Knowing what right is one thing. Acting on it is another.
In universities across Africa, students are taught the importance of ethics, integrity, fairness, and responsible leadership. Yet whether leading a group assignment, navigating conflict among peers, serving in student government, confronting academic dishonesty, or challenging an unfair decision, young people regularly encounter situations that test their values.
The Giving Voice to Values Africa program was designed to help students and professionals navigate these moments.
An initiative under the Ethics and Leadership focal area of The Education Collaborative, GVV Africa equips leaders, professionals, and students with practical tools and strategies for acting on their values when faced with ethical challenges. The initiative is delivered through two complementary tracks: The broader GVV Africa program equips higher education leaders and professionals to navigate ethical challenges in their institutions and workplaces. GVV Africa for Students prepares young people to uphold their values in academic, professional, and personal settings. Through real-world scenarios, case studies, discussions, and practical exercises, participants learn how to communicate difficult truths respectfully, make ethical decisions under pressure, and act on their values even when doing so is uncomfortable or carries risk.
GVV’s practical approach aligned closely with Kepler College’s commitment to developing ethical leaders, while addressing a challenge many graduates face as they transition into the workplace.
Turning Values into Action
“When we reflected on feedback from employers and our own observations, we realized that many students knew what was right but often struggled with how to address difficult situations,” says Aurore Umutesi, Director of Faculty Development at Kepler College. “We wanted to prepare students to be able to voice their values and be more confident.”
The challenge was not limited to the workplace. Kepler staff also saw an opportunity to help students build greater confidence in navigating ethical dilemmas within their academic lives and communities.
Finding the Confidence to Speak Up
Before taking the course, Daniella Umukunzi, a third-year Business Analytics student and current Guild President, says she lacked both the confidence and the know-how to approach senior figures on campus tactfully when difficult issues arose.
“Sometimes we find ourselves in situations where we have to confront a senior and we wonder, ‘What if they think I’m disrespectful?’ she says.
Like many student leaders, Daniella often found herself balancing relationships with responsibilities. She recalls struggling with decisions about allocating opportunities among students and worrying about how people would react if she challenged decisions she believed were unfair.
The course challenged her to think differently.
“I learned how to approach someone respectfully while still addressing something that needs to be solved,” she says.
But perhaps the most important lesson was realizing the cost of silence.
“Leadership is not just about the position. I realized that others could suffer because of me keeping quiet. After studying this course, I decided to be an ethical leader. I wrote it down somewhere. I want to be fair and ethical in whatever position I hold.”
Daniella’s experience reflects the type of transformation Kepler hoped the program would inspire among its students.
Since an initial pilot cohort of 27 students, the program has expanded to four additional cohorts, bringing the total to five cohorts and 520 students enrolled across Kepler’s campuses, including students from the institution’s Kiziba refugee campus. This growth reflects both rising student interest and recognition that ethical leadership is a skill that can be learned and practiced.
Learning by Doing
Louise Inagbire, Manager and Assistant Lecturer responsible for professional competency skills, singles out the practicality of the GVV Africa course as one of its greatest strengths.
“Sometimes ethics is taught in a theoretical way,” she explains. “With GVV, students are given a platform to learn and practice through case studies that connect directly to what they experience in school and in the workplace.”
That emphasis on practice aligns closely with Kepler‘s educational philosophy of learning- by doing. Rather than simply discussing ethical principles, students are encouraged to rehearse how they would respond when faced with real dilemmas.
One of the reasons Samuel Hakizimana, a second-year Business Analytics major on Kepler’s Kiziba campus, joined the program, was to learn how to stand by his values while engaging others respectfully.
“My expectation was to see how to speak up with my values,” he says. More importantly, he wanted to learn how to do so respectfully. “How can I share them without disrespecting the person receiving them?”
Through the course, Samuel discovered that giving voice to one’s values is about speaking up. It is also about listening.
“Even though I am sharing my values, I also have to hear others’ perspectives because other people also have their values,” he says.
Samuel now sees standing firm in his values and listening to differing perspectives not as competing ideas, but as complementary leadership skills.
Finding a Voice
Ally Manzi, a 3rd year Business Analytics student and student leader at Kepler, before joining the program, says he understood the importance of ethics and values but was often hesitant to express them.
“I was that kind of person who was not able to speak up,” he says. “I could just see something and remain silent.”
Today, he describes a different mindset.
“The program helped me build confidence in speaking up respectfully when something is wrong.”
The lessons proved immediately relevant to student life. Ally recalls situations during group assignments where some members contributed less than others. Previously, he would avoid raising concerns for fear of creating conflict.
“After the program, I learned how to communicate respectfully and encourage teamwork without attacking anyone,” he says.
Director of Faculty Development at Kepler College, Aurore Umuutesi, has observed that students who complete the course are more willing to speak up when challenges arise and better able to handle disagreements productively.
“We’ve seen students become more confident about speaking up,” she says. “They are more confident about expressing how a situation conflicts with their values and figuring out how to influence others to do the right thing.”
That confidence is evident in Samuel’s own reflection on the program.
“I feel confident because I am protecting my values,” he says. “I feel confident to speak up.”
Leadership Beyond the Classroom
The confidence GVV Africa instills is not rooted in confrontation. Instead, it is grounded in the ability to engage others thoughtfully while remaining true to one’s principles.
A commitment to fairness and integrity, the confidence to speak up in difficult situations, and an appreciation for balancing conviction with respect for differing perspectives are among the lessons Daniella, Ally, and Samuel took away from the program. Together, their experiences reflect exactly the kind of ethical leadership Kepler hoped GVV Africa would help cultivate.
As Kepler continues to expand participation in GVV Africa, the institution sees the program as an important complement to academic learning. Technical skills may help graduates secure opportunities, but ethical leadership helps them navigate the difficult decisions that inevitably follow.
Looking ahead, Umutesi hopes every Kepler graduate will leave with the confidence to act on their values, even when doing so is uncomfortable.
“We want to see students who can confidently voice their values in situations that challenge them,” she says. “Students who can make ethical decisions and have difficult conversations in a respectful and effective way.”
Read more about the GVV Africa program and GVV Africa Students program.