Leiðtogaskóli Íslands

Leiðtogaskóli Íslands (LSÍ), or the Icelandic Leadership School, is a non-profit educational initiative operated by Landssamband ungmennafélaga (LUF), the National Union of Icelandic Youth Associations. LUF is an umbrella organization for 32 national youth associations in Iceland, all of which are democratic, volunteer-led, and focused on the interests of young people. LSÍ serves as a shared platform for LUF's member organizations to train personal skills, strengthen networks, share experience, increase capacity, and empower young people in Iceland. The school's core educational focus is democracy and human rights in practice, using the Council of Europe's programme on democratic citizenship and human rights education (Kompás) as a guide. LSÍ has received recognition from the Council of Europe as a 'best practice' example in Europe. The school is designed for young leaders in the youth sector, typically aged 16 to 35, who are members of LUF's member organizations. Participants come from boards, volunteers, or other interested members. While all young people in that age range can apply, members of LUF's member organizations receive priority in registration because demand exceeds available places. Participants are selected to reflect as many member organizations as possible, as well as diversity in age, gender ratio, interest, willingness to learn, and ability to pass on knowledge. Leadership roles and experience in youth and advocacy work are considered assets. Registration takes place in the autumn ahead of the school. The school is held each autumn (September/October) at Hinn húsið in Reykjavík. The curriculum varies by year and includes topics such as team building, board work, meeting management, public speaking, fundraising, policy making, and human rights and democracy education. A key feature is peer education, where trainers are both teachers and students. Alongside the courses, participants work on a final project related to the school's theme, which they present on the final day. Projects can take any form—a report, video, grant application, collaboration project, conference, team-building event, or social innovation—as long as they relate to human rights and benefit at least one organization directly or indirectly. The school concludes with a conference and a formal graduation ceremony. LSÍ is run by an ideal based on peer education and non-formal learning. The trainers form LUF's Pool of Trainers (PoT), a database of skilled trainers inspired by the Council of Europe and the European Youth Platform's 'Train the Trainers' approach. Graduates of LSÍ and others who meet the qualifications can apply to join the team. This builds LUF's capacity year by year and allows it to offer diverse courses for its member organizations. Each trainer specializes in different fields such as team building, human rights education, board work, meeting management, public speaking, public relations, policy making, or fundraising. Member organizations can access the trainer database and request trainers for courses throughout the year. The Pool of Trainers is a method used widely in Europe to build the capacity of youth organizations to deliver non-formal learning. The Pool of Trainers is part of the development of Leiðtogaskóli Íslands (LSÍ), which was developed by LUF's member organizations in 2015 and founded in 2016. It was funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture in 2016 and by the Council of Europe in 2017. The school's theme in 2020 was the UN Sustainable Development Goals. In 2024, the theme is the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals in youth work, in line with item 4.1 on sustainable development in LUF's policy. The school was held on the weekends of 12–13 and 19 October 2024, with graduation and a conference on the UN Sustainable Development Goals on Sunday, 20 October.

Leiðtogaskóli Íslands (LSÍ) was developed by the member organizations of Landssamband ungmennafélaga (LUF) in 2015 and formally founded in 2016. It was funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture in 2016 and by the Council of Europe in 2017. The school was created as a shared platform for LUF's member associations to train personal skills, strengthen networks, share experience, increase capacity, and empower young people in Iceland. Its core educational focus is democracy and human rights in practice, using the Council of Europe's programme on democratic citizenship and human rights education (Kompás) as a guide. LSÍ has received recognition from the Council of Europe as a 'best practice' example in Europe. The school is held annually in the autumn (September/October) at Hinn húsið in Reykjavík. The curriculum varies by year and includes topics such as team building, board work, meeting management, public speaking, fundraising, policy making, and human rights and democracy education. A key feature is peer education, where trainers are both teachers and students. Participants work on a final project related to the school's theme, which they present on the final day. Projects can take any form—a report, video, grant application, collaboration project, conference, team-building event, or social innovation—as long as they relate to human rights and benefit at least one organization directly or indirectly. The school concludes with a conference and a formal graduation ceremony. LSÍ is run by an ideal based on peer education and non-formal learning. The trainers form LUF's Pool of Trainers (PoT), a database of skilled trainers inspired by the Council of Europe and the European Youth Platform's 'Train the Trainers' approach. Graduates of LSÍ and others who meet the qualifications can apply to join the team. This builds LUF's capacity year by year and allows it to offer diverse courses for its member organizations. Each trainer specializes in different fields such as team building, human rights education, board work, meeting management, public speaking, public relations, policy making, or fundraising. Member organizations can access the trainer database and request trainers for courses throughout the year. The Pool of Trainers is a method used widely in Europe to build the capacity of youth organizations to deliver non-formal learning. The school's theme in 2020 was the UN Sustainable Development Goals. In 2024, the theme is the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals in youth work, in line with item 4.1 on sustainable development in LUF's policy. The school was held on the weekends of 12–13 and 19 October 2024, with graduation and a conference on the UN Sustainable Development Goals on Sunday, 20 October.

• 2024

  School held on 12–13 and 19 October; graduation and conference on 20 October. Theme: implementation of UN Sustainable Development Goals in youth work.

• 2020

  School theme: UN Sustainable Development Goals.

• 2017

  Funded by the Council of Europe.

• 2016

  Formally founded and funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture.

• 2015

  Developed by LUF's member organizations.

Non-profit leadership school for young people in Iceland, recognized by the Council of Europe as a best practice in human rights education.

• Annual leadership school

  Held each autumn (September/October) at Hinn húsið in Reykjavík, with courses on democracy, human rights, and practical skills.

• Pool of Trainers (PoT)

  A database of skilled trainers available to LUF's member organizations for non-formal education courses throughout the year.

1. 1Leiðtogaskóli Íslands - Landssamband ungmennafélagaluf.is
2. 2Leiðtogaskóli Íslands - Wikipediais.wikipedia.org
3. 3Wikidatawikidata.org