Blog: Leadership Impact

By: Dee Rivers

A leader is not a lone wolf.

Earlier in life, Jones himself, eager to become an effective policy-maker, had  listen-and-learn opportunities as a young state representative in Hawaii. “I was looking for all the [leadership] advice I could get ...” he says. “I was invited to attend conferences led by people I respected, and I received a lot of help.”

By: Dee Rivers

When one policy maker catches the vision of the principles taught through GHNI’s Geneva Institute for Leadership and Public Policy (GILPP), that delegate’s excitement can catch hold of the governing powers for a whole nation. That’s what has been happening in Myanmar over the past two years.

Leadership at any capacity has its challenges. Imagine leading in a developing nation where those living in extreme poverty outweigh those who aren’t. At the Geneva Institute for Leadership and Public Policy (GILPP), policy makers from developing nations in Asia, Africa and the Middle East are empowered through Transformational Leadership Development training.

The Leadership Impact arm of GHNI centers on an annual conference, the Geneva Institute for Leadership and Public Policy – GHNI’s biggest event each year. So what happens at GILPP?

Policy makers from several countries within Africa, Asia and the Middle East gather to gain new insights on global and national issues they face as government leaders. These men and women attend sessions with qualified speakers, participate in leadership building activities, and attend workshops which empower them in their roles. The conference covers three layers of leadership:

The Geneva Institute for Leadership and Public Policy was first established in 2010. The vision for the annual conference – to help nations be transformed through leadership – was one of the main objectives of GHNI’s founders from its inception and was a foundational building block for the organization. Hal Jones, co-founder and president of GHNI recently shed light on how the conference was realized and its impact in reversing global poverty.

While the core of GHNI’s mission focuses on coming alongside rural villagers living in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East as they become self-sustaining, more is needed to end extreme poverty worldwide. Empowering governmental leaders, who desire to end poverty in their realm of influence, often creates a bridge between governments and those living in poverty. Thus, the Geneva Institute for Leadership and Public Policy (GILPP) was launched in 2010 and remains a vital part of GHNI’s mission to end cyclical poverty.

The week of July 21-25 was an important time for GHNI leaders. This was the week of our annual Geneva Institute for Leadership and Public Policy (GILPP) conference. Government leaders from all over the world, most of which governed developing nations, came to learn from GHNI staff and other influential delegates. The following email sent from GHNI’s Field Strategy Coordinator, Jeff Latsa, provides a good taste of what the conference entailed.