JNLC prepares 2026 symposium to connect past leadership lessons with East Africa’s future

What the report says

The Julius Nyerere Leadership Centre (JNLC) is preparing a symposium in October 2026 that will bring together leaders, scholars and young people to discuss how lessons from earlier generations can shape East Africa’s future. According to Nile Post, the event is set for October 14 and will be held under the theme “Borrowing from the Past, Building the Future.”

The programme is designed to examine leadership, regional integration, enterprise, peace, technology and youth participation. Organizers want the event to encourage dialogue between the generation associated with Julius Nyerere and Yoweri Museveni and younger people who are expected to play a larger role in the region’s development.

Nile Post reported that the symposium builds on earlier JNLC engagements, including a 2022 edition. Activities will begin on October 13 with an invitation-only gathering called Ekyooto, which will focus on values, leadership and unfinished aspirations before the main symposium opens the next day.

Beyond the two-day event, JNLC says it wants the conversations linked to its broader leadership development work and the experiences of its alumni in institutions and communities. Registration and public attendance details are expected to be shared through the centre’s approved channels. The initiative matters because it places intergenerational discussion at the center of broader debates about East Africa’s political, social and economic direction.