Appreciating and Advancing Leadership for the Public Wellbeing

February 14 – 16, 2010, Abu Dhabi, UAE

RCLA brought together a select group of 24 scholars and practitioners committed to illuminating and nurturing leadership for public wellbeing. Participants stressed the importance of drawing on the historical well of leadership in the Middle East and using cultural practices as a springboard for addressing tough social and public issues.

Through an exchange between US-based and regional experiences, the group discussed cases of leadership that transcend sectors, transform ordinary citizens into active agents of change, and open up new public spaces for deliberation and engagement. The sharing of such experiences generated practical implications for the study of leadership, teaching leadership in higher education setting and leadership development/training programs.

The conversation was opened to a public audience on the last evening of the convening when three of the participants brought a cross-sector perspective on the topic of leadership for a new era marked by increasing interconnectedness, complexity and uncertainty.

Presentations

Unconscious Powerlessness: Female perceptions and realities in Oman
Asya Al Lamki, Embassy of the Sultanate of Oman, Washington DC 

Shuratic Model of Leadership
Darwish Almoharby, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman

Cross-sector Approaches to Leadership Development
Jennifer Bremer, The American University in Cairo, Egypt 

Takatof Leadership Program
Maytha Al Habsi, Emirates Foundation, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Persian Gender Network: An experiment in team leadership
Nadereh Chamlou, World Bank, Washington DC

Global and Local Realities in the Arab Classroom
Mark Neal, Eastern Institute of Technology, New Zealand

Public Achievement
Thuqan Qishawi, American Friends Services Committee, Palestine

Experiences of Leadership Education and Development in the College of Education
Lauren Stephenson and Barb Harold, Zayed University, United Arab Emirates