About Programs Fellowship News Calendar
The program has succeeded in bringing together some of the most talented and passionate young advocates for improving the quality of life of urban citizens
Salzburg Global Seminar and World Urban Parks’ first cohort of its Emerging Urban Leaders is drawing to a conclusion, almost one year after the program was launched, with some exceptionally positive and inspiring outcomes already coming to fruition.
Cohort 1 began the program in March 2021 after a call was put out for applications from “outstanding individuals, who have radical ideas that relate to how parks and nature can improve the quality of life of people who live in urban environments”. 23 Fellows were accepted into the network, and each was assigned a mentor to provide guidance and advice to help them move their ideas closer to reality.
With a diverse, cross-sectoral, and international cohort of talented and passionate practitioners and changemakers selected, the aim of the program was to develop a network that would implement innovative and practical interventions to tackle problems facing urban environments; and to help build quality cities of the future.
Focusing on the benefits of the multi-layered emotional and practical support provided by the network, Fellows have joined monthly meetings with presentations and discussions with influential leaders. These monthly meetings along with the mentorship component have helped the Fellows move their own projects from concept to reality, as topics including funding, strategic thinking, building movements, advocacy, and more, were covered.
Practical examples such as the cultural restoration and legislation of land and open space in Auckland, New Zealand, and the impacts of social inequities in the United States and how parks and recreations spaces can lead on efforts to redress these injustices, were presented to also help Fellows see the kinds of impact that their projects could have.
A third component of the program involved using Salzburg Global Seminar and World Urban Parks’ own convenings and partner events to help raise Fellows’ international profiles. The program has seen numerous successes here already. Fellows Shamsa Birik (Program Officer, Embassy of Norway, Kenya) and Leticia Lozano (Co-Founder & Director, MACIA Estudio, Mexico) both spoke at a session on partnerships managed by Salzburg Global Seminar during National Park City Week, while Elizaveta Fakirova (German Chancellor Fellow 2020/21, Humboldt Foundation, Germany) and Samuel Mayze (Director of Strategic Projects, UAP Company, Australia) have both featured in separate episodes of the Future City podcast.
Anupam Yog (Trainer & Researcher, Light On Life, Singapore) and Irene Gauto (Technical Assistant of "Asuncion Green City", United Nations Development Programme, Paraguay) presented at World Parks Week, and Gauto and her mentor Russell Galt (Head of Urban Alliance, IUCN, UK) spoke at a session on the Emerging Urban Leaders program at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) World Congress in Marseille, France.
Salzburg Global Seminar’s strong relationship with World Urban Parks continued to grow with Fellows from the program speaking at multiple sessions throughout the World Urban Parks Congress, on topics including why cities should tap into the power of play in public spaces, adaptations of public spaces under pressures ranging from climate change to equity, as well as Fellows sharing details of the projects they had undertaken as part of the Emerging Urban Leaders program.
Two members of the program’s organizing team, Jennifer Dunn and Hannah Chapman-Carr, also spoke at the Congress as they made a launch call for applications for the 2022 Emerging Urban Leaders cohort, which are open until March 31, 2022. The 2021 cohort will continue their monthly meetings and mentorship program until February. Applications for cohort 2, which will begin in September 2022 are currently open. For more information, go to our Emerging Urban Leaders program page.