One year after its launch at the 2024 World Scout Conference, the Impact Innovators Challenge and the Life Leaders initiative continue to demonstrate their potential for strengthening the capacity of National Scout Organisations (NSOs) in empowering young people and adults as agents of change in their communities.
The Impact Innovators Challenge provides NSOs with a structured methodology based on Design Thinking, enabling their members to identify real problems in their communities and design innovative, sustainable solutions. What distinguishes this educational programme is its practical approach: participants don't just plan, but implement their ideas, document learnings and develop replicable guides that facilitate scaling through collective action.
In the Interamerican Region, several NSOs are already leading the way. Chile is revolutionising community impact by applying Design Thinking in youth-led projects. In April of this year, they conducted a national training session and launched the Impact Innovators Challenge Implementation Guide, which has since driven multiple actions to promote this opportunity among young people and adults.
Brazil is also making substantial progress: recently carrying out a national workshop with young promoters from different regions of the country, who are now embarking on the mission of replicating the knowledge acquired so that more young people can apply the methodology in community projects.
Meanwhile, Venezuela published its implementation guide for the Life Leaders and Impact Innovators initiatives, marking the beginning of training leaders and young people to participate actively in projects tailored to their local realities. Finally, Costa Rica also held a national workshop with Scout group leaders embarking on their path towards implementing the Challenge, exploring the stages of Design Thinking through activities that have paved the way for consolidating this educational experience.
Is your NSO already participating? Costa Rica, Brazil, Chile and Venezuela have taken the first step. If your organisation hasn't yet joined in, we invite you to discover more at sdgs.scout.org, where you'll find inspiring examples, support materials and practical guidance for implementing the Challenge with Scout groups.
NSOs that have begun this journey report inspiring results. Participants such as Valeria Colmenares, from Venezuela, highlight the transformative value of the programme:
"I'm certain that this project will inspire many young people to dare to transform realities."
We invite all NSOs in Interamerica to consider the Impact Innovators Challenge as a strategic tool to:
- Strengthen youth and adult leadership in your organisation
- Link the Scout programme with the Sustainable Development Goals
- Generate measurable and documented impact in your communities
- Inspire your members through social innovation
To learn more about implementing the Challenge in your NSO, visit sdgs.scout.org.