Local Actions in Practice: How Mentorship Is Strengthening Youth-Led Projects Across the Coalition

Since 2023, the Global Youth Coalition has integrated a dedicated mentorship component into the Local Actions programme, recognising that youth-led projects scale their impact when young leaders are supported beyond funding.

Through the Mentorship Programme, Local Actions winners are paired with experienced professionals from the road safety field and beyond, receiving tailored, one-to-one support during the implementation of their projects. Each mentorship is shaped around the needs identified by each young leader, ensuring guidance is practical, relevant, and grounded in real-world experience.

By matching mentors based on expertise and, whenever possible, same geographical location, the programme strengthens both project delivery and the relevance of the project activities to the local reality, filling technical or strategic challenges through a joint work from Local Actions winners and their mentors.

In 2025, these mentorships continue to play a key role in supporting Local Actions winners during the most critical phase of their work: turning plans into impact.

The mentorship pairs include:

1. Karen Gabriela Jaimes (Colombia)

   Moving Freely: Safe Mobility for People with Disabilities in Bogotá

   Mentor: María Fernanda Cárdenas, Vital Strategies

2. Kiran Dhital (Nepal)

   Safe Steps, Bright Futures

   Mentor: Puspa Pant,  University of the West of England

3. Abhi Kurniawan (Indonesia)

   Jalanin Aja Dulu: A Youth-Led Walking Movement to Shift Urban Mobility Habits

   Mentor: Ancha Rachfiansyah, Consultant

4. Yohana Natasya Silalahi (Indonesia)

   SMPN 22 Bandung School Road Safety

   Mentor: Titis Bawono, Consultant

5. Reem El Sherbiny (Egypt)

   Roads of Hope: Cairo’s Wheelchair Mobility Revolution

   Mentor: Farida Moawad, Transport for Cairo

6. Valeria Carrion (Peru)

   Jóvenes con Calle

   Mentor: Jose Guzman, Global Designing Cities Initiative

7. Mary Abungu (Kenya)

   Safe Steps to School

   Mentor: Natalie Chiavassa, iRAP

8. Michelle Gaibor (Ecuador)

   Zonas J

   Mentor: Wladimir De la Torre, Global Designing Cities Initiative

9. Bruno Batista (Brazil)

   Safe Neighbourhoods for Little Feet

   Mentor: Vinicius Generato, TotalEnergies Brazil

10. Roberto Josué Rodríguez (Mexico)

    Claiming Bike-Walkable Zero Zones to School

    Mentor: Sonia Aguilar, Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety

11. Angela Tumuhairwe (Uganda)

    Bridging the Gap in Motorcycle Passenger Helmet Use in Kampala.

    Mentor: Beatrice Dumaswala, FIA Foundation

12. Elizabete Nasibova (Azerbaijan)

    Claiming Safe School Streets

    Mentor: Briarlea Green, iRAP

13. Lipsa Mohapatra (India)

    Youth for Motorcycle Safety: Promoting Helmet Laws and Safe Riding Practices in Bhubaneswar

    Mentor: Shipra Baduni,  Young Leaders of Active Citizenship

14. William Wambulwa (Kenya)

    Drive Right – Transforming Public Transport Operations (Pilot)

    Mentor: Rod King, 20’s plenty

For Local Actions winners, mentorship is a key benefit of the programme. It offers a space to test ideas, receive feedback, and make informed decisions while navigating advocacy, technical, and implementation challenges in real time.

For the Coalition, the Mentorship Programme also strengthens alliances with organisations and professionals committed to supporting youth-led change. Each mentorship represents a bridge between local action and global expertise.

By embedding mentorship into Local Actions, the Coalition reinforces a simple but powerful principle: youth-led projects are stronger when young leaders are supported with trust, experience, and partnership.