Letter by MCLD’s Global Secretary, Gunjan Veda
Over the last two years, our members have been our advisors, thought-partners, fellow travellers, and cheerleaders as MCLD transformed from a movement into a movement organization. Today, it gives me great pleasure to share yet another milestone with you: our Strategic Plan for 2026–2029, The Future is Community Led.
At MCLD, we believe we have the power to transform the world—to ensure peace and prosperity for all people and the planet—if we stand together in radical solidarity. Our strategic plan is not just our response to the world we are in; it is a roadmap to the world we want to create—one that requires each of us, and our collective power.
Drafted over 15 months, with the participation of as many of our 3,000+ members as possible, this strategic plan creates a shared vision across geographies, time zones, languages, and political realities.
It is anchored in four pillars: Policy, Practice, Solidarity and Self-Reliance. Two themes cut across everything we do: gender justice and ecological solidarity.
I invite you to dive into the innovative initiatives being launched by our National Associations- from Local Solidarity Funds in Burundi and Togo to Community Climate Schools across Colombia. Learn about the Intergenerational Mentoring Network, Youth Chess Fellowship, the Connected Communities Platform and other new collective action programs.
The last year has been tumultuous for our sector and our world. Yet within this disruption lies an opportunity: to build a new system rooted in shared humanity, collective power, and ecological solidarity. Across the sector, the words “community” and “solidarity”—the ground we have always stood on at MCLD—are echoing louder than ever. This is the time to show the world why the future is community-led.
Featured Photo: Members of Kasangadzi Area Program, Dowa, Malawi, apply MCLD’s Participatory CLD Assessment Tool. Credit: MCLD, 2023