About the Forum

The Djaha Family Foundation Systems Change Forum is a catalytic convening designed to accelerate community‑rooted solutions that strengthen the leadership, well‑being, and systems‑change capacity of young women across Northern Virginia and Côte d’Ivoire. Anchored in the Foundation’s mission to mobilize financial, social, and community resources for emerging women leaders, the Forum brings together innovators, policymakers, mental health practitioners, educators, and youth leaders to co‑design pathways toward equitable and sustainable systems.

Purpose and Rationale

Young women—particularly those navigating intersecting barriers related to race, gender, migration, and socioeconomic status—often face systemic constraints that limit access to leadership opportunities, mental health support, and economic mobility. The Forum addresses these inequities by creating a structured environment for cross‑sector collaboration, knowledge exchange, and community‑driven problem‑solving.

Participants learn about the systems that shape young women’s lives—education, economic opportunity, health, governance, and community networks—and develop strategies that expand dignity, access, and power. The Forum’s 2026 theme, Start Small, Shift Big: Early‑Stage Solutions for Systemic Transformation, emphasizes the importance of early interventions and community‑led innovation as drivers of long‑term structural change.

Target Participants

The Forum convenes a diverse ecosystem of stakeholders essential to systems transformation, including:

Young women leaders and emerging changemakers
Community organizers and grassroots advocates
Mental health professionals
Educators and youth development practitioners
Philanthropic and civic leaders
Systems‑change architects and social impact strategists

This cross‑sector composition ensures that solutions are informed by lived experience, professional expertise, and community priorities.

Format and Approach

The Forum integrates keynote dialogues, interactive design labs, storytelling sessions, and collaborative workshops. These formats are intentionally structured to surface systemic barriers and root‑cause dynamic facilitate co‑creation of actionable strategies, and strengthen networks that sustain long‑term systems change.

The design labs, in particular, support participants in prototyping early‑stage interventions that can be piloted, scaled, or integrated into existing community infrastructures.