Itโs been almost two months since we celebrated Open Dreamsโ 10th anniversary, and the energy and inspiration from that event are still fueling our work today.
Hans Kullberg (Open Dreams co-founder from California), Dr. Rodrigue Mbabe (SG, Ministry of External Relations), Dr. Mrs. Njang Gladys (Ministry of Higher Education), Ngolefac Emmanuel and other top representatives from the Ministry of Youth Affairs, Ministry of Justice
I canโt help but reflect on the incredible journey weโve been on for the past decade. Over three transformative days, we witnessed moments of learning, reflection, and inspiration that reminded us of the impact weโve hadโand the even greater heights we hope to reach.
๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ด๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐๐ป๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ป๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐๐ฟ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐, ๐๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ฒ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐ต๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ป๐.
๐ผ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ข ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐ข๐ก ๐ท๐๐ฆ 1 ๐๐๐ ๐ท๐๐ฆ 2, โ๐๐๐โ๐ ๐ ๐๐ข๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐:
โข ๐๐๐ฒ ๐: Opened with a powerful ceremony and breakout sessions, allowing attendees to learn and connect with institutions like Ashesi University, Carnegie Mellon-Africa, United States International University - Africa and others.
โข ๐๐๐ฒ ๐: Featured an interactive panel discussion on how we can better nurture student potential. I was honored to be part of it alongside fellow educators.
With Dr. Noella Gwanyama
Dr. Noella Gwanyama later on inspired us all with a message on the value of taking initiative in our communities.
๐๐๐ฒ ๐: ๐ ๐๐ข๐ฆ๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐ง๐ ๐ ๐จ๐ซ๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ค๐ข๐ง๐
Panel discussion
On ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ฏ, we gathered at Djeuga Palace Hotel for an afternoon of deep reflection. This session brought together ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐, ๐ด๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐ณ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น๐, ๐๐ป๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐, ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฎ, and our incredible scholars. I had the honor of moderating a panel featuring three remarkable Open Dreams scholarsโ๐๐ฟ. ๐ ๐ถ๐ธ๐ถ, ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น๐ฑ Forghab, ๐ฃ๐ผ๐๐๐๐บ ๐๐๐ต๐น๐, and Aviva Scholar ๐ก๐ฏ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ Niegem. Each of them shared their journey, from students to leaders in their fields, highlighting how Open Dreams shaped their paths.
Day 2 at IRIC
A particularly powerful moment was hearing from the ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ๐น๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐จ๐ฆ๐. They shared how joining Open Dreams transformed their childโs character and approach to education and life. It was a humbling reminder that our impact goes far beyond academicsโweโre helping shape the future of young leaders.
๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ซโ๐๐ง๐ ๐ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ค ๐๐ก๐๐๐
After three days of meaningful discussions, reflection, and learning, we capped off the OD@10 celebrations with a ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ ๐ด๐ฎ๐น๐ฎ ๐ป๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐. It was a moment to relax, connect, and celebrate the milestones weโve achieved, all while casting our vision for the future.
As we celebrated together, there was a clear sense of determination for what lies ahead. By the time we celebrate OD@20, we hope to have built an ๐๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ฆ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ฑ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐โan infrastructure that will allow us to accommodate and equip even more scholars with the skills they need to drive positive change in their communities.
๐๐ก๐๐ญโ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฑ๐ญ?
With 10 years of success behind us, we now set our sights on the next decade. ๐๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ซ๐๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ง๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฐ๐๐ซ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌ, ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ก, ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฒ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ฑ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐, ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐๐ ๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ, ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ซ๐ฏ๐ข๐๐.
Two months on, weโre still carrying the lessons from OD@10 as we push forward with even greater determination.
๐๐๐ซ๐โ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ง๐๐ฑ๐ญ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ฌ!
Guilian Asongtia | Open Dreams
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