Program Pillar

Education & Youth Capacity Building

Equipping young people with the knowledge, skills and leadership platforms to drive change in their own communities — because the people closest to a problem are usually closest to its solution.

The challenge

Talent without a platform is talent wasted

Displacement, under-resourced schools and limited civic space mean many capable young people in Eastern DRC never get a real platform to lead. ACV's education work exists to close that gap — not by replacing schools, but by giving young people structured leadership experience, environmental literacy and peer networks they can build on for life.

ACV Education & Youth Programme

How we work

What this program actually does

Each activity below is designed to reinforce at least one other ACV pillar — nothing here runs in isolation.

Youth Leadership Academy

A cohort-based programme in civic leadership, project design, public speaking and community organising. Graduates leave with a small project they have already planned, pitched and started to implement locally.

Miti Alliance School Programme

A school-based tree-planting and environmental-literacy initiative. Pupils grow seedlings on school grounds, learn the basics of forest ecology, and take ownership of a small green space they maintain themselves.

Digital & Vocational Skills Bridges

Short, practical bridges into in-demand skills — from basic digital literacy and communications to trade fundamentals — designed in partnership with local technical training providers.

Peer Mentorship Network

Academy alumni mentor the next cohort, turning every graduating class into the teaching capacity for the one behind it — the core of how this program scales without growing headcount.

Why it matters

Measured against real change, not activity counts

Indicative figures from current and recent programming — refreshed as each cohort or season closes.

0+young leaders trained through the Leadership Academy

0partner schools running the Miti Alliance curriculum

0youth-led civic leadership cohorts completed to date

0mentor for every graduating cohort, drawn from alumni

Part of a bigger model

Education is the multiplier across every other pillar

The young leaders trained here go on to run the demonstration farms, lead the health volunteer teams, and organise the savings cooperatives in our other four program pillars.

Nature Protection & Biodiversity Conservation

Protecting and restoring the Congo Basin's ecosystems around Virunga through community-led conservation.

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Sustainable Agriculture & Food Security

Building climate-resilient, food-secure communities through regenerative farming and agro-ecology.

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Community Health & Well-Being

Promoting holistic health for vulnerable communities, with particular attention to women and children.

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Socio-Economic Empowerment & Livelihoods

Opening pathways out of poverty through skills training, enterprise support and economic inclusion.

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Make it possible

Help this program reach the next community

This work is funded season by season, cohort by cohort. Here is how to be part of the next one.

Volunteer your skills

Share your expertise with ACV's youth teams — from agronomy to graphic design, remote or on the ground.

Get involved

Partner with us

NGOs, foundations and institutions: co-design a program, fund a pillar, or join a technical partnership.

Start a conversation

Support the work

Every contribution funds tree nurseries, school materials, clinic supplies and farmer training kits.

Ways to give