Cultiver notre pouvoir d'agir ensemble
By Marietou Seck, Client Director at Beautiful Soul
What if we talked about local leadership?
I believe that this is a deeply political act, especially for a developing country like Senegal. In the face of the many challenges we encounter – youth employability, gender inequalities, access to essential services – strengthening local leadership means building a strong collective awareness. It is about understanding that we have the capacity to take charge of ourselves and become true actors in our daily lives.
This leadership is not the privilege of the elite; it is shared by everyone, regardless of our status or financial means. When I talk about local leadership, I refer to that mindset that drives us, every morning, to ask ourselves: what can I do today to improve my life, but also that of my family and my community?
We are living in a critical phase, a time when we are building something new. And it is now or never that we must open the dialogue and allow as many voices as possible to be heard. I am not naive enough to believe that we can make them all heard, but we can do better than what we see today.
Everything starts with education
I often use the example of education, because that is where everything begins. Education should allow us to see new perspectives, help us imagine new possibilities. For this, the learner must have an active role, develop critical thinking, and take initiative. If they are only there to passively receive information, we endlessly reproduce the same patterns.
And in a world where everything is moving faster and faster, where our attention is fragmented because we are constantly being solicited, if the foundations are not solid, we are off to a bad start. It is essential that, from a very young age, each individual feels responsible, involved, and an active participant in the social contract that binds us. This is how our interactions, our choices, and our ability to make decisions regain their full meaning.
The power to act is essential
This ability to act, this "power to act," is absolutely essential. This deliberate choice to invest time and energy when the situation no longer suits us is what local leadership is all about.
It gives us a responsibility, it forces us to think about the consequences of our actions, not only for ourselves but also for others. It pushes us to seek consensus, to engage collectively, to move beyond the idea that we are powerless in the face of the system or challenges. That is not true. It is a lie that has been told to us, or that we have told ourselves.
A collective urgency, no longer waiting for it to come from above
The trap is waiting for solutions to come from the outside, from the state, from international experts, from NGOs. But they are not always close to the realities on the ground. Even with good intentions, they sometimes miss the deep needs. That’s why I believe we need to move away from this posture of passivity.
And this change can only happen collectively. Power lies in the pooling of our strengths, in our ability to challenge authority, to propose new ways of doing things. It’s not about having a single charismatic leader, but about ensuring that each of us, at our own level, fully takes part in the immense task of transforming our society.
Investing in our structures to unlock local potential
For this local leadership, this collective strength, to fully express itself and transform our society, it is crucial that the support structures, local organizations, development programs, and community initiatives are themselves strong, resilient, and capable of actively supporting this change.
It is not enough to have good intentions or well-designed projects on paper. It is imperative to invest significantly in change management and organizational development for these structures and their stakeholders. By strengthening their capacity to function well, to adapt, to genuinely involve local actors, and to question their own ways of doing things, we can shift from a logic of assistance to a logic of empowerment and co-construction. This investment in skills, processes, and the internal culture of organizations is key for them to become true catalysts of local leadership rather than obstacles.
An Example from the Field
We saw at Beautiful Soul how local leadership, when truly activated, can enable transformative dynamics to be sustained, even in uncertain contexts.
A very telling example is that of the RELIT project, an ambitious education reform led by the Ministry of National Education, with the support of implementing and financial partners, focused on the introduction of national languages in learning from early childhood.
This project, which Beautiful Soul had the opportunity to support, brought together a diverse range of stakeholders: ministry technicians, linguistic experts, village chiefs, parents of students… An entire ecosystem gathered around the same table to build a new way of learning, closer to local realities.
Our role has been to create the conditions for sincere dialogue, to strengthen mutual understanding, and above all, to reconnect everyone to what this project represented for them, in their lives and in their mission. Through this alignment work, the ministry teams have taken ownership of the project well beyond the administrative expectations. And that is what made all the difference.
Because when the main international donor suspended its funding, many thought the project would come to a halt. But it didn't. It was the ministry agents themselves – trained, committed, convinced – who continued the activities on the ground. With limited resources, with creativity, sometimes mobilizing other local resources. Because they understood why this project mattered. Because they had seen its impact. And because they felt capable.
What this example shows is that a well-established project, nurtured by strong connections among stakeholders and aligned with lived values, survives uncertainty, even without external funding. It reveals the true meaning of empowerment, one that does not solely depend on budgets, but on a change in posture, a sense of legitimacy, and shared responsibility.
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At Beautiful Soul, we support individuals, organizations, and communities to reveal their potential and activate their power to act.
If, like me, you believe that a different future is possible – more inclusive, more just, and deeply rooted in our local realities – then let’s start the conversation.
Together, let's foster a strong, clear-sighted, and truly committed local leadership, ensuring that support structures are provided with the means (financial, human, organizational) to meet this collective ambition!