Nassa Bbiira Kiwanuka
2023 IVLP Impact Award Project: Small Community Actions, Global ImpactUganda
Nassa Bbiira Kiwanuka is an emerging transformative leader with over 15 years of experience working with young people to create young leaders. He is passionate about building a community that is self-philanthropic and solves their own development challenges. Nassa has experience providing leadership to community initiatives, including building local democratic institutions and environmental protection institutions. His passion is built on the idea that everyone should be an active participant in the development processes of their communities and can shape the global good.
IVLP Impact Award Project: Small Community Actions, Global Impact
The project created a network and platform for communities to self-discover the positive role they play in influencing the global environment. The project trained over 260 community members on the Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) model to build the community’s capacity to conserve the environment and shape their social and economic well-being. The community nursery bed with over 1,129 trees, a community woodlot, and an apiary hub allowed participants to educate other communities on the FMNR model and green enterprises. Nassa's project also organized 10 monthly meetings for community members where he shared his IVLP experience and the knowledge that he gained, which reached over 896 people.
“This project has been down to earth and as a community, we are committed to growing this community woodlot into a forest where all FMNR benefits are collected by us as a community together.” – Project Participant
IVLP Exchange Experience
Nassa was a participant in the IVLP Project Sustainability and the Extractive Industry organized by the U.S. Department of State and Institute of International Education.
Nassa's exchange experience led to the development of his IVLP Impact Award Project: "[My project] will amplify the good experience [learned] from the International Visitor Leadership Program as a way of shaping local communities to embrace the conservation agenda for the world through innovative green entrepreneurship and land reclamation for sustainable development."
U.S. Communities Visited
Washington, DC; Boise, ID; Louisville, KY; Minot, ND