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Reconciliation since 2006.

Restless leaders. Reconciled nations.

Our mission: to mobilize restless Christian leaders from the Great Lakes Region, create a space for their transformation and empower them to participate in God’s mission of reconciliation in communities, organizations and nations.

Two men embracing warmly

Leadership Institute 2027.

Closed

Applications are closed. The Institute runs June 13–19, 2027.

The 16th Leadership Institute begins in

213Days
03Hours
09Minutes
38Seconds

Who we are.

Mobilise. Transform. Empower.

A network of Christian individuals and organisations working towards peace and reconciliation in seven countries of the Great Lakes Region.

  • Mobilise

    We seek out restless Christian leaders from across the Great Lakes Region and bring them together across borders.

  • Transform

    The annual Leadership Institute creates a space for their transformation, through lament, hope and spirituality for the long haul.

  • Empower

    Leaders go home ready to take part in God’s mission of reconciliation in communities, organisations and nations.

  • Walk together

    Country Working Groups keep Institute alumni together all year, sharing stories and testimonies of hope.

A large group of participants gathered close together A woman laughing with a tea cup, outdoors Three men laughing together outdoors

About us.

Twenty years of walking together

2006to2026

What began in 2006 as a gathering of Christian leaders from seven countries is now a regional network, registered in Uganda since 2015.

Between 2006 and 2010, four gatherings were co-convened by Duke Divinity School’s Center for Reconciliation, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), African Leadership and Reconciliation Ministries (ALARM) and World Vision International. In 2011 the gatherings became the first annual Leadership Institute.

Founding partners

  • Duke Divinity School
  • Mennonite Central Committee (MCC)
  • African Leadership and Reconciliation Ministries (ALARM)
  • World Vision International

Ways to give.

Invest in reconcilers

Sponsor a leader’s week at the Institute, or keep alumni walking together through the year.

  • Five participants standing together outdoors in colourful dress Leadership Institute

    Sponsor a leader at the 2027 Institute

    US$600 covers one leader’s full week: food, lodging, local transport and materials.

  • A woman presents the Tanzania working group’s flip chart Country Working Groups

    Keep alumni walking together all year

    Support gatherings of Institute alumni in each of the seven countries.

Where we work.

Seven nations. One network.

In each of the seven countries, Institute alumni meet as Country Working Groups, committed to a vision of reconciled families, communities, organisations and nations.

  • 7

    countries of the Great Lakes Region

  • 2006

    the year it began

  • 15

    annual Leadership Institutes (2011–2026)

  • 4

    founding partners

  • Burundi
  • DR Congo
  • Kenya
  • Rwanda
  • South Sudan
  • Tanzania
  • Uganda
Map of Africa highlighting the seven Great Lakes countries where GLI works

GLI office · Kampala

Aerial view of a large group of participants, everyone waving

How we work.

Reconciliation, all year round.

Seven nations around one table

Since 2011 the annual Leadership Institute has gathered leaders from seven nations. The 16th Institute meets June 13–19, 2027.

Five daily questions

  1. Reconciliation towards what? New Creation
  2. What is going on? The gift and discipline of Lament
  3. What does Hope look like?
  4. What kind of Leadership?
  5. Why me? Why bother? Spirituality for the long haul
Learn more

Stories.

News from the seven nations

Stories and testimonies of hope from the Country Working Groups and the Leadership Institute.

  • A woman praying, hands together

    South Sudan’s alumni pray for their nation on the 15th of every month

    Despite the war, 25 alumni met in March 2015. They went on to mobilise 30 applicants for the 2016 Institute and found sponsorship for 12 of them.

    GLI Secretariat
  • A woman and a bishop listening intently

    Bishops at the peace table

    Two 2015 alumni, a Catholic and an Anglican bishop, joined the Churches’ delegation mediating the conflict in South Sudan. The Anglican bishop also led colleagues on a reconciliation learning tour to Rwanda.

    GLI Secretariat
  • Handwritten reflection notes

    The 2026 Leadership Institute

    The 15th Institute in Kampala: a week “where conviction becomes clarity, clarity becomes strategy, and strategy becomes transformative impact.”

    GLI Secretariat

Voices from the region.

In their own words

Country Working Groups share stories and testimonies of hope, often where such stories are hard to imagine.

“Hearing their own stories of living in challenging conflict situations has brought me relief and healing… Relationships among the ethnic divide have not hindered our meeting and working together.”
Member, South Sudan Country Working Group

Partner with us.

Walk with leaders rebuilding trust across seven nations.

Three men laughing together outdoors