What will I learn?
Global PACT South Africa is about learning what you can do and what you can change in South Africa. In partnership with local organizations and 25 southern African participants you will explore what it has taken, and what it will take, to effect real and positive change for communities across South Africa .
Understanding Issues
Global PACT teaches the knowledge, skills and attitudes you need to be a change maker. Through a series of integrated team-based workshop-style exercises you will will learn how to identify a critical local problem, break it down to its root causes, and identify where you can take action. In order to make real change you and your team will go out into the field to test the merits of your ideas with local stakeholders by doing real-world or action research
in the community.
In this process, you will learn to test your ideas with the reality of issues critical to the local communities you aim to help, you will develop an implementable project idea, and you will design effective implementation plans. This process will teach you effective problem solving skills and teach you not only how to create change, but actually make change happen in the process.
Build Your Team
To implement a project requires an organization, so during the entire program you will be building the team which will be the engine of your ideas for change. There is no other way to learn how to build an effective team other than doing it. In an integrated series of exercises, you will have to communicate, make decisions, and achieve a goal together with other people. This is easily the most difficult part of Global PACT: communicating your ideas and expectations to the group and learning how to live, work and accomplish your goals together. Your team will be comprised of a roughly equal number of students from organizations and schools across our host community.
Spread Your Message
You must learn to communicate clearly and effectively if you want anyone in the general public to pay attention to your ideas. Therefore, during your Global PACT training, you will practice communicating your organization's message and mission. Daily, you will speak to the public and other target audiences, and you will learn to work with print, Internet and television media organizations. At the end of your training, your group will launch your organization’s first project at a live press conference with local media coverage. This will broaden the effect of your organization and bring you closer to the ultimate goal of creating change.
Create and Learn from Real Change
This process will help you learn how to start and organize any project in any kind of organization. Skills you will learn include breaking down complex issues, making presentations, public speaking, leadership, effective research, networking, group decision-making, finance and fundraising, cross-cultural communication, working with the media, and conflict resolution. These skills are fully transferable in the creation and operation of any successful organization, project, business, or association. Prior participants have started their own small businesses, launched local change initiatives, and become directors of nonprofits. Regardless of your path, we will challenge, transform and inspire you to become a positive agent of change in your community.
