This presentation will feature the initial efforts to build collaborations between neighborhood leaders and university partners in Port Alfred, South Africa, and Missouri, USA. In 2024, colleagues from Stenden South Africa, University of Missouri Extension, University of Missouri-Columbia, and University of Missouri-St. Louis hosted the first international pilot of Neighborhood Leadership Academy – South Africa, after almost a year of learning and working together virtually. This presentation will discuss the process for building the collaboration, adapting the curriculum, lessons learned and impacts from the pilot training, and next steps in deepening the partnership for future shared international learning and exchange.
This project highlights the opportunities for shared learning and community-led impact across international boundaries made possible by leveraging the experience, resources, and common values of community leaders and universities in the Port Alfred region of South Africa, and Missouri, USA. Using an evidence-based leadership development curriculum, over twelve hours of joint review and development, adapting materials for the local context, and deep commitment by the partners, the first Neighborhood Leadership Academy-South Africa train-the-trainer program was hosted in May 2024 with thirteen community leaders and four university faculty. The goal of the collaboration was to identify barriers and opportunities for community leadership development in resource-limited communities, adapt existing training resources, uncover shared learning opportunities, and support faculty and community members with the skills and curriculum to continue offering leadership development training for grassroots leaders long-term. This presentation will highlight core community leadership values shared by community members in Port Alfred and Missouri communities, what worked in the process, opportunities for continued program adaptations moving forward, as well as evaluation data from the program and six-month follow up impact evaluation of participants. Next steps including student and community leader exchanges, leveraging institutional and community experiences for enhanced shared learning, expanded university partner sites, additional curriculum modifications, and funding proposals for future work will be discussed.
