SOCIAL LEADERSHIP IN ACTION:

Page en français ici: https://www.kisskissbankbank.com/fr/projects/slasummit-2018

Social Leadership in Action (SLA) is an emerging student-led organization that challenges young people to rethink international development. As a registered non-profit organization, our hybrid model empowers students across disciplines to create tangible solutions to community issues. SLA works on two dimensions: locally in Montreal during the year and during the Spring and Summer in South America.

Throughout the year, we host hands-on workshops, panel discussions, networking events and more. Our aim is to foster critical thinking, innovation and empowerment among young people in Montreal. Each spring, over 100 students from across North America participate in our largest annual summit and case competition, SLASummit.

With these workshops, conferences and its annual Summit, SLA acts as an ally for people interested in working on grassroots, sustainable and self-critical development projects. We also aim to be a valuable resource and support for passionate entrepreneurs wishing to acquire useful skills and frameworks for the implementation of their projects.

THE SUMMIT:

For its Fourth edition, from March 15th to 18th, participants discuss fundamental social, political, and economic issues affecting a Latin American community. Teams collaborate to address the question, “Can you positively impact the lives of at least 30 people with $5000?” We also bring in academics and professionals for TED-style talks and interactive workshops, making it a unique platform to develop both strong conceptual and practical knowledge. Instead of the traditional top-down approach, we get participants to go to the grassroots level, using their diverse backgrounds to create projects to be taken on by community members.

On the final day of the conference, each team will present its project in front of a jury made up of professionals and experts in international development. Among other things, projects are judged on their feasibility, sustainability over time and critical thinking. This year, all participants will have the opportunity to apply for our Summer Fellowship to go to the community and start implementing the project.

Our sponsorship and grants only cover conference expenses, allowing the project itself to have a genuine community focus. By funding this project, supporters can become a part of the mission and vision of SLASummit. We hope you take the time to learn more about SLASummit and the work that we support!

OUR PARTNER COMMUNITY AND NGO

We are proud to announce that this year, we are partnering with the NGO Rikolto, which works in the province of San Ignacio, Peru.

The Region

The province of San Ignacio is in the Cajamarca region known by its megadiversity. Their proximity to the Andes mountains gives them diverse ecological zones. Thereby, the pricipal economic activities are related to land , especially coffee culture. However, the communities in San Ignacio are lacking institutional support for their agricultural activities and have little access to specific education that could help them improve the management of the agricultural production. They also face a greater challenge: limited access to water that results in low levels of productivity. Consequently, the little inclusion and knowledge of the norms discourage the population to participate in those economic activities.

The NGO - Rikolto

Rikolto is an international NGO that works to reduce rural poverty by helping family agricultural producers. One of their broader goals in the improve food security in growing rural regions. The current project in Peru aims to develop the sustainability and inclusion of cocoa and coffee production chains by improving the livelihoods of small community producers. Rikolto works to improve the organizational management processes through workshops and projects with the cocoa and coffee cooperatives. The inclusion of the young adults is als a priority in their activities to insure inclusion and continuity.

OUR VALUES

Sustainable Development

SLA holds a firm belief in bottom-up, self-empowering forms of economic and social development. The proposed solutions must not only be answers to problems highlighted by our partner NGO, but are also selected and implemented with the local community. The community is at the centre of each edition of the conference, and SLA works hand-in-hand with them on the implementation of the project. By taking this participatory approach, our model not only ensures long-term sustainability and growth, but also improves projects’ efficiency by precisely catering to communities’ needs.

AWARENESS

Raise awareness about current political, social, and economic issues in Latin America, in the Montreal community, and globally.

PROBLEM-SOLVING

Foster interdisciplinary problem-solving skills necessary to address societal challenges.

CRITICAL THINKING

Act as a catalyst of grassroots, sustainable, and self-critical development.

INNOVATION

Showcase Latin America and Montreal as hubs of entrepreneurship and innovation.

EMPOWERMENT

Foster leadership skills in young people while equipping them with the knowledge and tools necessary for social entrepreneurship.

OUR TEAM

CO-PRESIDENTS

Violaine Jacques

Caroline Bérard Garcia

LOGISTICS COORDINATOR

Medjine Antoine Bellamy

SPONSORSHIP COORDINATORS

Claire Charriaud

Lina Dieudonné

PROJECT COORDINATOR

Kai Kuong Wong

OUTREACH COORDINATORS

Isa Engels

Stéphanie Marchand

GRAPHIC COORDINATOR

Mimi Klein

CONTENT COORDINATOR

Sidney Kreimes

INNOVATION COORDINATOR

Ian Kelley

SOCIAL EVENTS COORDINATOR

Sasha Kazhdan

SLASummit 2018