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 Gotha as well as emerging collaborations with the City of Gotha, Wunderkammer (Stiftung Friedenstein), Mehrgenerationenhaus Gotha, Willy Brandt School of Public Policy (University of Erfurt), Plattform e.V., among other much valued local and regional supporters. Gotha, with its pace, history, and sense of place, offered the right environment. It’s a town that encourages reflection and connection, not just between people, but between people and the issues they care about. For the Global Solvers Accelerator, it was a setting that allowed them to think clearly, collaborate deeply, and imagine possibilities together.

Committing to Gotha as one of two recurring Co-Lab venues was an intentional decision motivated by the town’s unique history of social innovation, peaceful spirit, and cultural curiosity, as well as socio-cultural and socio-economic dynamics of the present. By connecting local realities and global know-how away from big metropolitan areas such as Berlin or Frankfurt, the Co-Lab offers a quieter, more authentic experience, allowing participants to engage with the local context more genuinely, slow down, and build connections with each other and the locality that can go way beyond the surface. 

The Melton Foundation is a global network that promotes global citizenship through experiential learning, collaboration, and social impact. For over 30 years, it has connected emerging leaders across continents to work together on pressing issues, from climate change to equity and inclusion, with the belief that societal transformation starts with shared responsibility and genuine collaboration.

A long-standing supporter of the Melton Foundation, the Ernst-Abbe-Stiftung has been advancing science, innovation, and social impact since 1992. Their commitment to fostering regional and global collaboration played a key role in bringing the Global Solvers Co-Lab to Gotha.

Local Host & Primary Co-Lab Venue: the Gotha Research Center 

For the second time, the Co-Lab was hosted at the Gotha Research Center. After a warm welcome by Managing Director Dr. Markus Meumann, this beautiful, historic space became home for collaboration workshops that sparked deep dialogue and transformative problem-solving among Co-Lab participants (below) and the international research fellows who were currently working at the venue. 

Activating curiosity and creativity at the Wunderkammer Gotha

During the Global Storytelling Evening, participants gathered at Wunderkammer to share personal stories that shaped their personal and social impact journeys, from growing up with a disability in Delhi to co-creating community networks in rural Chile. It was an evening of genuine sharing, honest reflection, and deep connections.

During the Co-Lab Clinic at Wunderkammer, participants took a creative stance on their projects. Equipped with clay, tools, and reflection questions, they shaped some of the challenges from their social impact work (below). From abstract shapes to symbolic figures, the emerging sculptures became a new language for difficult issues, a moment of creative grounding in an intense week.

Co-Lab Connects Gotha: The Residenzstadt Gotha welcome global guests

Thursday, 10 July, marked a special moment during the Co-Lab, when the Residenzstadt Gotha officially welcomed their international guests in town. Hosted at the historic hospital in the heart of the town, Mayor Kurt Kreuch and Deputy Mayor Peter Leisner welcomed the group, reflecting on Gotha’s long history of global connection and its openness to people from around the world. Over food and informal conversation, local and global guests exchanged views on culture, politics, diversity, and the work being done through the Global Solvers Accelerator.

The reception brought together representatives from the city administration, city council, Kinder- und Jugendforum Gotha, Gotha Research Center, Wunderkammer, German Professional School, Melton Foundation, as well as the City Writer Gabriel Wolkenfeld and Co-Lab participants (see below). It was a chance for people from different backgrounds to talk, listen, and find common ground.

Experiencing Gotha: A Cultural Immersion

Led by Dr. Benjamin Steiner (Research Center Gotha) and Kirstin Wenzel (Wunderkammer), participants took part in a guided walk through central Gotha, from Schloss Friedenstein to the town’s parks and civic spaces. Along the way, they learned about the dynamic history of Gotha and explored how symbols, infrastructure, and reforms shaped the town’s identity over centuries. From the values represented in public sculptures near the castle to early education reforms under Ernst the Pious, the walk offered a lens into how Gotha’s past continues to shape its present. Discussions touched on themes like justice, public access, and the role of civic institutions, inviting participants to draw comparisons with their own local contexts.

CO-LAB Participants: Their Work in Context

The Co-Lab participants did not come to Gotha for theoretical discussions, but because they’re actively leading social impact projects in their own communities across Asia, Africa, Europe, Oceania, and the Americas. Their work spans urgent and intersecting issues: disability inclusion, rural infrastructure, sustainable transport, mental health, and climate resilience, all grounded in the lived realities of the places they come from.

Throughout the week, these projects became part of everyday conversations. Over meals at the Multigenerationhouse (MGH Gotha), group discussions, and walks through Gotha, participants exchanged approaches, challenged assumptions, and explored how their work might connect with local and global contexts alike.

Here’s a closer look at some of the projects that shaped the dialogue in Gotha:

In the area of accessibility, two participants brought complementary perspectives.

Puneet Singhal (India), through his initiative Green Disability, focuses on climate justice for people with disabilities, especially in regions vulnerable to environmental risks. He documents lived experiences, breaks down complex research into accessible formats, and ensures that the voices of disabled individuals are not left out of climate conversations.

Idowu Adeyemi (Nigeria/Germany), founder of Archivan Consulting, runs a social enterprise that provides digital and entrepreneurial training to young Nigerians and persons with disabilities. His work challenges workforce inequality and pushes for meaningful inclusion in a rapidly digitizing world.

“Inclusion isn’t charity, it’s innovation,” Idowu shared during a discussion. “It’s time we stop designing systems that leave people behind and start creating ones that bring everyone forward.”

Family and community also emerged as key themes.

Cristóbal Escalona (Chile) leads Resilient Networks at Balloon Lab, a Latin American innovation hub. His project transforms rural communities into nodes of climate preparedness by combining local knowledge, territorial mapping, and hands-on co-creation. The goal is to build not just awareness, but agency, giving communities tools to face climate risks together.

In the space of infrastructure,

Alexander Lorenz (Germany) is reimagining how schools are designed and built in the Global South. Through his NGO Build for Change, he co-creates educational spaces using local materials and shared decision-making processes. His approach, Contemporary Contextual Architecture, emphasizes dignity, collaboration, and place-based solutions. “We build with communities, not just for them,” Alexander explained. “That’s where transformation begins.”

The discussion also extended to transportation,

Pradeep K (India), a Global Solvers Accelerator alumnus from 2023, shared how he contributed to shaping electric mobility policies while working at EV startup Bounce. His work helped scale affordable e-scooter access across six cities in South India, advancing the push for clean, accessible public transport in underserved areas.

And finally, on the topic of mental health, adult loneliness, and belonging,

Bridget Sisney (USA), a Melton Foundation Senior Fellow and Co-Lab Coach, spoke about her work through Wellness with Bridget, a platform focused on socio-emotional wellness and healing-centered leadership. Her approach draws from anti-racism and DEIB frameworks, offering tools for emotional literacy and resilience, especially for educators and frontline community workers.

Co-Lab 2025: A Week of Transformation

Together, these projects reflect the kind of global-local dialogue the Co-Lab was designed to foster. Each participant brought not only a problem they were working to solve, but also a process, one that valued listening, adaptation, and community involvement as much as outcomes.

For Gotha, the Co-Lab wasn’t just a week of activity, it was a window into the impact work being done by young people around the world, and an invitation to stay connected to those efforts. It also showed that small towns don’t need to mimic big cities to be part of global conversations. Sometimes, creating space, curiosity, and hospitality is the more compelling offer.

To put the experience in perspective, Lars Dietzel, organizer of the Global Solvers Accelerator (GSA) & Co-Lab and Director of Strategy at the Melton Foundation, shared this reflection:

Since its inception in 2018, the Global Solvers Accelerator (GSA) and Co-Lab have supported over 70 grassroots initiatives across more than 25 countries, helping social innovators activate collective leadership, share practical expertise, and strengthen their impact in collaboration with peers from diverse regions, sectors, and backgrounds. With a relationship-centered approach to systemic impact at heart, the GSA and Co-Lab nurtures global citizenship, fosters cross-boundary collaboration, and promotes peace in tangible, grounded ways.

But this work is never done in isolation. It is always rooted in collaboration with global and local partners who lend their helping hands, challenge us to grow, and uphold the shared mission of bringing humanity a little closer, one connection at a time. This spirit was powerfully present during our inaugural Co-Lab in Gotha in 2023, where seeds were planted for an even more connected gathering in 2025. This year, we could activate a wider network of people and organizations deeply committed to social change  and we can only begin to imagine the immense potential that we could have when the Global Solvers Co-Lab returns to Gotha in 2027.