A Talk with Ignitus’ President and CEO: Youth Leadership and Peace Building in the Developing World

Please join Ignitus President & CEO Chris DiCarlo in a Q & A session about the power of youth-led programs in the Developing World.

Q:  Even though Ignitus started as a local crime prevention program in Miami, it has spread across the world in the last 10 years.  What do you think is the reason for this?

A:  Well, you’re right.  What began as a program with a local focus has developed into a program with great international breadth and strength.  Most people do not realize that this occurred with very little global marketing on our part.  That is why we see Ignitus as a movement as much as it is a program.

Many youth across the developing world are yearning to be part of something positive where the can see tangible results.  Remember that the myriad of opportunities available for youth in the United States – sports, arts and other types of clubs – simply don’t exist in many places in Africa,  Asia and Latin America.  Ignitus groups offer a type of opportunity that we take for granted here in this country.

Q:  But 25 countries in ten years?  That is some level of growth!  What is at the root of this expansion?

A:   Even at an early age, I feel that people want to make a difference in their communities and their world as they see it.  In the developing world where crime, violence and corruption are all the more commonplace, I think that youth are even more compelled to take an active stand. It is the action orientation of Ignitus programs to which the youth are drawn.

Q: As you see it, what are the greatest benefits of belonging to Ignitus in an emerging market country?

A:  In terms of what youth gain from the program, our three pillars of leadership development, enhancing organizational capacities along with honing their problem solving skills are the most prevalent, whether here in the States or abroad.  In an international context, especially in our Africa programs, the program really has the power to combat “brain drain” and give the most talented, civic-minded future leaders of a particular country reason to stay and build their community instead of fleeing for greener pastures in the West.  If we can accomplish this, we really have a chance for significant economic development and for the creation of civil societies.

Q:  With all the challenges facing the developing world, like poverty, HIV and corruption, how does a program like Ignitus make any difference at all?

A: Engaging youth during their formative adolescent years is key – this is the time to entrench the significance of civic engagement and loyalty to an idea bigger than themselves.  What’s more, youth populations across the developing world are exploding – in most places in Africa and Latin America more than a third of the population are between 10 and 24 years old, contrast this to the United States at 21%, Western Europe at about 18% and Japan at 15%.  Youth are not just the future, they are the present as well.  I can see no initiative more strategic in addressing the programs of the developing world than in working with these young people to create a sense of community and to solidify belief in civil society.

Q:  In the United States, Ignitus is seen as a Service Learning program.  How does this differ in an international context?

A: Service Learning is generally defined as a method under which students or participants learn and develop through active participation in organized service that meets the needs of a given community.  In the United States, many of these types of projects are organized through school.  With significantly lower school attendance in the developing world, organizing activities present challenges and often need to be larger in scope in order to retain youth participants.

The key characteristic to Ignitus programs is the emphasis on one widely accepted component of service learning, namely the youth voice aspect.  We are a youth-led program, so ensuring that youth are actively engaged in the project itself and they have the opportunity to select, design, implement, and evaluate their activities is of paramount importance.  Given the distractions of every day life in places like Africa, encouraging relevancy and sustained interest is crucial to program success.

Q: What is future programming going to look like?  Any new endeavors?

A: As you know, much of Ignitus’ programming has focused on the areas of crime and violence prevention as well as conflict resolution.  We are especially proud of programs like our initiative in Liberia, where one of the principal goals is to have youth involved in armed conflict lay down their arms.

Over the course of the next year, we plan to launch a new program focused on environmental advocacy and sustainable development.  These singularly 21^st century initiatives are of the utmost importance in the developing world as pressing human needs obviously need to be met into the future.  We’re quite excited about this initiative and hope to have it ready by the start of the next school year.

To learn more about about Mr. DiCarlo, read his biography here.