The 2010 terror attack in Kampala, which resulted in over 80 fatalities, directly inspired survivors Ndugwa Hassan and Ahmed Hadji to establish the Uganda Muslim Youth Development Forum (UMYDF).
13 years into its journey of fostering just, resilient, and peaceful communities, the organisation has now rebranded to Prospect.
Two core reasons have informed this name change. First, because of its length, it has always been difficult for most stakeholders to remember the name Uganda Muslim Youth Development Forum in its entirety. This has at times also caused problems with attribution, where stakeholders struggle to attribute results to us during monitoring and evaluation engagements because they can only remember patches of the name.
Secondly, while over the years the scope and reach of our services grew beyond our initial target audiences, the name Uganda Muslim Youth Development Forum communicated something different. To those who didn’t know about our work, we almost started each discussion by clarifying that we didn’t serve only Muslims and that the scope of our services went beyond Uganda. It was clear at each of these times that our name no longer accurately represented who we had become.
The new name, Prospect, addresses the two issues above and radiates positivity. Despite living in an increasingly complex and polarised world, our new name pierces through this complexity and division to provide beacons of hope and possibility. The new name and rebranding has also demanded a reframing and rethinking of our priority issues of focus which shall henceforth be;
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Peace
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Education
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Livelihood
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Human Rights
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Civic Engagement
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Climate Resilience
Looking back to the words of some of the United Nations Secretary Generals, we have a stark reminder of how closely inter-linked all these issue areas are, and how addressing them can advance the agenda of a peaceful and prosperous world.
“In Africa, as elsewhere, the answer does not lie in a purely military response that fails to deal with the root causes of disaffection and violence. As I constantly repeat, you cannot have peace and security without inclusive development, the rule of law, and respect for human rights. These are the three pillars of all successful societies. It is largely because these three pillars are quite fragile in parts of Africa that we are still seeing instability and violence.” -Kofi Annan, Tana High-Level Forum on Security in Africa (2016)
“Climate disasters and conflict both inflame inequalities, imperil livelihoods, and force people from their homes, .......conflict can easily be sparked where tensions are high, institutions are weak, and people are marginalized” - António Guterres, UN Security Council's debate (2024)
Now standing on the lessons and accomplishments of the last 13 years, we look to our next chapter with hope, and excitement, believing that the future belongs to those who see possibilities before they become obvious.
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