
re_action for impact programme
makesense x Laidlaw Foundation
Join Laidlaw Scholars from around the world in a journey to contribute to social and environmental change in real-world projects.
Reaction for Impact connects you with local communities, social entrepreneurs, and real-world challenges to learn and strengthen your leadership skills developed through the Laidlaw Foundation. Leadership is learned by doing and anyone can do it!
Each week combines active sessions with make_sense and field activities with local partners to co-design and build actions towards your chosen theme. You’ll interact, learn, collaborate, and co-create projects with inspiring people and communities.
The program runs for 6 weeks in summer 2026 across:
🇲🇽 Mexico City, Mexico: July 6th to August 14th
🇨🇴 Medellín, Colombia: July 6th to August 14th
🇫🇷 Marseille, France: June 22nd to August 1st
Choose your destination to be part of this experience alongside social and environmental entrepreneurs, organizations, local communities and fellow scholars!
Early application is encouraged due to the limited number of spots.
*Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
🇲🇽 Mexico City: 15 scholars
🇨🇴 Medellín: 10 scholars
🇫🇷 Marseille: 9 scholars
What you can expect from the re_action for impact programme?
Scholars participating in the programme can expect to apply and develop their skills in the following areas:

- You’ll choose a real-world social or environmental challenge that aligns with your interests to design and implement a concrete solution to it.
- Through field immersion and intensive research, you’ll become familiar with the context of your chosen challenge in your host country. You’ll get to see how citizens take action to face these challenges and connect with relevant local organizations to work with.
- Selected scholars will receive training and resources from make_sense on how to become effective community mobilizers. You’ll apply these tools to engage others, practice leadership, and coordinate collaboration within your team.
- You’ll guide a group of volunteers, combining virtual and in-person collaboration. You’ll be able to organize meet ups and work sessions, assign tasks, provide feedback, and ensure progress toward shared goals.
- Together with your team and local partners, you’ll co-create and test real solutions that respond to environmental and social challenges.
These experiences will help you strengthen key skills such as effective communication, problem-solving, creativity, and time management.


You will get to experience three countries leading innovation hubs first hand. These cities face many challenges like social inequalities and climate insecurity. However, Mexico City, Medellin and Marseille are thriving with social enterprises, NGOs and other third sector entities leading positive change with whom you’ll get to work alongside.
Through intensive research, scholars will become experts in some of the main climate-related and social issues in their countries. Afterwards, they will identify the impactful actions citizens can take to face those issues and connect with relevant local organizations to work with. Together with their teams of volunteers, scholars will build impactful concrete actions that respond to climate change and social issues.
Your Leadership in Action experience creates real impact!
And what about logistics?
This experience fully covers logistics including accommodation, transportation, meals, day-to-day activities, a sim card and other services. We will be in charge of arranging this for you!
At makesense, we see social and environmental challenges as interconnected systems. Fighting climate change requires reducing inequalities, and reducing inequalities demands a strong focus on climate change. That’s why we have designed an experience where each country focuses on a key theme, while giving every scholar the chance to explore their specific areas of interest.
You can choose one of the following themes or areas:

In Mexico City, climate change exacerbates existing social inequalities, with vulnerable communities bearing the brunt of environmental degradation and extreme weather events. makesense has been
actively working on this issue by partnering with local organizations to enhance urban resilience, improve water management, and promote sustainable development in underserved areas. Through these efforts, we empower local leaders to address climate challenges within their communities, ensuring that environmental solutions are both equitable and impactful. This project will focus on developing innovative approaches to mitigate the social impacts of climate change while fostering community-led action.


Gender violence remains a critical challenge in Mexico, with widespread social and structural inequalities contributing to this issue. makesense has established partnerships with local NGOs and grassroots organizations to address gender violence by supporting community-driven initiatives that empower women and advocate for
gender equity. This project will emphasize capacity building, raising awareness, and creating safe spaces for women to thrive. By fostering local leadership and collaboration, we aim to generate sustainable change in combating gender violence, transforming communities from
within.


Medellin has become a global reference for urban transformation and innovation. make_sense has been at the forefront of initiatives that support culture, arts, and creative projects to address social challenges in vulnerable communities. By working with local partners, scholars will develop projects that strengthen community ties, foster inclusion, and create sustainable opportunities for youth, contributing to long-term social cohesion.


Making sure the French senior population is getting the attention, care and infrastructures they deserve. Makesense has been working for over 5 years on specific challenges such as: co-living space for the senior population, mobility, accessibility in the public space, and developing new social bonds. Innovation and community engagement are keys to bringing about long-term change, that is why we work hand in hand with over 100 public institutions and field actors throughout France, and Marseille.


Drastically reducing wastes and plastics in the sea, to conserve critical habitats and species. Makesense is committed to raising public awareness and supporting grassroot actions to protect sea life. Our goal is to support NGOs who are already very proactive on the field, but need a more radical change of behavior, as well as more forces and volunteers on the ground.

Impact Data
106
Active volunteers completed the 2-week volunteering programme.
72.3%
Volunteer Retention Rate (versus average of 65% according to Americorps and 50% according to makesense re_action data).
6
Participating countries: Mexico, Canada, Ecuador, China, U.K., U.S.
50
Collaborations with NGOs and Social Enterprises.
Laidlaw Foundation & re_action
Following five consecutive years of successful collaboration with the Laidlaw Foundation (2020–2025), which mobilized 163 scholars and over 240 volunteers, we are now preparing the 2026 edition of the Reaction program to empower a new generation of scholars to take concrete action and strengthen their leadership skills.
See how Laidlaw Scholars made an impact in 2024!
The key to impactful concrete action
Selected scholars will receive support and resources from makesense throughout their time in the programme.
re_action for impact participants will be trained on:

the innovation methodologies behind re_action

Practical strategies to engage and mobilize your community through collaborative on site projects

tools to trigger positive concrete actions
Why join?
Applying the leadership skills developed through Laidlaw Foundation’s activities in combination with the tools and trainings provided by makesense, over the 6 weeks of the programme, selected scholars will:
- Conduct intensive research on issues related to socio-environmental challenges
- Build their own re_action programme based on makesense tools
- Ideate impactful concrete actions to socio-environmental challenges
- Become community mobilizers and promote the re_action programme within their communities to recruit participants
- Connect with NGOs, social enterprises, and youth-led organizations working on climate-related and social issues to amplify their impact-making capabilities
- Lead a team of volunteers in building concrete actions over the course of two weeks.

Apply now and join us to partake in this leadership experience and help tackle the most pressing socio-environmental challenges!
Register now!
Since the spots in the programme are limited, we encourage interested scholars to apply early.
*Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
🇲🇽 Mexico City: 15 scholars
🇨🇴 Medellín: 10 scholars
🇫🇷 Marseille: 9 scholars

About re_action
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, makesense developed a global citizen mobilization and emergency response programme that utilizes the power of design thinking and community action to respond to the most urgent needs of the most vulnerable populations.
To date, re_action has mobilized thousands of citizens globally. Learn more about how and why re_action was originally created: makesense presents re_action



What can you expect about re_action?
“I enjoyed how the program pushed me beyond my comfort zone. I was able to work with a team, learn from a team and eventually lead a team. I gained a lot of leadership, time management, program planning and virtual facilitation experience. I will continue to use what I learned from my time at the programme, to positively impact the fight against climate change”.
– Saeeda
“Thanks to the re_action team, training, team sessions, and volunteers. The deliverable of the project, presented as a social media campaign, is the result of bringing together interests and passions with skills to empower myself and others to be part of the chain of reaction in leading change”.
– Raquel
“I believe the program taught me how to effectively lead a team and delegate tasks based on interest. It also showed me the ways in which team dynamics or plans may change and ways we can best adapt to a short time frame. Overall, it also taught me the effect of research and planning that goes into any organizing project”.
– Elina