Shaping Futures: African-European Network on Development and Sustainability

The Shaping Futures: African-European Network on Development and Sustainability with its Academy (Shaping Futures Academy) is a dialogue and training programme targeted at early to mid-career professionals from participating African, (Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia, Togo, and Zambia) and European (EU+) countries. The Shaping Futures Academy aims to empower future leaders on both continents by bringing together like- minded peers to reflect on their roles in their respective communities and institutions.

The Shaping Futures Academy is hosted by the German Institute for Development and Sustainability (IDOS) and funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The programme is conducted in English.

Focus Areas

• The Academy is grounded in the following three pillars, which they deem essential in contributing to capacity development:
  • Knowledge: Under this pillar, participants share their existing and acquire new knowledge on a given topic of the Academy. Participants strengthen their analytical capabilities as part of the academic modules by engaging with concepts including systems thinking and multidimensional inequalities, as well as by interacting with diverse scientific and practice-oriented stakeholders.
  • Action: In the action pillar, which is integrated into the knowledge pillar, participants apply the new knowledge gained. In small group constellations, they work on challenges that combine and expand their skills using tools and methods learned in the respective modules.
  • Leadership: The leadership pillar focuses on developing individual and collective competence, including strengthening dialogue skills, problem-solving, exchanging perspectives, teamwork, reflecting on one’s values, and building strong and trustful relationships. The new and enhanced competences support the participants’ professional development journey, which is individually rewarding and directly beneficial to their home institutions.

Benefits

• Participants
  • Participation in an innovative academic and practice-oriented international dialogue format
  • Build new or augment existing knowledge on the themes of governance and sustainable development.
  • Strengthened leadership skills through collective peer learning, complemented by individual coaching
  • Opportunity to become part of an international network of like-minded professionals
  • Exchange and development of new ideas with peers from partner countries
  • Engagement in different learning formats
  • Enhanced cultural exchange in the form of trips to Germany and Ghana
• Sending Institution
  • The Shaping Futures Academy offers a broad range of benefits for sending institutions:
    • Capacity development of staff in leadership, governance, and sustainability. The knowledge and skills acquired can be directly applied within the participants’ home institutions
    • Become part of a growing cross-sectoral network of institutions working towards sustainable development in the seven partner countries and Germany/Europe, opening up new and continued opportunities for cooperation in the future
    • Opportunity to contribute to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the African Agenda 2063

Eligible Costs 

• In order to facilitate participation, successful applicants to the Shaping Futures Academy will be awarded a financial assistance, covering the following:
  • Travel to and from Germany and Ghana
  • Accommodation for the duration of the in-person phases
  • A monthly living allowance to cover living costs in Germany and Ghana for the duration of the in-person phases
  • Health, accident, and personal liability insurance for the duration of their stay in Germany and Ghana
  • Subsidy to help meet the technical requirements of the online phases of the programme

Eligibility Criteria

• The Shaping Futures Academy targets early to mid-career professionals from participating African (Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia, Togo and Zambia) and European (EU, plus EEA and UK) countries.
• Potential participants of the shaping futures academy should:
  • Be a national or permanent resident of one of the participating countries
  • Be 25-40 years of age at time of application
  • Work on issues relevant for sustainable development and governance
  • Have at least three years’ work experience (non-remunerated experience is also recognised)
  • Have the support of their employer (written support required as part of the application)
  • Have a very good command of the English language
  • Be respectful of other cultures
  • Be open to teamwork, reflection and a wide variety of working methods
  • Be available and committed to attend and participate fully in both the online (may, September, November 2025) and in-person (June, July, October, 2025) modules of the Adhere to the principles of timeliness and respectful conduct during interactions
  • Have a valid passport (at the time of travel and for the entire duration of the Academy)

For more information, visit IDOS.