Problem Statement

Cartagena is the capital city with the highest poverty rates in Colombia, according to the report of Cartagena Cómo Vamos published on August 23, 2022, on the state of the quality of life of the people from Cartagena. The report indicates that 40.4% of the population, which is equivalent to 421,746 citizens of Cartagena are unable to access food, housing and other basic necessities.

This is mainly due to two major problems the city faces:

1. Corruption and absence of leaders committed to the development of the city: in Cartagena there is a lack of confidence in leaders, according to a survey conducted in April 2023 by Cartagena Cómo vamos, 79% of citizens consider that Cartagena is not on the right track, the mayor has an unfavorable image of 64% and the district council has a disapproval of 73%. This is because the leaders are not able to set crucially important goals and point their efforts in the same direction.


2. Poor preparation of the population in 21st century skills necessary for insertion in the labor market: We are immersed in the most intense and profound of the scientific revolutions applied to the development of productive forces and the transformation of human society, the so-called fourth industrial revolution. Although technology makes life easier in many aspects for people who manage to have access to it, it also generates a great social gap and puts at a disadvantage those areas with less economic development, the Caribbean region and in particular Cartagena, have the lowest rates of investment in science, technology and innovation in Colombia, hindering the population's access to new scientific advances, new technologies and the use of these for the solution of the city's issues.

Given these reasons, two fundamental solutions are required: the first, a radical transformation in the political and institutional life of the city that enables to focus the attention on its own development, through a serious and modern planning that incorporates new scientific advances, new technologies and the use of these for the solution of the problems of its inhabitants, and the second is to give high priority to the creation of an education system, from the lowest levels to provide training for the new realities of the world.

This is why Global Shapers Cartagena developed the Leading Up project in conjunction with the Secretary of Education of Cartagena, an initiative that seeks to generate leaders more committed to the city, able to develop governance plans focused on one or two crucially important goals and to propose daily high-value activities that allow them to carry out each of the proposed strategies, and training them at the same time in 21st century skills that facilitate their insertion into the labor market and that they can share at their institutions to promote the economic growth of the city.

Proposed solution

Collaborative project between Global Shapers Cartagena, Personería distrital and the Secretary of Education of Cartagena, which seeks to train the student representatives from public educational institutions in Cartagena on topics such as leadership, strategic planning, entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity, vocational orientation or life project, conflict resolution, assertive communication and negotiation techniques, with the aim of enabling them to set crucially important goals and proposing innovative solutions to the world´s most challeging issues through collaboration and the multidisciplinary perspectives of their communities.

Target groups

Student representatives from public educational institutions in Cartagena.

Activities

1. Official launching of the project with a forum entitled "Inspiring Youth" to share experiences of young leaders in Cartagena.


2. Leadership and strategic planning workshop.


3. Entrepreneurship, innovation, creativity and vocational orientation workshop.


4. Conflict resolution, assertive communication and negotiation techniques workshop.

Goals

1. Training the student representatives of the educational institutions from Cartagena in leadership and strategic planning, with the aim of supporting them in the drafting of a clear governance plan with a measurable impact, which they can implement in their schools. 


2. Educating student representatives on entrepreneurship, innovation, creativity, vocational orientation, conflict resolution, assertive communication and negotiation techniques, so that they can identify study, work and enterpreneurial opportunities that will allow them to continue to develop as leaders in their communities and proposing innovative solutions to the world´s most challeging issues from interdisciplinary perspectives.

Available Metrics

• 
  190 student representatives trained during the 4 workshops
  


• 90 governance plans generated during the 2 workshops of leadership and strategic planning


• 
  50 participating educational institutions of the city's vulnerable urban areas and insular zones during the 4 workshops
  

Collaborators

Personería Distrital de Cartagena, Secretary of Education of Cartagena.

For more information: https://www.instagram.com/globalshaperscartagena/