In July 2010, the School of the Arts hosted 60 Global Leadership Fellows from the World Economic Forum in residence at the school for a week-long intensive workshop on personal presentation, improvisation and collaboration, led by Theatre Arts Professor Kristin Linklater. At the core of the workshop were innovative exercises on voice, breathing, stature, and physical presence for improving the presentation skills of these future world leaders. Exercises in dialogue, listening skills, collaboration, and team-building introduced new methods for empathetic communication and community interaction. The workshop also featured guest faculty from a range of methods and disciplines.
The workshop was complemented by a series of three evening events that explored aspects of contemporary leadership in the arts, and the transforming role artists can play in cultural policy and debate. Cultural leaders from the U.S. and abroad came together to explore the surprising intersections and common threads that inevitably exist between the arts and public policy. Fellows practiced, discussed, debated, and celebrated leadership and innovation across international boundaries and artistic and scholarly disciplines.
The program was covered by The New York Times and The New Yorker (Talk of the Town, August 2).
The WEF Global Leadership Program is a three-year Masters program dedicated to developing the next generation of world leaders; well-rounded professionals who feel equally at home in the public and private sectors. As the world becomes increasingly more interconnected, the once well-defined line between these two sectors continues to blur, making it difficult for any one organization to act effectively in isolation. To succeed in such an environment, organizations – both private and public – must often align numerous stakeholders so as to most efficiently approach problems, develop strategies and capitalize on opportunities.
