The Shaping Futures: African-European Network on Development and Sustainability Academy (Shaping Futures Academy) is a dialogue and training programme targeted at early to mid-career professionals from selected African and European (EU+) countries. The Shaping Futures Academy aims to empower future leaders on both continents by bringing together like-minded peers to reflect on their roles in their respective communities and organisations. They jointly develop strategies on how they can induce or support change processes for a transformation to sustainability in the present and future contexts.
The Shaping Futures Academy welcomes participants from various sectors (civil society, academia and think tanks, public administration, business and media) to encourage transdisciplinarity and to promote networking and knowledge exchange.
The Shaping Futures Academy is hosted by the German Institute for Development and Sustainability (IDOS) and funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The programme is conducted in English.
Format and Content
The Shaping Futures Academy is grounded on three essential elements that contribute to capacity development: knowledge, action and leadership.
Application and Requirements
The Shaping Futures Academy targets early to mid-career professionals from participating African and European (EU+) countries.
Potential participants of the Shaping Futures Academy should:
Shaping Futures Academy 2026
Thanks for your interest in the Shaping Futures Academy 2026. The application phase is now closed. Those who have applied before the deadline, will be informed on the outcome in January 2026. More information on the Academy 2026 can be read in the brochure (PDF).
Shaping Futures Academy 2025
The Shaping Futures Academy 2025 took place in block format from 5 May to 21 November. It combined three digital and two in-person modules in Germany and Ghana.
Find more information on the 2025 Academy in the brochure (PDF).
Find the participant list of the 2025 Academy (PDF).
An overview of the 2025 Academy can be seen in a YouTube Video.