What comes to mind when you hear the word leader?
Maybe you picture someone standing at a podium, giving a speech. Maybe it’s someone who runs a company, leads a campaign, or organizes a protest. And yes, those are all examples of leadership. But the truth is, real leadership goes deeper than just titles or positions.
At the Shpresa Programme, we’ve learned that leadership starts long before the spotlight. It starts in quiet moments, with brave decisions, and with people who choose to act even when it’s hard.
Growing Leaders from Within: Inside Shpresa Programme’s Leadership Programme
At the heart of the Shpresa Programme’s mission is a simple yet powerful belief: every person has the potential to lead. For over two decades, this belief has shaped the lives of hundreds of Albanian-speaking youths and also non-albanians in the UK through Shpresa’s dedicated Leadership Programme.
Far more than just a series of workshops, online networking and bonus sessions, this programme is a carefully crafted journey that supports people of all ages to build confidence, develop skills, and step into roles where they can influence change not just in their own lives, but in their communities.
What Is the Shpresa Leadership Programme?
The Leadership Programme is a structured set of sessions designed to support leaders of any age from any sort of background whether they already have charities, or any other type of organisation or students like me. As well as having a mentor as a guidance throughout the whole programme where they are there to help with anything you need whether it is about the programme or future plans or even personal goals.
Shpresa Programme doesn’t assume leadership is about taking charge from the front. Instead, it encourages people to find their own leadership styles whether that’s speaking out in meetings, run a workshop, or supporting their peers.
A Glimpse into the Sessions
Each session is themed around a key aspect of leadership and personal development. Here are some examples:
Session 1 – introduction to the leadership programme = this is when all the participants all met and went through slides of what is leadership really is and not the typical idea most people have like the president of a country or headteacher. Implemented the idea that everyone can become a leader if you can find your mission.
Session 2 is about empowerment workshops on how to stand up for yourself and assert yourself in professional environments.
We also have bonus sessions we can join such as a fundraising session which was very successful and asked as many wanted to know more about the financial part of it and the importance of giving donations and receiving one. In addition, more sessions like different legal structures, social action and campaigning and political literacy. Every session ends with a feedback form completed by all participants for the programme leaders to know what to improve next year.
The Leadership Programme isn’t about turning people into perfect public speakers or community organizers overnight. It’s about unlocking potential, building resilience, and creating a safe, supportive space where people feel seen, heard, and valued. This was represented well as all participants were different starting from the ages or their role as some were mothers and some were students or recent graduates, from different career paths and different future ideas plan but with one thing in common which is become a leader of a community that needs to be seen and heard.
Each session is a stepping stone and by the end of the programme, participants don’t just feel like leaders. They are leaders.
Shpresa’s Leadership Programme proves that when you invest in those who want to make a difference and help others when you give them tools, guidance, and trust, they rise and commit. Not just for themselves, but for others too. It’s a ripple effect of hope, empowerment, and change just like how Shpresa Programme is known for , especially when it is in its name as “shpresa” means hope in Albanian. Aiming to create a sense of belonging and security, reducing isolation while empowering individuals to become active participants in their communities.
And that’s the kind of leadership the world needs more of.
"Leadership isn’t about titles. It is not about being the loudest in the room, the one with all the answers, or the person standing in front or those with the most experience. Leadership is about action. It's about heart. And often, it starts quietly by showing up, by listening, by daring to believe that your story matters."
At the Shpresa Programme, we’ve seen leadership in many forms:
- In the immigrant young mothers who speak up in English as their second language, shaking but determined.
- The young person who speaks up in a group for the first time.
- In the young people who turn their own experience of hardship into fuel to support others.
- In the mentor who checks in on someone struggling, reminding them they’re not alone.
- At Shpresa Programme, we know that leadership doesn’t belong to just one generation. It can be found in the energy of young people and in the quiet wisdom of elders. Leadership is not just about age, it’s about courage, compassion, and the will to make a difference
That’s why the Shpresa Leadership Programme is designed to empower everyone from teenagers just discovering their voice, to adults starting a new chapter in a new country, to older people rediscovering their purpose through community. So, if you feel like you do not have the capabilities to become a leader, it is probably because of how you view leadership because those were my thoughts before joining the leadership in which I applied the very last minute thanks to my younger sister who told me she sees me as a leader.
Because at Shpresa, we believe: Leadership lives in all of us.
Leadership is choosing to care, when it would be easier to look away. It’s raising your voice, even if it shakes. It is believing in change and then becoming the one who makes it happen. You don’t need to be perfect to lead. You just need to start. So be the one who starts. Start where you are. Because someone out there is waiting for a leader just like you.
By Elisa Rami
