In January I landed in a small town called Cunya in Brazil to be part of a facilitator group running a 12 day international leadership programme for young global leaders. It is the eighth year I have done this, I leave my family and work, for two weeks and I do it voluntarily. Each time it is different and each time I learn more about myself and am enriched by the experience.
This year we had 27 participants from a range of countries, including Argentina, Chile, Germany, Denmark, Indonesia, Cambodia, Israel, Ghana, Nigeria, Pakistan, India, Spain, South Africa, and Brazil.
The beauty of getting a group of people from such diverse backgrounds, religions, political views, social status and professions for 12 days to explore their leadership using creative tools and psychological theory always astounds me. During those 12 days they look at a huge curriculum of topics, what they value, how they behave in a team, their stories, how they respond to some of the key challenges of the world, clarifying their purpose and identifying their own strengths and gifts to name a few. They also make incredible bonds with each other and leave with a global community they can tap into anytime.
I learn the importance of being absolutely present for the team of facilitators and the participants and how that creates an environment where people can be open and feel safe to take risks. Everything we ask of the participants, I am putting into practice myself and being challenged by how I sustain this in my every day life.
For me this experience is where I learn about myself as a facilitator and where I am inspired by young people who want to find a way to overcome barriers to solve some of the challenges that face humanity.
In April, we are taking the programme for the first time to Nairobi, Kenya to offer the incredible opportunity to more people. I would encourage anyone who is curious about having more of an impact in their work, communities or the world to apply.
