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Global Arts Leadership Initiative

Background

Global Arts Leadership Initiative is one of the task forces of the Forum of Young Global Leaders of the World Economic Forum. Global Arts Leadership Initiative provides an active platform of activity and dialogue amongst stakeholders from business, politics, science, academia, civic service, and performing and visual arts who share the common vision of establishing the Arts as an integral part of healthy communities.

Global Arts Leadership Initiative will conduct a variety of arts leadership activities worldwide, in partnership with Cultural Leaders and high-impact arts organizations, to engage them in a collaborative, multi-stakeholder approach to developing solutions to global challenges and building a system of values-based decision making.

Leaders

Katya Gorbatiouk, Erwann Michel-Kerjan, Lorenzo Mendoza

YGL Participants: Matthew Bishop, Kirill Dmitriev, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Julian Rachlin, Alvaro Rodriguez Arregui, Alberto Vollmer, Andrei Elinson, Nikolay Pryanishnikov, Kevin W. Lu, Lorna Solis, Marcel Pinas, Ngundi Githuku, Patrick Chappatte, Eva Dichand, Vuyo Jack, Pawan Patil, Maja Kuzmanovic

The Vital Role Of Arts

Global Arts Leadership Initiative will promote the role of the Arts as one of the important social tools in helping achieve solutions to a number of challenges affecting the world, such as education, poverty, crime, multicultural understanding, international cooperation, and diplomacy.

Education and Innovation
Arts education awakens and stimulates creativity, imagination, abstract cognitive abilities, problem solving and directly advances abilities in all subjects, needed to remain competitive in the global economy.

Poverty
Arts and culture have been proven to be an effective tool for individuals to want to achieve and advance in their society. The Arts provide a path to an individual to a dignified role in society. Poverty encompasses hopelessness, loneliness, sadness; the Arts are their antidote.

Crime Prevention
Arts and music have been successfully used around the world as a social tool to revitalize communities and bring meaningful content to children’s lives during critical years of development.

International Cultural Diplomacy
Arts advancement organizations have demonstrated ability to create bridges and mend relationships on the highest levels.

Multicultural Understanding
Arts, as a common language, promotes awareness, understanding and respect of cultural differences.

ARTS LEADERSHIP IN FOCUS, CARNEGIE HALL, 18 FEBRUARY 2010

On 18 February 2010, the World Economic Forum and its Forum of Young Global Leaders presented Arts Leadership in Focus, at Carnegie Hall, to highlight the transformational power of arts and the critical role of cultural institutions and arts education, particularly during times of economic difficulty.

In the morning of February 18, the World Economic Forum hosted a panel discussion at Carnegie Hall on the critical role of cultural leaders and institutions in a multi-stakeholder dialogue in the process of developing solutions to global issues.

Participating Panelists:

Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum
James D. Wolfensohn, Chairman, Wolfensohn & Company
Matthew Bishop, New York Bureau Chief, The Economist
Deborah Borda, President and CEO of the Los Angeles Philharmonic
Hilda Ochoa-Brillembourg, CEO Strategic Investment Group; Founding Chairman of The Youth Orchestra of the Americas

Moderator: Erwann Michel-Kerjan

During the evening concert, performances by world-renowned musicians, who are members of the Forum of Young Global Leaders, gave voice to the potential impact the Arts have to transform the world:
Julian Rachlin (YGL) and Joshua Bell (YGL), violins
Valery Gergiev (member of the YGL Foundation Board) and Carlos Prieto (YGL), conductors
with Youth Orchestra of the Americas
Remarks by Professor Klaus Schwab, John Hope Bryant (YGL) and Sir Clive Gillinson, Artistic and Executive Director, Carnegie Hall
Video Presentation: Arts Leadership in Focus – spotlight on the efforts of YGL artists:
Gustavo Dudamel (El Sistema)
Midori (Midori & Friends)
Lang Lang (Lang Lang Foundation)
Carlos Miguel Prieto (Youth Orchestra of the Americas).
The results of these efforts underscore the long-term value of supporting cultural endeavors and arts education regardless of economic conditions.

Global Arts Leadership Initiative was co-founded by Katya Gorbatiouk and Rafael DeStella.

Please join us at www.artsglobe.org

Global Business Oath

Background

The global financial crisis of 2008 and the ensuing economic recession has brought under question the character and trustworthiness of business managers around the world. Unlike other professions such as medicine or law, which explicitly recognize a commitment to serving the greater good and formally espouse a strict code of conduct, management is yet to do either. Widespread views of management often subordinate business contributions to the greater good to the maximization of short-term financial returns, and emphasize a narrow view of managerial responsibilities as serving the interest of shareholders over clients, employees, or society at large. These views misrepresent the full complexity of the management profession and its role in driving global prosperity and, as we have painfully learned, can have disastrous economic consequences when taken to the extreme.

The YGL Global Business Oath aims to transform the value system dominant today among business leaders around the world by (a) explicitly recognizing that the ultimate purpose of management is to serve society by bringing together people and resources to create sustainable and inclusive prosperity that no single individual can create alone, (b) recognizing that the effects (good and bad) of managerial decisions in the welfare of society are amplified by the accumulation of resources under legal corporations, and (c) proposing a code of conduct—a modern day “Hippocratic Oath of Business”—that spells out a commitment to “doing no harm” throughout the practice of management.

Leaders

Angel Cabrera, Samer I. Asfour, Tewodros Ashenafi, Elena Barmakova, Gustavo Cardoso, François-Philippe Champagne, Adrian D. Cheok, Andrew L. Cohen, Arturo Condo, Jennifer Corriero, Jitesh Gadhia, Suhas Gopinath, Haakon of Norway, Lars Hinrichs, Christopher Jahns, Penny Low, Leslie W. Maasdorp, Aaron McCormack, Patricia Menendez-Cambo, David Munro, Henrik Naujoks, Efrat Peled, Paolo Ribotta, Alvaro Rodriguez Arregui, Daniel Sachs, Dan Shine, Jens Martin Skibsted.

Non-YGL Members:
Rakesh Khurana, Nitin Nohria, Manfred Reichl

Looking For

We need as many YGLs as possible to sign the oath and to use their platforms of influence such as business leaders associations (e.g. Mongolia) or boards of directors and senior management teams (e.g. Banco Compartamos in Mexico) to encourage other acting business professionals to join the movement.

Go, sign the oath now! Also, you can check out who has pledged to date here.

Global Dignity

For real progress to be made in this world we need to strengthen what unites us in stead of constantly focusing on what sets us apart. One thing that all human beings have in common is that we all want our dignity to be recognized. We want to strengthen the fabric of our common humanity so that we realize that we are interconnected, that we are all in this together and that the hardships that is experienced by another person also affects us. We have developed a concept called Dignity Day which is a leadership course, an ethics course, a motivational seminar and an anti bullying effort for youth in a two hour package. We have done Dignity Days in more than thirty countries the last three years as a result of YGLs taking the lead around the world.
Since 2008 we have organized Global Dignity Day on October 20.  This day we go into schools around the world to focus on the fundementals of dignity in society as well as in our daily life.
In addition to Dignity Day we want to spur a global conversatoin focused on dignity and we promote dignity centred leadership and decition making.

Background

Global Dignity is an autonomous non-profit, non-criticism and non-partisan project. We wish to be inspiration-based; commending and encouraging best practice and dignity centered leadership rather than criticizing shortcomings.

The mission of the Dignity Project is to implement globally the universal right of every human being to lead a dignified life. This is a paradigm shift in thinking about our global challenges, a new language and a mindset to approach issues of poverty, peace, and progress.
We all have the ability to increase the dignity of others and thus we increase our own dignity.  The dignity approach works on all levels: it works for children and for adults, it works for men and for women, and it works on the micro and macro level. Our aspiration is to eventually make every day of every year a day of dignity for men and women around the world, especially those without a voice to raise for themselves.
This idea depends on seeing dignity in action, and   in all walks of life, based on 5 dignity principles.

Leaders

Co-Founders: Prince Haakon of Norway, Pekka Himanen, John Hope Bryant

Board Members: Prince Haakon of Norway, Pekka Himanen, John Hope Bryant, Hilde Schwab, Irene Woo Chu

Supported by Young Global Leaders

Looking For

We have a concept that is proven and works. We need scaling. For that we need funding. We are currently looking at how we can reach as many children through our Dignity Day concept as possible. We would like to set up a Global Dignity office with one or two people employed that can coordinate the activities around the world.

Get Involved

  • Educate yourself on Dignity and learn the Dignity curriculum here.
  • Sign the Dignity Principles and make them instrumental in your daily lives
  • You can host the next Global Dignity Day in your local– next global event to be held in October 2010, but you can make this happen any day of the week!
  • to learn more.

To learn more please go to our website and feel free to contact us!

A Global Dialogue on Universal Values

Background

In concordance with the vision of the Global Redesign Initiative, the idea, “A Global Dialogue on Universal Values” aims to: document, distribute, and brand, in all forms of media, the blueprint of the values roadmap for our future world. The Values Taskforce (or Idea) understands the current and future necessity for intergenerational responsibility among the citizen of the global community at large. Aiding in the realization of this goal, the Universal Values Idea is developing a series of tools that will help educate and foster discussions in a variety of fields including: education, the mainstream public, and the business arena.

First, to the educational component through the production of a Universal Values Curriculum that will be distributed all over the world that will assist in exploring and discussing universal values. Next, to the mainstream public, through the development of a documentary style television series consisting of clips from interviews given during the GAC/WEF/YGL meetings that will be distributed online as well as through a television broadcast. Lastly, the business arena, through a series of workshops developed for business professionals and the corporate community that will utilize interviews with key business leaders in regards to Values in Business that will help facilitate companies and corporations exploring their own Values internally.

The aspiration of the Values Taskforce is to encompass a full spectrum of socially relevant media, from television, film, to the Web 2.0, while identifying and examining the universal values needed to drive the global economy and society in a sustainable and constructive manner, and recognizing the increased interdependence and cultural diversity of today’s global community.

Looking For

The Values Taskforce seeks help in securing high profile interviews that will be utilized for: the universal values educational curriculum, the universal values television series, and also the film on Values in Business and discussion guide.

Leaders

Pekka Himanen is a Young Global Leader and Chair of the Global Agenda Council on Values. In addition to his work as a professor at the Helsinki Institute of Information Technology he recently acted as an Advisor to the Finnish Parliament and President as well as leading international organizations on the issues of global information societies and ethics.

Peter Bisanz is a Young Global Leader, a member of the Global Agenda Faith Council and Chair of the Young Global Leaders Task Force on Values. As Director and Founder of Entropy Films in New York, a socially relevant media company, and Founder and Executive Director of the Beyond Our Differences Foundation Peter Bisanz produces documentaries on global issues in conjunction with the World Economic Forum.

Task Force Members Include: Wilmot Allen, Muna Abu-Sulayman, Peter Bisanz, Matthew Bishop, John Hope Bryant, Gustavo Cardoso, Francois Champange, Andrew Cohen, Kumi Fujisawa, Jitesh Gadhia, Prince Haakon of Norway, Pekka Himanen, Shamil Idriss, Munizae Jahangir, Christophe Jahns, Abdul Karim Karar, Karim Kawar, Terry Kennedy, Daniel Lubetzky, Efrat Peled, Aaron Pereira, Dina Powell, Kate Roberts, Daniel Sachs, Josh Spear, Richard Stromback

Protecting Media’s Role in Society

Discuss ways in which the media can protect its role as sentinel of democracy compatibly with the proliferation of new forms of communication and while maintaining its independence and business viability.

Leaders

Alessandra Galloni; Raju Narisetti ;Mina Al-Oraibi; Selene Biffi; Tom Crampton; Osman Boyner; (other YGLs have expressed interest as well).

Fostering the Next Generation of Leadership

Background

The Global Redesign Initiative of World Economic Forum is a project to lead the redesign of global and local institutions. However, these institutions will be as good as their leaders, thus in the hope of a brighter future we will need the appropriate leadership to conduct new forms of generating positive impact through redesigned institution.
A group of YGLs has taken the task of thinking about the new leadership that will direct a redesigned world. This Taskforce has presented itself with several questions such as: Is the best talent attracted to leading these new institutions? Why is it important for young leaders to be interested in public service? Are people motivated to serve for the common good? What are the new attributes that we need from future leaders? Who are the historical leaders that we can learn from and which of their successful characteristics that we should mimic? What do you hope for the future generation of leaders and why?
The first initiative within this taskforce has been to conduct a survey with the YGL community to try to get a better sense of what are young leaders’ views on these questions.

Leaders

Mabel Van Oranje, Thomas Crampton, Idalia Cruz, Katherine Garrett-Cox, Julianne Lee, Leslie Maasdorp, Alvaro Rodriguez Arregui

Cornerstone Funds: Solve the North South Climate financing gap

The gap between the South’s need for funding to meet “incremental” climate mitigation related costs and the North’s fiscal ability to finance this is almost insurmountable and one of the most important reasons for deadlock at Copenhagen. This idea developed by myself as a YGL and the climate team at the WEF lead by Rick Samans/Dominic Waughray creates a clear vision and architecture to solve this problem through the creation of major regionally focused green infrastructure fund-of-funds and funds anchored by pension funds, managed by first tier asset managers and credit enhanced by Northern governments and MDBs. The credit en- hancement makes the private sector structure work but is also fiscally efficient for public finances allowing huge leverage.

Led by: Uday Khemka