05 Oct
Global Solvers Accelerator Projects, Melton Community News, News, Senior Fellow Initiatives

Reflections From the Co-Lab

What Ghana Taught Me About Social Change In July 2026, I had the opportunity to travel to Accra, Ghana, to take part in the Global Solvers Co-Lab, the week-long in-person component of the Melton Foundation’s Global Solvers Accelerator. The program brings together emerging social impact leaders from around the world to strengthen their leadership, refine their projects, exchange knowledge, and explore how collective action can contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals. For me, however, the Co-Lab became much more than a professional learning experience. It was an opportunity to listen, question, connect, and reflect on what it truly means to work...

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18 Aug
Global Solvers Accelerator Projects, Melton Community News, News, Senior Fellow Initiatives

Stitched with Purpose

There is a bag sitting on a table somewhere in Accra right now. It was made by hand, stitch by careful stitch, by a woman in the West Bank of Palestine. She made it at home, between the school run and dinner, between one responsibility and the next. She never met the person who would carry it. She may never know that it travelled across two continents to become part of a gathering of young global leaders. But she made it with full attention, full skill, and something that I can only describe as insistence: the insistence that what she produces...

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10 Jul
Global Solvers Accelerator Projects, News, Press

The Melton Foundation’s 2025 Impact Report: A Year of Growth & Renewal

Every impact report begins with numbers. Ours begins with a woman in rural Benin. She is one of the more than 60% of women in her region without access to financial digital tools, and one of the many without a bank account. In her community, only 37% of women have one, compared to 48% of men. For her, the digital economy was a door she could not open.In 2025, the Bridging the Digital Gap project team had the opportunity to contribute to work already being led by the Batonga Foundation, an organization working to expand digital access for rural women...

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28 May
Events, Global Solvers Accelerator Projects, News

2025 Global Solvers Accelerator Impact Report

The Global Solvers Accelerator is a ten-month leadership and peer-learning journey that brings together social impact leaders from different contexts and cultures to learn across differences, strengthen their leadership, and work towards meaningful change in their communities. Now available, the 2025 Global Solvers Accelerator (GSA) Impact Report captures the experiences, growth, and outcomes of this year's cohort. For the first time, it pairs survey data with participants' own Most Significant Change stories, offering a fuller picture of what changed in them and their projects and why. A Diverse Global Cohort.The 2025 cohort brought together 20 participants representing 18 nationalities across every world...

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31 Jul
Events, Global Solvers Accelerator Projects, News, Press

The Global Solvers Co-Lab 2025: A Week of Deep Impact in Gotha, Germany

From 6-12 July 2025, the Global Solvers Co-Lab (Co-Lab) brought young social change leaders from across the globe to Gotha with the ambitious goal to further sustainable development by connecting and intersecting grassroot projects worldwide.For the second time, Gotha, a town in the state of Thuringia, Germany with a population of just over 46.000 inhabitants, became the meeting point for 30 Co-Lab participants and trainers from 18 different countries worldwide. A Melton Foundation (MF) initiative tied to their 8-month leadership program Global Solvers Accelerator, the gathering was made possible through the ongoing partnership between MF, the Ernst-Abbe-Stiftung, the Research Center...

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24 Jul
Events, Global Solvers Accelerator Projects, News

Learning Through Action: Impact Reflections from the Global Solvers Co-Lab 2025

From July 6–12, the Global Solvers Co-Lab 2025 brought together 20 participants from over 15 countries in Gotha, Germany, for an intensive, practice-driven residency. Far from a conference or showcase, the Co-Lab functioned as an applied learning space where systems leadership was not just discussed it was lived.Throughout the week, participants engaged in deep intention-setting, cultural immersion, storytelling grounded in lived experience, and collaborative systems thinking sessions. They worked through real-time project challenges, reflected on barriers to impact, and visited grassroots organizations in Erfurt to connect global insights with local action. The Co-Lab offered a rare opportunity to translate theory...

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23 Jul
Events, Global Solvers Accelerator Projects, News

Gaming for Good: Learning from Spawnpoint’s Radical Approach to Digital Culture

At a time when gaming is often dismissed as a distraction or worse, blamed for fostering isolation and polarization, Spawnpoint Institute for Game and Media Culture offers a radically different perspective. They invite us to see games not as an escape from reality, but as a meaningful way to engage with it: to ask critical questions, challenge dominant narratives, and build community in both digital and physical spaces.For Spawnpoint, games are civic tools, vehicles for storytelling, identity formation, and inclusive dialogue. Their approach challenges the outdated notion that gaming is solitary or escapist, showing instead how it can be a...

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23 Jul
Events, Global Solvers Accelerator Projects, News

Empowering Integration through Community and Creativity: Learnings from IWM’s Local Approach

How do we build inclusive communities where newcomers can thrive, not just survive? In Erfurt, the Society for International Business Development and Management (IWM) is tackling this question through a holistic, people-centered approach that goes far beyond traditional integration services, redefining what it means to belong.At IWM’s local hub, we encountered more than a service provider. We experienced a living example of integration as a two-way process, where both host communities and newcomers are supported to grow, adapt, and thrive together. Their programs span language learning, vocational guidance, entrepreneurship support, and cultural orientation, but what ties it all together is...

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22 Jul
Events, Global Solvers Accelerator Projects, News, Projects

Advocating from the Ground Up: A Project Visit to LIGA Selbstvertretung Thüringen e.V.

In Erfurt, Germany, the team at League of Political Interest and Self-Representation of People with Disabilities in Thuringia (LIGA) is at the forefront of a quiet but powerful transformation, shifting the narrative around disability from one of passive service provision to one of active self-representation and empowerment. As a grassroots organization led by people with disabilities, LIGA is uniquely positioned to challenge institutional barriers and champion the principles of autonomy, dignity, and inclusion.Disability justice is not just about access; it’s about equity, dignity, and the right to shape the systems that affect one’s life. At the heart of this struggle is...

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01 Jul
Global Solvers Accelerator Projects, News, Press

Collaborating for Impact: The Melton Foundation and Willy Brandt School Partnership

In March 2025, the Melton Foundation team traveled to the Willy Brandt School of Public Policy at the University of Erfurt, marking a significant milestone in a growing partnership that connects academic institutions with grassroots changemakers. This visit was more than just a courtesy call, it was a space for deep dialogue, knowledge exchange, and strategic alignment around shared values and global goals.During the visit, Melton Foundation representatives met with faculty, researchers, and student leaders who are actively shaping the next generation of public policy practitioners. Conversations revolved around the synergies between the Global Solvers Accelerator’s focus on systems change...

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27 Mar
Awareness and Advocacy, Global Citizenship Insights, Global Solvers Accelerator Projects, News, Senior Fellow Initiatives

Scaling Deep: A Systems Approach to Social Impact Leadership

In today’s rapidly evolving world, leadership in the social impact space is undergoing a profound transformation. A 2017 study by FSG and the Collective Impact Forum found that over 80% of successful social change efforts involve cross-sector collaboration and shared leadership structures. Moreover, systems thinking, empathy, and the ability to work across differences are emerging as the most critical competencies for 21st-century changemakers. In this reality, leadership is no longer about commanding from the front; it's about asking better questions, facilitating dialogue, and enabling sustainable, community-led transformation.Peter Mukuka, Founder and CEO of Men of Honour, embodies this shift. His organization...

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09 Nov
Events, Global Solvers Accelerator Projects, News

Celebrating Innovation: The 2024 Global Solvers Awards and Project Presentations

 The 2024 Global Solvers Awards Ceremony, held on October 26, marked a pivotal moment in the journey of the Global Solvers program. After months of dedication, collaboration, and innovation, the program’s participants gathered to showcase their groundbreaking projects aimed at addressing some of the world’s most pressing social challenges. From education and empowerment to environmental sustainability, the diverse projects presented reflected the immense talent and commitment of the fellows involved.The Global Solvers Accelerator engages emerging change agents from diverse world regions around developing competencies for global citizenship, sustainable development, and collective leadership.Over the course of eight months, participants engage in...

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