Young Global Leaders

Report on the Annual Meeting Programme of the Forum of Young Global Leaders

The meeting, which included over 130 Young Global Leaders from around the world in Davos from 23 to 27 January 2007, aimed to advance YGL efforts in shaping a better future. The programme focused on three main themes: Community Building/Networking, Learning/Knowledge and Action. Below is summary of the sessions by date:

Tuesday 23 January – Dignity Day

Dignity Day Davos was an opportunity for Young Global Leaders (YGLs) to hold interactive dialogues on human rights and dignity principles with school children of the Swiss Alpine High School in Davos. Global Dignity, a global public awareness campaign on the universal right of every human being, was launched at the Young Global Leaders Annual Summit 2005 as a collective effort to share the Dignity Principles with youth across the world.

• Alja Brglez
• John Hope Bryant
• Erik Charas
• Bozidar Djelic
• Scott Freidheim
• Motohisa Furukawa
• Pekka Himanen
• Frank Krings
• Sandile Zungu

Tuesday 23 January – The Changing Face of Leadership

Much ink has been spilled about the enigmatic qualities that define leadership, engender fellowship and ultimately get results. Yet, for many, leadership is primarily about knowing one's self, and by extension, knowing how one is perceived by others in order to shape the environment to overcome existing obstacles.

The workshop was organized in two parts:

The first part of the workshop was facilitated by practitioners in theatre and the performing arts – YGLs jumped directly into hands-on skill building. They were asked to leave their inhibitions at the door for a dynamic, fun session which challenged them to see themselves as others see them. This was an informal session in small breakout groups.

The second part was on “Building Our Community”. YGLs turned to exploring the leadership lessons gleaned from the larger YGL community. In small-group discussions YGLs shared personal stories and reflected on their role in the evolving and ever-changing practice of leadership.

Outcomes:

• Participants agreed that being a leader in a globalized world requires an equally “globalized knowledge”. Because of globalization, “leaders don’t have all the answers anymore.”

• A good leader also needs to be with his or her troupes, something globalization has made more difficult. In effect, globalization hasn’t – yet – shortened physical distances. Although we travel faster, we also travel farther, in particular to key emerging markets. Thus, travelling still consumes much of the valuable time of leaders.

• Furthermore, globalization has created a “24/7” world in which one expects leaders to be on a 24/7 shift, always reachable and available. This is made possible by, or the consequence of, the dazzling development of information and communication technologies.

• While an overwhelming majority of YGLs agreed that many of the challenges facing leaders stem from globalization, many also identified as a source of challenges the increasing demand for transparency and accountability emanating from shareholders, consumers, journalists and governments.

• Also widely recognized as a challenge is the difficultly for leaders to retain talents.

• Another challenge for leaders is to find the appropriate levels of empowerment for subordinates. The capacity to trust and delegate was frequently evoked during group discussions. Leaders must “learn to let it go and give up power if necessary.” This quality has become more important than ever in the context of globalization, where it is no longer possible for a leader to control everything.

• Another challenge for leaders is to balance short-term objectives with long-term interests, the two being often different, if not conflicting.

• Another resides in the “macho attitude” which still prevails in the business world, making it hard for women to rise to positions of leadership, and for women leaders to be accepted as such.

• The characteristics and qualities needed for leadership haven’t changed, but given the realities of the information age, people can now judge leaders in real time which leads to greater expectations

• “I think it is a challenging time for our generation – that we are going to be growing up as leaders where there is more transparency and expectations ever before in what we do,” said Adam Bird, Senior Vice-President and Managing Partner, Booz Allen Hamilton. Watch the video!

• “There is now a greater gap between a manager and a leader. As a result, leaders had to develop a whole bunch of different skills. Managers had to keep smart, bright, intellectual-driven individuals, but to be a successful leader you need to have great communication, you have to be good with people, and you have to develop those around you. I will differentiate them by saying managers do the right thing, but leaders do them right,” expressed Catherine Garrett-Cox, Chief Investment Officer, Morley Fund Management. Watch the video!

Thursday 25 January – Peace and Security in the Middle East: A dialogue with Ahmed Mahmoud Nazif, Prime Minister of Egypt

The private dialogue, held jointly with the Young Global Leaders (YGLs) and Young Arab Leaders (YALs), was chaired by Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Mahmoud Nazif on the peace process and the role of young leaders in advancing current efforts in the Middle East.

Outcomes:

• Prime Minister Nazif explained that the problem with the peace process is that today no one is dealing with the real issues in depth, but only with processes and mechanisms. All extremist groups, including Al Qaeda, take the example of Palestine and the injustice (real or perceived) to rationalize what they do. The Arab world sees the way Palestinians are treated as an injustice and there is a lot of discontent among people in the region.

• Although Egypt is a country that enjoys peace, it is dependent on the peace and stability of its neighbours for greater growth. Also, Egypt is looking to integrate with others such as Europe, China, Russia and India. Egypt has always taken the position of a dialogue-mediator.

• Shapers of the current conditions in the Middle East are primarily ongoing conflict between Palestine and Israel, security issues, a sense of missed opportunities, and the need to focus on the process of peace in formulating the Palestinian state.

• The prime minister’s final message was that peace and stability on the one hand and socio-economic development on the other are necessary in the Middle East. “The idea of having Young Global Leaders is itself a hopeful sentiment, it gives hope to the future. You represent the future and you should not accept the buyings of the past as you look at the future. You need challenges, you need to think outside of the box and come up with your own solutions. Specially when you are leaders in your own right, because that means that somebody has invested in you and they are expecting a return”, the prime minister concluded. Watch the video!

Photo: Ahmed Mahmoud Nazif, Prime Minister of Egypt. Photograph by Remy Steinegger

Friday 26 January – Inspiring Change

As one community, we are confronted with many global challenges simultaneously: overpopulation, dwindling natural resources, religious conflict, poverty, education, healthcare and an environmental crisis that threatens our air, water and soil. To meet the challenges of these times, human beings will need to develop a greater sense of universal responsibility to one another and society and transcend the differences in race, culture and religion that have historically divided them. Young Global Leaders, together with members of the C-100 and Young Arab Leaders, explored how to work not only for themselves, their family or nation, but also to collaborate and work for the benefit of all humankind.

Photo: Mohammad Khatami, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran (1997-2005)

Friday 26 January – Political Reforms & the Middle East: Looking into the Future

Recent events in the Middle East have shown the emergence of political reforms and increasing freedom of speech and opinion in the region. This discussion with H.M. King Abdullah II Ibn Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan tried to establish a set of concrete policy proposals aimed at governance reform in the Arab world.

Outcomes:

• In his keynote speech, the King identified three core issues for the Middle East: Palestine, Lebanon and Iraq. He explained that none of these conflicts could be solved in isolation.

• “The two groups represented here, the Young Global Leaders (YGLs) and Young Arab Leaders (YALs), are an inspiration and a hope for the future. 50% of the population of the Middle East is under the age of 18 and 60% is under the age of 25. If we don’t start to deal with the future of this up and coming generation and reach their aspirations we will have a big problem in the Middle East,” said the King. Watch the video!

• What can the Young Global Leaders can do in terms of helping to lead?
  “The business people network, people coming together through business. This is where you play the vital role, because I don’t think you have the prejudices that others have. You are going to go where the business takes you. If you see opportunity you will try to bridge that confidence to create dependency on each other,” expressed the King. Watch the video!

• In his final message, the King said the economic model of reaching out to the youth was far more important than political models and that public-private partnerships and private sector involvement could play a significant role in settling the Middle East conflict.

Photo: H.M. King Abdullah II Ibn Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Photograph by Annette Boutellier

Saturday 27 January – Action 2030 Workshop

During the Young Global Leaders' Inaugural Summit in 2005, the Community prioritized six issue areas on which to organize YGL task force work. During this workshop, Young Global Leaders continued work in these areas for 2007 and came up with other significant initiatives that refocused their efforts on key priorities for 2030. These initiatives and their action plans for implementation will be published soon on the website and will be presented during the Young Global Leaders Summit 2007 in Dalian, China.