Rebuilding Trust in Political Leadership
Politicians’ actions and decisions impact us all, yet the role of a political leader is often undefined and unsupported. Without attention, training and research, passionate well-meaning political leaders may be set up to fail.
Coordinated by the Apolitical Foundation, Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP), Kofi Annan Foundation, and NexusVesting, the Leadership Excellence in Politics initiative seeks to understand the gap between what citizens expect from their leaders and what their leaders do, and to find solutions to reduce this gap.
“People will remember you not by your rise to leadership, but by the quality of your leadership.” – Kofi Annan
Objectives
- Identify the cross-cutting leadership competencies and attributes needed to respond to emerging challenges;
- Help more young people gain effective political power through political leadership training that equips them with critical policy- and decision-making skills;
- Bring together experts to answer the big questions surrounding 21st-century political leadership;
- Increase healthier, constructive dialogue about expectations between politicians and citizens, and;
- Help rebuild trust in political leadership.
Political Leadership Training
LEiP holds multi-partisan political leadership training to equip a new generation of diverse leaders with the skills and knowledge they need to uphold ethical standards, reject authoritarianism and respond to the world’s increasingly complex challenges. The one-week in-person programme involves a select group of 20 aspiring or newly elected political leaders between the ages of 20 and 35. Participants are from around the world and have the networks and creativity to influence other young people in their communities.
The LEiP Young Leaders training course will cover themes including:
- Why democratic leadership must be anchored in ethics and values;
- How democratic leaders engage with multilateral institutions;
- What key challenges emerging technologies will present to democratic leadership;
- How can leaders foster citizen engagement;
- How to lead across social and political divides.
Participating leaders will become part of a global alumni network, within which they can continue exchanging ideas and practices. The network is a rare space within which leaders of different political leanings can safely interact, fostering cross-party cooperation and reducing polarization among the next generation of leaders.
Research
Political leadership has an outsized impact on the world, yet there is little research on what skills and attributes politicians need to serve us well. LEiP will bring together an expert council of academics and practitioners to identify cross-cutting leadership competencies needed to respond to the world’s biggest issues.
This knowledge will allow:
- better professional training for emerging and current political leaders, and
- better recruitment and screening of emerging leaders by political parties and political leadership entrepreneurs.
Advocacy
LEiP will develop campaigns and events that help demystify the day-to-day realities of being a politician and show young community leaders the change-making possibilities of politics. Our advocacy campaigns will also shed light on the key elements of effective political leadership identified by our expert council.
Keep updated on our advocacy work by following the coordinating organizations on social media.
Funding
The LEiP initiative has been made possible thanks to the financial support of Movetia, Carnegie Corporation, and the Permanent Mission of the United States to the United Nations.
LEiP is actively seeking funding to further its work. Please get in touch if you want to partner and restore trust and hope in political leadership.