Dekeyser & Friends Foundation

The D&F Academy offers innovative learning that creates impact. Its new kind of education allows experienced personalities to pass on their knowledge to groups of young, diverse individuals, who learn in a hands-on manner and who use their new skills and knowledge to turn their dreams into reality. The Dekeyser&Friends Foundation set up the D&F Academy and supports it financially with the aim to inspire young people to follow their dreams in life.

Fifty percent of the world’s population is under the age of 28. As educational inequalities and socio-economic pressures are still vast, the D&F Academy brings together young people across divides to work together, reflect upon their goals in life and learn the skills they need to implement their ideas or dreams. The D&F Academy’s educational method responds to the fact that credentials and linear education seem less able to prepare young people for the challenges of a complex and ever-changing world. We encourage our Fellows to learn from experience and to trust themselves, to work together in multicultural teams, and to think about how their dreams and their ventures can have a positive social impact on their societies.

The D&F Academy offers unique educational programs in the areas of Global Issues, Arts & Culture, and Sports. Each project enables up to 20 talented young adults aged 18 to 28 from around the globe to learn from an inspiring mentor and eminent experts, to reflect on passionate ideas, and to plan and implement their own ventures aimed at having an impact on the world. In the Challenge phase of the project, the Fellows work on a Challenge posed to them by their Friend, and prepare venture ideas through their participation in our start-up program. In the following Implementation phase, the Fellows return to their home countries and kick off their start-ups, learning by doing while being supported through our online curriculum and mentors.

www.dfacademy.org