Home Our Accelerator program for budding changemakers!

Connecting grassroots experiences, empowering community leaders, and unleashing transformative change!

The Accelerator connects, empowers, and transforms emergent agents of social change across the globe. 

The program engages participants through an eight-month project-based collaborative learning journey (including a fully-sponsored week-long in-person retreat, ‘‘CoLab‘ in Germany) to refine social impact initiatives they are spearheading, build collective leadership competencies, and ignite transformative change that cut across barriers of place and identity, furthering the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Inviting SDG advocates and practitioners across the world to 

Program Brochure

A must-have resource for applicants - Access in-depth information about the program!

Chosen among hundreds of applicants worldwide, up to 20 selected participants will work together to refine and scale their impactful community projects. Through intentional peer learning, subject matter advisory, and leading-edge thematic contributions, the program provides a springboard for participants to tap into the fullest potential of their social impact projects! 

Upto 20 actively engaged participants will also be invited to attend the fully-sponsored week-long in-person retreat, ‘CoLab‘ in Germany in July 2023, and furthermore, a signature program of the Melton Foundation, the Accelerator is deeply intertwined with our unique community of global citizenship practice, and, for successful participants, the program becomes a gateway to joining the life-long Melton Foundation Fellowship!

In today’s interconnected world, we can see the sheer magnitude of solutions to pressing issues. Imagine if we can intersect these solutions, turning local impact into global potential and changing the world from the grassroots level to the global level and back again. The Accelerator creates that space for emerging change agents to exchange and collaborate genuinely to advance their initiative while contributing to those of others. By encompassing transformative approaches that have emerged through cross-boundary exchange and collaborative action, our 8-month program accelerates social impact projects through a global citizenship paradigm. 

Participants will work together with other emerging leaders and re-engineer community projects to amplify their impact!

Applications for the 2023 program are now closed.

Check back in December 2023 for applications to the 2024 cohort.

Program Details

The Accelerator is an 8-month, peer-driven, and collaboration-based leadership program with practical learning and implementation.

The Accelerator engages emerging change agents from different world regions around developing competencies for global citizenship and sustainable development practices. Over the course of 8 months, participants engaged in blended learning, project assignments, peer exchange, and subject matter advisory to build key capacity to amplify the transformative potential of their social impact projects.

Eight monthly modules – Interconnected module themes – Substantial  Peer Exchange – Applicable Methods & Tools – Tailored support and collaboration

 

 

Benefits of joining the program

By joining the program, participants stand to gain valuable competencies and insights, both from mentors and peers! Here are some key benefits of becoming a part of the Accelerator!

Fully-Sponsored Co-Lab in Germany, July 2023

The Co-Lab convenes emerging leaders, i.e participants from our Accelerator, from across sectors and geographies to learn, collaborate, and co-create meaningful solutions to advance Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on a local level with the global context in mind. The 2023 edition of the Co-Lab will be held from 2-7 July 2023 in Gotha & Jena, Germany, and will enable active Accelerator participants from around the world to meet and collaborate in person!

A program promising unique learning experiences and accelerating social impact, the Co-Lab is a fully-funded retreat scheduled for 2-7 July 2023 in Gotha & Jena, Germany for all actively engaged participants!

The Melton Foundation, together with Ernst-Abbe-Stiftung and the Gotha Research Center, will sponsor travel, accommodation, visa, learning resources and materials, and other major expenses for participants, to enable participants from all socio-economic backgrounds to travel and engage with other participants in person! Learn more here

Who are ideal candidates for the program?

The program is a transformative learning journey with participants from around the globe, building upon their experiences to emerge as socially responsible, collaborative community leaders! 

Are you a young community development practitioner aged between 20 – 35 years, who is curious, responsible, forward-thinking, with a proven track record of social impact, and actively engaged in or leading a local impact project currently? And you are looking to connect with like-minded peers to make better sense of the world together? Then you are the ideal participant for our program!

Applications for the 2023 Program are now closed.

Prepare for your 2024 application from today!

An application guide containing the information you'll be asked to provide is available for download here. You can use it to develop your responses offline before submitting them.

Hear from our Alumni!

"The Accelerator was one of the most memorable experiences in my professional life. What was so special about the experience was that I lived a high level of acceptance and thoughts appreciation. This, in turn, reflected very positively on me and (I felt) safe to share my thoughts and ideas."

-Sulaima Ramadan, 2021 Participant

"It was a privilage to meet people across the world and share experiences on how we are solving global issues at the local level. My message: JUST DO IT! You'll learn from multiple perspectives and build something meaningful. Connecting with the global community is the spirit of Global Citizenship."

- Sagheer Ahmed, 2021 participant

Program Flow

Frequently Asked Questions

For more information, useful links, and insightful application tips, click through to the Frequently Asked Questions!

Collaborators and Sponsors

To further our main objective of making the program truly global, leading-edge, and accessible to all, the Accelerator is partnering with innovative organizations, including:

Our Support Network

Join the Global Citizenship movement!

Whether as a participant in our program, a network partner, or supporter – we offer ample avenues for you to continue to be an integral member of our close-knit community! Take a look at the various options open for engaging with us!

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