top of page
home
Nelson Mandela Project for Social Change
The Art & Practice of
Advancing-Mobilizing-Leading
Social Change
A one-week immersion
into the practice of leadership;
the theories of social change;
and the challenges that matter most to you.
where LEADERSHIP
meets SOCIAL CHANGE
25 years into this new millennium, social change is not where we hoped it would be.
Climate change, armed conflicts, disruptive technologies, social divides, power shifts, extreme polarization are all magnifying and multiplying the global challenges facing humanity – and each one of us.
The 21st century demands a different kind of leadership.
Because these challenges are unpredictable, unrelenting, and unlikely to be addressed through traditional methods – we must change the way we change.
And start developing new ways of being-thinking-doing.
This program aims to help individuals seize this moment together.
To deepen their leadership practice, build on their strengths, reorganize their efforts.
And prepare for the next phase of their work.
where SPACE
multiplies IMPACT
The program takes place inside a real laboratory.
A space where participants can practice a different kind of leadership.
It’s been conceived by a team that has created Leadership Development Programs, Innovation_Labs and Incubators for some of the most admired universities and organizations in the world, in collaboration with some of the most respected scholars in the domains of leadership, innovation and change.
This is not the usual classroom, and there are no passive participants.
Everyone is a teacher and a learner, a lead-author and a co-designer.
Participants will actively observe and reflect-in-action at different levels: the individual; the team; the organization; the network; the community; the ecosystem; the global village.
Roles, functions, groups will shift and evolve seamlessly as the process moves between different settings and formats: from brief lectures to intense collaboration, individual reflection to large-group conversations.
where CHALLENGES
generate EXPERIMENTS
At the heart of this program lies the real work: the critical, systemic, adaptive challenges that participants are currently facing in their organizations, networks, communities.
The ones that are pushing them to the edge of their current capacities.
Over five days, each individual’s challenge will be transformed into a unique case study that will be approached from different vantage points, through different perspectives, in the light of different schools of thought across the domains of leadership, collaboration, innovation and change.
Together in Braintrusts – small groups for intense collaboration and candid conversations – participants will help each other deepen their understanding of their challenges, and evolve them into a set of new experiments.
Allowing participants to rapidly apply their new learnings «in the rooms where they perform their real work.»
where PRACTICE
meets THEORY
This developmental experience is an exploration into some of the most advanced approaches to individual and collective development; complexity theories and systems thinking; personal growth and team performance; organizational culture and network management.
In practice, not just in theory.
Participants will…
Observing and sensing the context.
Carefully and Attentively
Engaging and mobilizing people.
Collaboratively and Creatively.
Understanding and orchestrating conflicts.
Candidly and Vulnerably.
Experimenting with different perspectives.
Lightly and Swiftly.
Diagnosing and dissecting challenges.
Frankly and Bravely.
Learning and developing.
Ourselves and Others.
Exploring new and unorthodox alternatives.
Openly and Gracefully.
Leading through complexity and ambiguity.
Steadily and Confidently.
Augmenting intensity and awareness.
Deliberately and Wholly.
where HISTORY
provides INSPIRATION
Nelson Mandela said, “The quality of change in our society will greatly depend upon the quality of leadership that is exercised in the various sectors and activities of our communities, organizations, and public life.”
We share this belief: the change we want to create in the world will require a certain kind of leadership – one that is a collective effort, that seeks to engage and invite more than direct and dictate.
From this perspective, creating change becomes an adaptive challenge, and leadership takes on a new meaning: it becomes about mobilizing people, cultivating a social context and process that invite active participation, helping groups of individuals interpret the problems they’re facing and co-design new interventions with an experimental mindset.
Over the five days, we will guide participants through this journey of discovery, inspired by Nelson Mandela’s leadership style that combines leading from the front—being visible and active—with leading from behind—empowering others.
FACULTY
to guide YOUR WORK
Jafar Javan
Jafar is a Professor of Practice at IE University Madrid, as well as Leader-in-Residence at the Collin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership in New York. For over 35 years, he has worked throughout the UN system in policy development, education, training and employment, community development, and social participation. From 2012 to 2025 he served as the Director of the United Nations System Staff College, and in 2024 founded the UN Nelson Mandela Project for Social Change. Prior to joining the UNSSC, Jafar was the Director of Policy for the United Nations Development Programme regional centre for Europe and the CIS based in Bratislava, Slovakia.
Maurizio Travaglini
Maurizio is the founder of Architects of Group Genius, and since 2016 has been a member of the faculty team for the Harvard Business School program “Leading and Building a Culture of Innovation.” From 2019 to 2024 he joined prof. Ron Heifetz (Harvard Kennedy School) as a faculty member for programs on Adaptive Leadership, and since 2013 has collaborated with faculty members of the MIT and the Harvard Graduate School of Design to bring to life projects focused on Leadership, Collaboration, Innovation and Change.
With his team, he has worked on six continents in over thirty countries for organizations such as Feeding America, The Bridgespan Group, Moderna, OECD, Media Development Investment Fund, Independent Sector, EMERGENCY, Blue Meridian Partners, World Economic Forum, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Massachusetts General Hospital, General Electric, Audi, Jeep, Renault and more.
to inspire YOUR WORK
Klaus Schwab,
Founder, World Economic Forum
Ivana Živković,
Assistant Administrator and Director, Regional Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States, UNDP
Filippo Grandi,
High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR
Andreas Schleicher,
Director for Education and Skills, OECD
Jermey Jurgens,
Managing Director and Head of the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Centre for Cybersecurity, World Economic Forum
Harlan Mandel,
CEO, Media Development Investment Fund (MDIF)
Anja Langenbucher,
Director Europe, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Alfreda Bradley-Coar,
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal & People Officer, Obama Foundation
Tina Tchen,
Executive Vice President Programs, Obama Foundation
Stephen Heinz,
Senior Regional Coordinator for Protection, UNHCR Europe Bureau
Rossella Miccio,
President, Emergency
Elisa Fernandez Saenz,
Deputy Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia, UN Women
Jeff Bradach,
Co-Founder, The Bridgespan Group
Willa Seldon,
Partner, The Bridgespan Group San Francisco
Stefan Schäfers,
Chief Programme Officer, King Baudouin Foundation
Kirsti Samuels,
CEO and founder, KS Insight
Lorri Sulpizio,
Founder, USD Center for Women's Leadership
where INDIVIDUALS
form COMMUNITY
The program has been conceived for a small cohort of 50 individuals who operate in the broader domain of Social Change and Leadership: from international organizations to the third sector; community organizers to policymakers; researchers to advocates; local governments to social entrepreneurs.
Participants will share an intense experience and forge bonds that will last beyond the five days of collaborative work. Because making a dent in our hardest challenges will require the support of a community more than any heroic solo efforts, Impact_Lab alumni will be actively engaged in future initiatives, courses and workshops that will include future cohorts, our faculty, and university partners.
where YOU
join US
The first edition of the Impact_Lab will take place on March 23-27, 2026 in Turin, Italy.
It is hosted by (to be defined), one of the founding partners of the Nelson Mandela Project for Social Change.
> How to Apply
Registration requires submission of a personal application.
Email our Program Manager Natalie Tedards (natalie.tedards@architectz.eu) your résumé and a two-page essay that describes in your own words the challenge that you are deeply invested in addressing and the personal motives that drive your commitment.
> The registration fee is € 4.900
> A certificate of completion by the Nelson Mandela Project will be issued upon successful completion of the program.
> A limited number of partial scholarships are available for:
– students of the Nelson Mandela Global Academy for Social Change
– students and alumni of the Nelson Mandela Project partner universities
-
United Nations System Staff College
-
American University of Beirut
-
The City College of New York
-
IE University
-
Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology
-
National University of Singapore
-
University of Cape Town
-
Universidad Austral - Argentina
– individuals from economically disadvantaged communities
– individuals residing in countries with weak economies or currencies.
If the program fees represent a hardship for you, please contact Natalie Tedards (natalie.tedards@architectz.eu) to be considered for financial aid.
> More details about logistics, schedule, preparation and follow-up will be shared following a successful application.
If you have any question or doubt, please contact Natalie Tedards.
bottom of page