The #JourneyToHurricane Campaign is finally over!! It was without a doubt one of the biggest campaigns in UPG history with over 20,000+ votes casted.
At last winners emerged and we are proud to introduce you to our amazing winners who are guaranteed to spend one week all expense paid trip to the hurricane island center for science and leadership Maine, USA.
A big congratulations to all the winners and all the nominees who participated in this amazing campaign, let’s continue making the world a better place!
UPG Sustainability Leadership is a movement that mobilises individuals and organisations to support positive citizen leadership on sustainability.
It is a movement that encourages and enables citizens at all levels to take positive action. A movement inspired by the UPG’s commitment to do what we can with what we have, rather than wait for someone else to act. It is a movement that embodies the notion that everyone can do something to make the world more sustainable.
UPG believes that sustainability includes BOTH the usual “green” issues such as planting trees, recycling waste, managing energy, protecting the oceans AND other issues that have been central to our societies for a long time such as: education, health, jobs, gender equality, sustainable consumption, sustainable production and more. For those who are familiar with it, UPG uses the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a guide.
The flagship activity is the #UPGSustainability Leadership training program for 500+ young adults from across the globe every year. There are also activities for schools and institutions as well as for companies.
Launched in 2019, the UPG Sustainability Leadership program has been training young leaders from all paths of life and world regions to become champions for positive citizen leadership.
To date, 1000+ new UPG Sustainability Leaders from over 100 countries have successfully completed the training and a selected number among them have been presented with an additional opportunity a FREE, complementary and immersive 1-week experience at the Hurricane Island Center for Science and Leadership in the USA.
UPG Sustainability Leadership is FREE for young people thanks to the wonderful support of our Partners who believe in positive citizen leadership on sustainability.
UPG Sustainability Leaders have commit to two actions to take within their communities or countries.
* Lead personal projects of their own choice that support at least one of the SDGs”
* Deliver training sessions to their local community
UPG Sustainability Leaders are already making a difference across the world:
UPG Sustainability Leaders
People Trained
Countries
Are you a passionate citizen, aged 18 to 35, who believes your actions can support your local community and that every small positive action can make the world a better place? Then you are welcome to apply for our 2023 Program.
Do you want to be part of a global community of UPG Sustainability Leaders?
Do you want to get FREE training and the chance to spend an immersive 1-week experience in the USA (all costs covered)?
If your answer is YES, (or you know someone who would say yes!), then watch this space, subscribe to our social media channels on Instagram and/or LinkedIn – and apply once applications open later this year. Or join the UPG Community and stay ahead of this and our other activities here: https://unitedpeople.global/join
Are you part of an organisation and would you like to support one or several outstanding young leaders to get a seat in the UPG Sustainability Leadership 2023 Class?
The support of an organisation increases an applicant’s chance of being selected for the programme, as it strengthens their capacity to make an impact after the training –
As a nominating organisation, you will benefit from the knowledge your candidate can bring to your organisation (subject to being selected). And you will be kept updated about the programme and other activities this initiative offers.
With the support of courageous people and organisations, a total of 1150 UPG Sustainability Leaders have been trained in three classes and over 120 of them were granted the opportunity to get an additional immersive training on Hurricane Island in the USA. Here, they live first hand what sustainability means and they are presented with different experiences to understand how to address the challenges of specific ecosystems in a sustainable way, exploring the local environment, understanding problems, challenges, and thinking about sustainable solutions based on field investigations.
UPG Sustainability Leaders are part of a worldwide network of young leaders from over 100 countries who create impact locally AND globally through their projects and mini-training sessions. They learn not only about the importance of the SDGs, but also how to use UPG’s Four Pillars to move from “ideals and goals” to “positive action”. And they learn from each other.
The curriculum of the 9-week intensive training encompasses a wide range of subjects including but not limited to – project management, stakeholder engagement, communication, digital communications, story telling, fundraising, and much more. Sustainability Leaders also explored how sustainability is related to economics, politics, law, culture, technology, education, and more.
“The goal of this training is to increase the capacity of UPG Sustainability Leaders to lead at least one project of their own choosing in their community. In addition, upon the conclusion of this training, UPG Sustainability Leaders conduct a secondary wave of mini-training sessions within their communities; contributing to a ground swell of informed citizens taking positive action and demonstrating sustainability leadership.”
UPG Sustainability Leaders have trained over 14,000 citizens worldwide through online and in-person sessions, and this is only the beginning.
“We started small and we focused on doing what we do with love. Today we are humbled by the impact that we are having around the world. We are inspired by the commitment of young people as well as by the quality of partners and collaborators that are working with us. Thank you! Together we are making the world a better place. Please let us keep building,” Yemi Babington-Ashaye. President, United People Global.
You can learn more by checking the 2019 Report
UPG Sustainability Leadership is the world’s largest and most comprehensive sustainability leadership training for young adults.
It is a free programme that mobilises people and organisations to support positive citizen leadership on sustainability. And this is possible thanks to the support of UPG’s partners and collaborators.
Check out the list of world class speakers and trainers for the 2021 UPG Sustainability Leadership Class
The following conditions apply to prospective candidates who are interested in becoming UPG Sustainability Leaders.
You demonstrate a strong motivation to become a UPG Sustainability Leader combined with strong capabilities and you also have initial ideas that can have an impact.
Your age is minimum 18 years or maximum 35 years by 30 November 2023. This ensures that all participants are within this age group for the duration of the training and experiences that are planned.
UPG is looking for young determined people from all different paths of life and regions of the world. From well-experienced professionals to freshly graduated students.
The selection process considers four factors:
A. Your Profile – this helps us to strive for diversity
B. Your Motivation – we select the most motivated
C. Your Capabilities and
D. The Potential for Impact of your project or idea
UPG Champions have an advantage in the process as they demonstrate the required motivation. UPG Champions that are part of a local “Community of Champions” or Champions who are from an organisation that is a UPG Champion also have an advantage in the selection process as this contributes to a supportive environment for their work.
To find out more about UPG Champions, click here: https://act.unitedpeople.global/stars and here: https://unitedpeople.global/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/UPG_Benefits_-_Join_UPG_Champions_-_Individuals.pdf
If you are interested in being part of the 2023 Class of UPG Sustainability Leadership then get prepared as the call for applications will be open soon!
Launch of Applications
Applications Close
Selection Announcement
Start of 2023 UPG Sustainability Online Program
Closure of 2023 UPG Sustainability Online Program
2023 UPG Sustainability Commencement Ceremony
Invitations begin for 60 UPG Sustainability Leaders to go to Hurricane Island
Thank you for your interest in UPG Sustainability Leadership. Let us move together on the journey to a more sustainable world. Please contact us with any comments, questions, ideas and suggestions. We look forward to hearing from you.
UPG Sustainability Leadership mobilises people and organisations to support Positive Citizen Leadership on Sustainability. We bring together people who are committed to impact by taking positive actions. From 2019 until now, 586 UPG Sustainability Leaders have already been trained and in 2022 UPG is training and certifying 500 new young leaders from all over the world and flying 60 of them to a FREE, complementary and immersive 1-week experience on an island in the USA: the Hurricane Island Center for Science and Leadership.
To apply, head over to https://upglive.org/UPGSustainability and click on APPLY. You will be directed to an online application form which you can complete.
• Applications must be completed online; applications that are mailed, faxed or emailed to UPG will not be accepted
• Questions that are marked with a red asterisk are mandatory and must be answered
• Individuals may only submit one application. If an applicant submits two applications using different email addresses, then the individual will be disqualified
• Candidates must be 18-35 years of age by 1 October 2022
• Candidates must be self-motivated, capable of overcoming major challenges and able to think outside the box
• Applicants from all nationalities are eligible to apply
• Candidates from all genders and candidates with disabilities are encouraged to apply.
Yes. All applicants to the UPG Sustainability Leadership program will need to have a good understanding of English to apply. Application forms, all training and all supporting materials will be in English so to get the most out of the program a strong English language capability is required.
Applications are welcome from all candidates who will be a minimum of 18 and a maximum of 35 years of age on 1 October 2022. This ensures that all candidates are within this age group for the duration of the training and experiences that are planned.
Candidates outside that age range are not eligible for UPG Sustainability Leadership but are welcome to join the UPG Community for other opportunities: https://unitedpeople.global/join/
Applications are welcome from all candidates who will be a minimum of 18 and a maximum of 35 years of age on 1 October 2022. This ensures that all candidates are within this age group for the duration of the training and experiences that are planned.
Candidates outside that age range are not eligible for UPG Sustainability Leadership but are welcome to join the UPG Community for other opportunities: https://unitedpeople.global/join/
UPG is looking for young determined people from all different paths of life and regions of the world. From well-experienced professionals to freshly graduated students. The selection process considers four factors:
A. Your Profile – this helps us to strive for diversity
B. Your Motivation – we select the most motivated
C. Your Capabilities and
D. The Potential for Impact
You can become a UPG Champion. Becoming a UPG Champion indicates to us that you are already doing your part to spread ideas of peace and sustainability wherever you are based. To learn more about becoming a UPG Champion, click the link here.
An Affiliate Institution is a School or University that commits to engage in sharing the news about the UPG Sustainability Leadership Program with its network. The first 50 Affiliate Institutions worldwide which mobilize at least 50 applications get at least 1 seat secured for the 2022 class (this means that at least one applicant from their network will be selected to become a UPG Sustainability Leader).
It is optional to nominate an Affiliate Institution, but applicants that do so have an advantage in the selection process.
You can nominate as many institutions as you want and our team will make contact with them, but nominating more institutions does not mean more additional bonus points.
There is no problem in having duplicated nominations, the bonus point is related to the engagement of the applicant into generating impact and it is not linked to if the institution becomes an Affiliate or not.
No, you just need to inform the name of the institution and, if available, the contact e-mail. The UPGSL internal team will take care of getting in contact.
Yes, we would strongly advise you to include a video as part of your application. This is an opportunity to add personality to your application and for us to get to know you better. To upload a video, create a video up to 2 minutes, upload it to a drive or video sharing platform, as not listed, and include the link in the requested field at the application form. Please provide all details requested when uploading you video, specifically your name and the purpose of the upload: UPG Sustainability Leadership.
The 2022 cycle of the UPG Sustainability Leadership program will be offered entirely online. This means you can participate from wherever you are in the world. From our 500 selected participants, 60 will be chosen to join a one week immersive trip to Hurricane Island* to continue their learning at the Hurricane Island Center for Science and Leadership. *Covid-19 restrictions allowing
UPG Sustainability Leaders commit themselves to execute at least one SDG related local project and host one mini-training session in their community to share the knowledge they have gained as part of the program.
A mini-training session is a one-tie event where the UPG Sustainability Leader runs a training session in their local community, a school or organisation (usually between 1-2 hours) to raise awareness about the SDGs and/or about the sustainability-related project.
The project is something broader that will not only raise awareness but also impact your local community and it usually involves actions.
Sustainability Leaders will be provided with the tools to carry out this project and training as part of the program.
Applications close on the 31st December 2021. Applicants can expect to hear the outcome of their application by 31st January 2022.
Nothing. Participation in UPG Sustainability Leadership is FREE for selected participants. All 500 participants will receive online training free of charge and all will be certified as UPG Sustainability Leaders after completion of the course.
Participants selected for the 1 week immersive excursion will have the costs of the program covered – training material, accommodation, subsistence, local transportation, international flights (a round trip flight from participant’s home town to the US)
No. Visas are not included in the costs of the program, and selected applicants are entirely responsible for covering these expenses. UPG will send visa application letters to assist with the process (if necessary).
You can message us through the CONTACT US form and we will get back to you shortly.
Board Member, United People Global
Bio forthcoming.
Board Member, United People Global
Marcelo Maia Rosa is an architect and partner at Andrade Morettin Arquitetos Associados, winner of the competition for the new IMPA-RJ headquarters (2015). He was responsible for coordinating work on the new museum of the Instituto Moreira Salles (2017), in São Paulo. Maia Rosa holds degrees in architecture and urbanism from Universidade Mackenzie in São Paulo and TU/e in Eindhoven (2005), with complementary courses from Université Paris Sorbonne (2012) and graduate studies at the Escola da Cidade (2017), where he currently teaches. He was the co-curator exbition Walls of Air in the Brazilian pavilion at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition – Biennale di Venezia.
Board Member, United People Global
Professor Emeritus. Richmond, The American International University in London
Bio forthcoming.
Board Member, United People Global
Cherrie Atilano is a farmer who works to empower other farmers. She is the Founder and CEO of AGREA Agricultural Systems International, Inc., an agro-social enterprise that aims to help eradicate poverty for farming and fishing families in order to alleviate the effects of climate change and establish food security in the Philippines. AGREA has been mobilizing communities, businesses, academia, local and national governments, and international partners to bring an “Ecology of Dignity” to farming and fishing communities on the island of Marinduque.
Previously, she worked as a consultant with the Department of Agrarian Reform in the Philippines and helped to form 241 cooperatives of smallholder farmers in the country.
She is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including Inspiring Filipina Entrepreneur in 2017, The Outstanding Women in Nation’s Service Award in 2016, and first Awardee of Women of the Future Social Entrepreneur in SouthEast Asia, chosen as one of the ASEAN Emerging Leaders (ANGELS) by Channel News Asia and Visionary in Asia by Japan NHK World News.
Board Member, United People Global
Amadou Mahtar Ba is Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of AllAfrica Global Media, Inc. AllAfrica owns and operates allafrica.com, an international multi-media content service provider, systems technology developer and the largest distributor of African news and information worldwide. He is also the Founder of the African Media Initiative (AMI), a pan-African effort he established and led until 2014 to provide the continent’s media owners and practitioners with the tools they need to play a stronger leadership role in their communities, countries and the region.
Prior to AllAfrica and AMI, Mr. Ba served as Director of Communications and Marketing for BICIS Bank, a subsidiary of the French banking group BNP Paribas and helped lead the successful restructuring and privatization of the Pan African News Agency (PANA).
Ba is a champion of the role of the media, good governance, women’s empowerment, technology and innovation and he has served on several international Boards and working groups. He is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, Forbes listed him as one of “The Top 10 Most Powerful Men in Africa” in February 2014. EXPO 2015 and Afronline awarded Mr. Ba the 2012 African Media Prize acknowledging his “outstanding contribution to African Media and his skills on promoting innovation among African Media.”
Board Member, United People Global
Daisy Guo is the Co-founder and CMO of Tezign.com, a platform based creative marketplace & workflow solution.With a mission to revolutionize the relationship between clients and creative professionals, Tezign has brought together over 2,000 projects, from major clients such as land developer SOHO China, Greenland Group, and the film production company H.Brothers. Guo is an artist at heart and a graduate of China’s Central Academy of Fine Arts, she holds a Bachelors in Landscape Architecture. She has curated art exhibits worldwide, including as part of the curating team for the Chinese pavilion at Venice Biennale 2012.
Board Member, United People Global
Martin Chungong serves as the Secretary General of the Inter-parliamentary Union (IPU). He has more than three decades of experience and knowledge of parliaments at national and international level, Chungong has dedicated his professional life to promoting and building democracy worldwide. He contributed to establishing governance benchmarks to strengthen democracy, as chair of the Management Committee on Accountability of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Governance Network. Since 2012, Mr Chungong has made a push to strengthen parliamentary engagement on sustainable development and accountability through his role as Parliamentary Representative on the Steering Committee of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation. An awardee of the Chevalier de l’Ordre de la Pléiade, Ordre de la Francophonie, and a linguist by training.
Board Member, United People Global
Arancha González is an expert in international trade issues with over 20 years of experience and currently serves as Executive Director of the International Trade Centre (ITC). Before joining ITC, Ms. González served as Chief of Staff to World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Pascal Lamy from 2005 to 2013. During her tenure at the WTO, she played an active role in launching the WTO’s Aid for Trade initiative and served as Mr. Lamy’s representative at the G-20. Prior to working at the WTO, Ms. González held several positions at the European Commission, conducting negotiations of trade agreements and assisting developing countries in trade-development efforts. Between 2002 and 2004, she was the European Union spokeswoman for trade and adviser to the European Union Trade Commissioner.
Chair of the Board, United People Global
Graça Machel is a leading social and political activist as well as a renowned international advocate for women’s and children’s rights, having fought for decades for increased literacy and access to education and greater assistance for community development. She served as the first Education Minister of Mozambique until 1989 and during this period Machel lowered the illiteracy rate by 20 percent and oversaw a dramatic increase in primary school enrolment.
In 1997 she chaired a United Nations Report on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Children that helped establish a comprehensive agenda for the protection of children in conflict zones. Mrs. Machel founded the Foundation for Community Development, a grassroots NGO that works to bring together the forces of all sectors of society to promote development, democracy and social justice.
Graça Machel is a founding member of The Elders alongside her late husband, Nelson Mandela. The Elders is an independent group of global leaders working together for peace, justice and human rights. Her humanitarian contributions have been recognised by a number of awards, including the Laureate of Africa Prize for Leadership for the Sustainable End of Hunger from the Hunger Project, the Nansen Medal for her service to the cause of child refugees, the Africare Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award and the Council of Europe’s North-South Prize.