Unveiling the Journey: Insights from Past Participants of the Learning Festival

There’s a special kind of magic that happens when we come together to sensemake, radically imagine, and embark on a journey of collective action. For years, our Learning Festivals have been our catalytic convening that ignites our movement with magical connections and creativity. As we gear up for our fourth annual learning festival, let’s take a trip down memory lane and hear from some past participants.

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Kinlo Tangiri: YxY Cameroon Hub weaver, Learning Festival Host and GAC 2022 Participant

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Kinlo, a computer science student at Constructor University in Germany and the founder of the KET Foundation—an organization focusing on empowering youths with edtech, communication, and leadership skills for personal and professional growth—joined our festival seeking clarity, confidence, and a supportive community to keep him motivated. He shared “In 2016, like many youths in Cameroon, I was significantly affected by the socio-political crisis known as the anglophone crisis. This led to a loss of thousands of lives and a complete shutdown of schools in all English-speaking regions of my country, severely impacting my education. This experience fueled a deep desire to bring about change, particularly in the education sector, leading me to the creation of KET Academy to offer free resources to affected students.” He continued sharing “Starting this journey, I lacked clarity, confidence, and a supportive community to keep me motivated……The Learning Festival played a crucial role in helping me believe in my work. Witnessing the impactful projects of other youths during the learning festival and being selected afterward for a 6-month global action cycle transformed my approach and provided the much-needed clarity……My achievements so far can only be attributed to my involvement with YxY, including the Learning Festival, Global Action Cycle, and collaborations with other various organizations.”

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"If you share a passion for creating a positive impact in the world, I highly recommend participating in the Learning Festival."

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Estefanía Cardona: 2022 GAC Host, Core Team Member, and Creator of Youth's Voice Magazine

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For Estefanía, a youth activist and host within our community, the learning festival “Is the perfect place to understand that you don’t know everything and that there is some sort of humility in it; knowing that you can’t learn everything but you can still try.” She shared “I still remember the first time I heard of YxY. It was during the pandemic and I was amazed by this incredible opportunity that my teacher had shared with me; even though these three years have been the best of my life I still can’t believe that I was scared of applying for the learning festival. I think about that moment of hesitation I had, where I knew I hadn’t done anything extraordinary but I still mentioned that I was ready to do something about global education. I was ready. When I attended the learning festival for the first time I remember waking up at 5 am for three days and going to every single session back to back and growing exponentially in a way I never thought it could be possible. I loved and still look back to every world I shared, to the inspiration I felt from all the people I met, and the journey that would bring me to be the person that I most wanted to be in this world.”

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“Learning through others and learning for your exponential growth is what happens in the learning festival. It is the happiest time of the year, and it is where strangers become family, stories become legends, and inspiration brings us to co-create the world that we all want to live in.”

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Gbolabo Adedoyin: YxY Lagos Hub weaver, 2022 and 2023 GAC and Learning Festival Host

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Gbolabo, a youth activist and GAC host based in Lagos, Nigeria, shared “The learning festival was the last lap of the GAC program where we get to showcase our work. I was a host and global weaver for Lagos hub and I gained a lot from the learning festival but one thing that stood out for me was getting to know how activists can leverage collaboration for change.”

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"The festival gave me the opportunity to connect with activists(young and old) across the world and build my confidence whilst honing facilitation and communication skills."

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We are inspired by Kinlo, Estefania, and Gbolabo’s experiences and we are so excited to invite you to join us on this transformative learning journey, as we ramp up to our fourth annual learning festival. With a lineup of wonderful keynote speakers, co-creation spaces, and a community of people from all over the world, this festival is going to be a celebration of curiosity, a playground for exploration, and a hub of connections waiting to be made.

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You can register for our Learning Festival now! Stay tuned for updates on the program, our speakers and curated resources. So, mark your calendars, spread the word, and get ready to embark on this adventure and journey with us!

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Register Now!

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