The shape of global leadership today
What is the shape of global leadership today? It would be hard not to be depressed by such a question. Yet, as I stare into the eyes of children affected by the conflict in the Middle East, I can’t help but feel there must be a better way. And it is to the future generations that we must look. Our children have an opportunity to do things differently to past generations and we, as adults, have a responsibility to give them the kind of support they need to be better leaders than we have been.
21st century skills
The World Economic Forum has identified the crucial ‘21st century’ skills needed for today’s world. Gone are the days when academic attainment was sufficient to merit a place in the corridors of power. We are looking for new forms of ‘intelligence’, especially so since the artificial kind is increasingly taking power.
What does intelligence look like today?
So what does that new kind of intelligence look like? It is common for us to cite the skills of creativity as something that the machines will never have an edge on. But, aside from the fact that even this is something machines are increasingly becoming capable of, I believe, it has to go deeper than that. We need to be raising children with the courage and compassion to take on the biggest challenges of our time, understanding that collaboration will be key to solving the huge messes that we find ourselves in. And, critically, we need to be raising independent thinkers with the capacity to marry their acquisition of knowledge with the moral courage, ethics and values needed to bring about positive change in our world.
‘Higher order’ leadership
The Centre for the Arts and Global Leadership is dedicated to empowering these ‘higher order’ leadership skills for current and future leaders through participation in the arts and creative education. We believe that our world is in desperate need of larger conversations around ethics and morality, values and virtues, and a deeper understanding of who we are and our purpose in life. So much of our current technological progress still begs the question — is this really progress?
It’s about our humanity
As recent events have shown, we are nothing without our essential humanity. As some of the largest global powers in our world have shown themselves unable to lead with compassion, it will take future generations to rewrite the narrative of what constitutes global leadership today. True peace between nations will only emerge when we take our respective strengths in concert with each other, building a better world together with a more nuanced understanding of what constitutes global leadership.
The ’Leading the Future’ summer leadership camp programme
At the ‘Leading the Future’ summer leadership camp programme, we give children, young people and adults the chance to reconnect back with themselves, immerse themselves in nature in one of the most beautiful corners of the world, and to come together with others in creative collaboration, to ask of ourselves ‘What future is it that we want?’
With a range of family camps, college student learning programmes, adult workshops and performances, we use the power of participation in the arts and creative learning to put us back in touch with our authentic humanity. Our summer camp programmes are designed to give children, young people AND adults, the chance to come together with others and develop those skills through participation in workshops, talks, performances, immersion in nature and collaboration with others on large-scale creative projects.
Why the arts?
But why do we use the arts? According to the World Economic Forum, the 21st century skills most needed in the workplaces of today and tomorrow are broken down into 3 core areas, notably foundational literacy, competencies and character qualities. The majority of these skills cannot simply be ‘taught’ in traditional classroom contexts but rely on experiences that allow individuals to uncover those latent ‘soft skills’ that are often left hidden, waiting to be discovered. This so-called ‘social and emotional learning’ is so necessary for today’s young people to achieve mental wellbeing within themselves, as well as the leadership skills necessary to navigate an increasingly uncertain future.
The failures of our education systems
The majority of these skills cannot be taught by taking exams, yet we continue to force young people into ‘hothouse’ education systems that focus too narrowly on the acquisition of knowledge when machines are fast taking over humans in their capacity to process information. So, in order to set our children up to be able to manage in a world dominated by AI, it is imperative that we give them experiences that enable them to develop those crucial skills of collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, communication, taking initiative, social and cultural awareness and, above all, leadership. I would add that the skill of compassion is also going to be crucial, in a world increasingly fractured through conflict and division and the rise of extremist politics. The arts are the very best way to access our individual and shared humanity and ‘dig deeper’ in who we are and what we stand for. They unleash the part of ourselves that is most natural and authentic and allow us moments of shared vulnerability that creates the strongest bonds. The opportunity to collaborate on a creative project with children from around the world, teaches us what those skills really look like in practise.
Expanding your children’s world
So what would it mean for your children to expand their understanding of the world and their place in it? To invest time in the development of their global leadership competencies and give them something else other than that ‘hothouse’ learning experience they get at school? And what if you, as an adult, had the chance to also take part in workshops and talks about global leadership, the meaning of life, mental health and well-being, parenting in the modern world, your own personal ‘mission and vision’ and to come away revived and refreshed with a plan for a ‘worthwhile’ life? What could this mean for how you also lead in your personal and professional life? And how would your family bonds be strengthened through a unique and authentic experience that would inspire and energise your future and build precious memories that would last forever?
For more information about our summer camp programme, please click on the link below. We are offering special ‘early bird’ pricing (3000 euros rather than 4000 euros) for families that sign their teenage children up by the end of January 31st. And we have just 30 places for our family camps, 5 spaces for each week between the beginning of July and the middle of August. Don’t delay, sign up today!
https://www.artsandleadership.com/programmes/youth-programmes
Caroline Watson is an award-winning entrepreneur, empowering the ‘higher order’ leadership potential of current and future leaders through participation in the arts and creative education through The Centre for the Arts and Global Leadership. Caroline was born and brought up in Hong Kong and built her first enterprise, Hua Dan, in the early 2000s in Beijing. Now based in the south west of France, Caroline is passionate about building a better world through empowering individuals to uncover their full potential and be the ‘higher order’ leaders that our world really needs. You can see more information about the summer camp programme here.
