Jean-Jacques Lukusa
About the laureate
Laureate and 1st Place Winner of the V International Contest “Leader of Public Diplomacy” — Public Diplomacy through Sport
Jean-Jacques Lukusa is a Congolese youth and sports leader, public diplomacy practitioner and international Pinda Kaï-Do instructor from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. His work focuses on using sport, youth, culture and education as instruments for dialogue, social cohesion and international cooperation.
He serves as Vice-President of the Congolese Pinda Kaï-Do Federation, Vice-President of the Lemba Sports Clubs Union, and Deputy Director of the Coulibaly Sidiki Youth Centre in Kinshasa.
His professional and civic journey is built around the conviction that sport and youth can become practical bridges between people, communities and nations.
Sport as a tool for public diplomacy
As Vice-President of the Congolese Pinda Kaï-Do Federation and an international instructor, Jean-Jacques Lukusa contributes to the development of martial arts and youth training in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Through Pinda Kaï-Do, he promotes the values of loyalty, integrity, confidence and friendship, while encouraging discipline, self-control, leadership and mutual respect among young practitioners.
His involvement in sports leadership has also allowed him to establish relationships with athletes, coaches, youth leaders and international partners, with the objective of developing exchanges and cooperation through sport.
For him, sport represents a universal language capable of creating connections between people from different cultures and backgrounds.
“DiploSport Congo”
Jean-Jacques Lukusa is developing “DiploSport Congo: Sport, Culture and Youth at the Service of Public Diplomacy.”
The initiative seeks to use sport and cultural exchange as practical instruments of public diplomacy by connecting sports organizations, young leaders, cultural actors and institutions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with international partners.
The project focuses on international youth exchanges, sports cooperation, cultural encounters, leadership development and people-to-people diplomacy.
Its long-term vision is to create concrete partnerships through which young people can participate actively in international dialogue and become ambassadors of cooperation between communities and nations.
Youth leadership and social engagement
Alongside his work in sport, Jean-Jacques Lukusa contributes to youth development through the Coulibaly Sidiki Youth Centre in Kinshasa.
His engagement includes youth leadership, education and social awareness, as well as initiatives addressing challenges affecting adolescents and young people, including sexual and reproductive health, HIV and STI prevention, prevention of gender-based violence and youth well-being.
International public diplomacy
Jean-Jacques Lukusa has participated in international forums and initiatives focused on public diplomacy, youth, sport and international cooperation in Africa and Russia.
In 2026, he took part in international public diplomacy activities in Addis Ababa and Moscow, where he represented the perspective of a Congolese youth and sports leader and developed relationships with international participants and potential partners.
These experiences have strengthened his commitment to building bridges between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the international community through sport, culture, education and youth cooperation.
His approach is based on the belief that international relations are also built through human connections, shared experiences and concrete cooperation projects.
From local action to international cooperation
Jean-Jacques Lukusa is interested in developing international partnerships in the following areas:
Sports diplomacy and international sports exchanges;
Pinda Kaï-Do and martial arts cooperation;
Youth leadership and international exchanges;
Cultural and people-to-people diplomacy;
Social inclusion through sport;
Youth and educational exchanges;
Cooperation between African and international organizations;
Projects connecting sport, culture and public diplomacy.
Through these initiatives, he seeks to contribute to the emergence of a generation of young leaders capable of building dialogue across borders and contributing constructively to international cooperation.
His vision of public diplomacy is practical and people-centred: to transform sport, youth and culture into bridges connecting the Democratic Republic of the Congo with the world.