experience

GPF’s programs also emphasize learning through action.

The Global Peace Leadership Corps brings young people together around peacebuilding, service, and leadership development. Participants gain practical skills in dialogue, conflict resolution, project implementation, and cross-cultural collaboration while contributing to initiatives that address local and global challenges.

In Nepal, the Global Peacebuilders Leadership Program helps participants strengthen communication, teamwork, self-awareness, and community engagement through workshops, dialogue, and service activities. Fellows gain practical leadership experience while exploring approaches to peacebuilding and social cohesion.

Programs such as the North Korean Young Leaders Assembly create vital opportunities for young people to strengthen civic responsibility, leadership capacity, and a commitment to the common good. As the first and only global leadership platform where young North Korean escapees raise their voices on the international stage, help shape policy, educate the world, and lead the journey toward a peacefully unified Korea, NKYLA shows how youth leadership can advance freedom, dignity, and peace across borders.

A Generation Ready to Lead

The future will be shaped by people who can combine strong character with practical skills, embrace innovation without losing sight of values, and work across differences to solve shared challenges.

Across its youth leadership initiatives, the Global Peace Foundation is helping young people develop those capacities. Character education, entrepreneurship, digital skills, innovation, and leadership training are not separate goals. They are interconnected competencies that prepare young people to serve, create, collaborate, and lead. The result is a generation of young leaders equipped to solve problems, drive innovation, build bridges across differences, and contribute to the well-being of their communities.

Learn more: Global Peace Foundation | Youth Leadership Development