200 Young Leaders at South Africa’s First GLS Next Gen Event
On 23 April 2026, more than 200 student leaders from over 20 schools gathered in Durban for a landmark day of community leadership development — one that marked a genuine first for South Africa.
The GLS Next Gen Community Event, hosted by Trulife in partnership with the Global Leadership Network South Africa (GLN SA), the KZN Department of Education, and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), brought together Representative Council of Learners (RCL) members aged 13 to 18. The day centred on a simple but powerful conviction: that community leadership skills should be accessible to every young person, regardless of where they go to school.
It was the first event of its kind in South Africa — and a deliberate effort to bring the calibre of content from the Global Leadership Summit (GLS), the world’s largest annual leadership event reaching leaders across 123 countries in over 60 languages, directly to the next generation of community leaders who would not otherwise have access to it.
- 200+student leaders in attendance
- 20+schools represented
- 88.6%rated the event 8/10 or higher
- 9.1/10avg leadership skills rating
Building community leadership from the ground up
Trulife — a KwaZulu-Natal NPO specialising in life skills education through applied theatre and creative arts — served as the event’s convenor, host, and programme architect. As GLN’s official Next Gen implementation partner in South Africa, the Trulife team adapted international leadership material to speak directly to the young people in the room, grounding world-class content in the community leadership challenges and opportunities these learners face every day.
The programme combined international and local voices with creative arts and practical application. Learners heard from Ivor Swartz (Youth The Future) on identity; from international behavioural researcher Vanessa van Edwards on the communication skills of a likeable leader; and from entrepreneur and author Sbonelo Mbatha, whose journey from petrol attendant to co-founder of PetroCONNECT anchored the closing session on leadership legacy. They were joined by live keynote Luxolo Kentane (Alpha South Africa), Adv. Ishara Sewnarayan of the NPA, and a message of encouragement from the KZN Department of Education, alongside live music from Tanner Wareham and Angel M and performances from the Trulife team.
A symbol of community leadership: the Trulife wall
The day closed with a signature Trulife activation that brought the theme of community leadership to life. Every learner wrote a personal commitment on a brick and placed it into the Trulife wall — a tangible, collective symbol of their goals and their place in a growing Next Gen community of young leaders working towards a better future.
What the learners said
Your background does not define who you are, and you must not lose faith in yourself.
As a school we are truly humbled to be part of this amazing movement.
Connecting with kids from different schools and listening to different stories from different speakers was a real highlight.
Why community leadership starts with young people
The results speak for themselves: 88.6% of learners rated the event 8 out of 10 or higher, and the programme scored an average of 9.1 out of 10 for developing leadership skills. These numbers reflect what is possible when community leadership development is taken seriously and delivered with excellence.
Building on the success of this inaugural event, Trulife and its partners are planning to expand the GLS Next Gen Community Event model to more provinces and under-resourced communities across South Africa — bringing this model of grassroots community leadership to more young people who need it most.
View more information about the Trulife GLS Next Gen Programme here.
