OWF LAUNCHES STRATEGIC PLAN 2026 TO 2030

Open World Foundation has officially launched its Strategic Plan 2026 to 2030, a five year roadmap carried under the theme Empowerment for Self Sustainability. The launch was covered by UBC News Tonight, NewVision, Bukedde TV1, Bukedde Newspaper, Radio One, Kaboozi and drew together the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, the National Youth Council, partners, and friends of the Foundation who have walked this road with us.

The plan answers something real. Uganda’s population is young and growing quickly, and the 2024 National Population and Housing Census shows that more than half of that young population is currently outside education, employment, or training. OWF built this plan to close that gap, organizing the next five years of its work around what the organization calls its HELP framework: Health, Education, Livelihood, and Instituitional Capacity.

Four Regions, One Framework

Our Program Team Lead, Ms. Grace Rosemary Namatovu, walked guests through what the plan is. She also included where the plan will focus. In the Northern region, OWF will concentrate its youth focused programming. In the East, the priority is Busoga. In the West, it is the Rwenzori region. In Central Uganda, the plan speaks directly to urban youth unemployment, recognizing that a young person navigating Kampala faces a different set of barriers than one navigating a rural district.

“We are looking at empowering the vulnerable youths in the areas of health, education, and livelihoods,” Ms. Namatovu said. “Our shared promise that this plan is giving us is that we want to see vulnerable youths break free from the barriers that are hindering them from living healthier lives, accessing quality education, but also that are hindering them from having sustainable incomes.”

By 2030, the plan aims to reach at least 20,000 Ugandans, building on a track record that already includes Rwenzori, Busoga, Central and Northern regions across OWF’s work.

Government Commitment
Mr. Kyateka Mondo is the Commissioner at the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development. He represented the State Minister for Youth and Children Affairs, Hon. Dr. Lakisa Mercy Faith, at the launch, and spoke warmly of the partnership between government and OWF.

“I want to confirm that we are proud of our collaboration,” Mr. Kyateka said. “I congratulate you on reaching this important milestone where you launch your new strategic plan anchored on the theme Empowerment for Sustainability.”

He noted that OWF’s priorities sit within Uganda’s National Development Plan IV, and that government continues to value what civil society organizations contribute to national development. “I believe that you have correct indicators that will guide you in monitoring the impact that you are making on the lives of these vulnerable Ugandans,” he said.

Commissioner for Youth and Children Affairs, Mondo Kyateka, of the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, signs the guest banner at the OWF Strategic Plan 2026 to 2030 launch, joining guests in committing to a better future for Uganda’s youth.

A Council Holding Us to It

Mr. Ongom Daniel is the Chairperson of the National Youth Council. He spoke to what comes after a launch, when a plan is tested against the lives it was written for.

“Our strategic role as the Youth Council is to ensure that we follow up what the government releases for the young people, and to ensure that it reaches the young person and it is used optimally to change their lives,” Mr. Ongom said. “But also beyond following up what is released, it is also to advocate and lobby for more to be released.”

That same spirit runs through the plan itself, which includes a risk register and a safeguarding framework built in from the start, so that ambition and accountability move together rather than one waiting on the other.

Read the full Strategic Plan 2026 to 2030: Open World Foundation Strategic Plan 2026-2030