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Puerta de África and Casa África are excited to announce the launch of the 2022 Social Innovation Lab to bridge and train African, Afrodescent and European emerging leaders. We are committed to building a community of social entrepreneurs and activists driven by the commitment to change the realities of their communities, learn to relate as equals and accelerate social change.

The 2021-2022 Social Innovation Lab will bring together 12 exceptional, emerging African, Afrodescent and Spanish young leaders from the civil society and private sector, who are tackling the most pressing challenges. The goals for this first cohort of Ayoka Innovators are:

1. Connect: Build a peer-learning community of social innovators on a shared vision of co-leadership.

2. Research & Co-create: On the roots of the most pressing challenges, map global solutions and work on a collaborative innovation base to generate applicable solutions for your communities and capabilities.

3. Share: Participate in national and global conferences explaining the innovations you are trying to build on to inspire more young people and generate a community of Afropean change-makers.

1. The Research Seminar: the seminar will provide young leaders with founding principles of research and supports in identifying the root problems of their targeted system & the most innovative global solutions to it. It includes a full-weekend virtual training session, one-month research and individual support. It will culminate in the presentation of the research to a broad public.

2. Social Innovation Training: this training encompasses all the basic components of Social Innovation Training. It includes weekly Full-Group Sessions with the entire cohort. In these sessions, you should expect a mix of skill-building workshops and co-creation activities.

3. The Implementation: during four months, the young leaders will have to design an innovative path for their non-profit or social enterprise, in order to scale their impact and make a deeper change in their community. The Implementation phase includes monthly mentorship activities and peer learning.

4. The International Conference: in September 2022, the cohort of young leaders will participate in an international conference where presenting their impact and engaging with fellow leaders.

• Application: 1 September 2021 – 31 October 2021
• Selection & acceptance: November 2021
• Introductory meeting: 10 January 2021
• Research Seminar: January – February 2022
• Training weekly calls: February – April 2022
• Implementation & Mentoring: April 2022 – July 2022
• International Conference: October 2022

You can commit to fully participating in the entire duration of the program from 1 December 2021 until 30 September 2022. The seminars will be done Tuesdays from 19 pm CET. The intensive workshops will be conducted on non-working days.