After returning from a week in Jordan at the World Economic Forum on the Middle East and Young Global Leaders Dead Sea Summit, I am left with a feeling of optimism about a growing commitment from leaders around the world to youth. There is an acute sense of awareness that this presents both an opportunity and a threat for the region and the world. When youth lack education and employment opportunities, they are easily swayed into feelings of hopelessness about the future and are more likely be recruited by religious fundamentalist groups where they become weapons against their own communities. When provided with opportunities to develop their talents, skills and entrepreneurial abilities, youth can become a force for change in shaping a better world. During the Welcoming Remarks of His Majesty King Abdullah II, particular focus was made on the importance of youth. "The 21st Century has brought the Middle East its largest youth population in history. In only a few years, we will be looking to those 200 million young men and women for our region's strategies, partnerships, and solutions. They need and deserve all the tools we can give to them, to become the great leaders they are capable of being. To the region's young leaders, know this: you have the power to transform the future. Set powerful goals. All of us here today, will help". This statement helped to set an inviting context for the work of TakingITGlobal and I found that people were excited to learn about the nature of our organization and our programs.

A few highlights from my trip:



On my first day in Jordan I went on a trip to Petra with a group of Young Global Leaders and had lengthy in-depth conversations with several people about leadership and the challenges to starting and growing both not-for-profit organizations and businesses.

I was especially intrigued by Josh Spear, one of the youngest marketing strategists in the world who is regularly sought out for his fresh perspective and no-holds-barred style of consulting on everything from design and gadgets to authenticity and word-of-mouth. His recent focus has been the power of the blogosphere, technology, and the impact this new media is having on the world. http://joshspear.com/

It was also amazing to reconnect with David de Rothschild from Adventure Ecology who is preparing for the Plastiki Expedition! Essentially he is building a 60-foot boat (catamaran) made from post consumer plastic water and soda bottles and self-reinforced PET and will be sailing across the Pacific Ocean to Australia as a way to raise environmental awareness. http://www.adventureecology.com/theplastiki/

My conversation with Teresa Kay-Aba Kennedy was really inspiring as I learned all about her leadership and personal devleopment program called Power Living (http://www.power-living.com/principles.html). I really enjoyed having a chance to learn about the Five Principles of Power Living®:
1. Live on Purpose - align your spiritual energy.
2. Tune your Mind to the Positive – tune your mental energy.
3. Honor your Body – maximize your physical energy.
4. Be a Humble Warrior – engage your emotional energy.
5. Sanctify your Surroundings – detoxify your environmental energy.



Petra is a UNESCO World Heritage site and known as one of the world's most famous archaeological sites and offers a humbling and awe-inspiring glimpse at a city built on half-carved rocks and mountains. For any of you who have seen Indiana Jones and the last Crusade, I had a chance to see the Treasury Monument - and it was really spectacular!



Each of my days started early with 7am wake-ups and ending anywhere between 11pm and 3am. With a packed agenda and a group of people that were each incredibly energizing and unique to talk to, I only had one day where I could take an hour and head out to the dead sea for a 'mud' swim - and it was fantastic! The water was extremely salty and buoyant - I took the classic 'reading a book in the water' photo :)



We were warmly welcomed by Her Majesty Queen Rania who provided with her reflections on the topic of 'Leadership in Tough Times; Cooperation in Tough Climates' and provided context to help us prepare for our upcoming Impact Journeys. Each of the Young Global Leaders were organized into groups of about 25 people and day trips were organized for site visits to various community development projects ranging from schools to libraries in underserved areas along with refugee camps. I was asked to be a discussion leader for our group who visited a project of the Jordan River Foundation's Community Empowerment Program called Qudrate.



Our group had chance to learn about an income generating project owned by Al Intima cooperative that consists of a small factory producing traditional foods (Pickels, Jams, dairy products etc) and packaging the products to take them to market. We met one of the workers there who is a woman named Wasal with nine children and a husband who is unable to work due to an illness. She was met with glowing eyes and a deep sense of appreciation for the employment opportunity the program has allows her to access.

We also visited a second project owned by the Orthodox Society, a charitable organization. The Jordan River Foundation provided a grant to help them invest in developing a local supermarket that will sell food and services to the local community and generate revenues that will be re-invested in community and recreational activities.



I very much enjoyed all of the formal and informal sessions organized as part of the Young Global Leaders Dead Sea Summit ranging from our Community Building Lunch to sessions about the Future of Cities. It was a special treat for us to have our Meet-the-Leader session with His Majesty King Abdullah II followed by Valerie Jarrett, Assistant to the President for Inter Governmental Relations and Public Liaison, Office of the President of the United States. During these sessions, YGLs had a chance to ask provocative questions that were thoughtfully responded to. Aside from large group sessions, each person that I had a chance to interact with led to intriguing conversations about leadership, entrepreneurship, tackling social and environmental issues as well as dealing with organizational challenges. Learning about the passions and work of the individuals among our group was also fascinating. I was thrilled when I had an opportunity to co-host a KaffeeKlatsch morning session on the topic of 'YGLs for Empowering Young People'. We had about 20 participants in our session and each person was directly connected to an initiative to empower young people on a local, regional or global level. It seemed that once our discussion got started, it was time to wrap-up, so we decided that we would continue our conversations online and work towards strengthening one another in an effort towards collaboration.

During the presentation on 'Inspiring Leadership through Storytelling' offered by Jonathan Harris, we were all moved by the creative approaches taken in combining arts, digital media and new methods of displaying data to represent human emotion and the search for love and self. Check out:
- The Whale Hunt - http://thewhalehunt.org/
- We Feel Fine - http://wefeelfine.org/
- Want You To Want Me - http://iwantyoutowantme.org/

World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab provided an overview of a new initiative called the Global Redesign Initiative that will reach out across business, government and civil society and work to shape the future of our global institutions, including the global financial systems. I had a chance to work in the sub-group on Security and in our discussions, we talked about the need to have a new vision of security that is not simply based on the absence of conflict, but truly encompassing and inclusive of meeting development objectives.



The most rewarding session I attended from the World Economic Forum on the Middle east was the one on "Rethinking Education in the Middle East", led by Angel Cabrera, President of the Thunderbird School of Global Management. I was asked to co-facilitate one of the break-out groups in the category of continuing education. The aim of our highly interactive workshop session was to think about how educational systems in the Middle East can be transformed into catalysts of innovation, entrepreneurial behavior and critical thinking. In the first part of our session, our group identified the following skills that need to be learned: learn to question, to identify opportunities, risk tolerance, taking responsibility, practical 'doing' skills. In the second part of our session we prepared three recommendations for academia to incorporate:
1) engage in multi-stakeholder partnerships (bring different actors into the learning environment to share practical experiences)
2) redefine the learning experience (make it more experiential with interdisciplinary teams working on real-world projects)
3) implement an entrepreneurship module across all disciplines

One of the personal reflections on my week in Jordan relates to the subject of sleep. How much sleep do you need each night? I discovered that many of the Young Global Leaders are running on an average of 3-4 hours of sleep each night. Personally, I find that I need anywhere from 7 to 8 hours of sleep in order to feel well rested with enough energy for the day. That said, I feel similar to other YGLs in the sense that there is so much that can be done in a day and if we sleep less, we have time to do more! Last week, with such energizing days and full agendas, I found myself ok with taking 3-4 hours of sleep on most nights, but this week, I know that my body cannot sustain the pace for long. I am amazed at how people can live such fast-paced lives, with so little time to rest!


Finally, one of the follow-up actions that I will be taking as a result of the Forum is to add my contribution to a video recording of YGLs who will be making a pledge to the Global Principles for Business Leaders. This is a project designed by YGLs to increase a sense of responsibility among managers and business leaders. Here's what it states:

Global Principles for Business Leaders

As a manager I recognize that

- The enterprise I lead must serve the greater good by bringing together people and resources to create value that no single individual can create alone.
- My decisions can have far-reaching consequences that affect the wellbeing of individuals inside and outside my enterprise, today and tomorrow.
- As I reconcile the interests of different constituencies, I will face choices that are not easy for me and others.

So I promise that:

1. I will manage my enterprise diligently and in good faith and will not let personal considerations supersede the long-term interest of my enterprise and society at large,
2. I will understand and uphold, both in letter and spirit, the laws and contracts governing my own conduct and that of my enterprise,
3. I will respect and protect the human rights and dignity of all people who are affected by my enterprise and will oppose all forms of discrimination and exploitation,
4. I will respect and protect the right of future generations to enjoy a clean and resourceful planet,
5. I will not engage in, nor tolerate bribery or any other form of corruption,
6. I will represent the performance and risks of my enterprise accurately and honestly to each of the constituencies that are affected by it,
7. I will engage with other actors in dealing with critical social and environmental issues that either affect or are affected by the operations of my enterprise, and
8. I will take responsibility for my own professional development as well as the professional development of other managers under my supervision.

In exercising my professional duties according to these principles I recognize that my behavior must set an example of integrity and responsible conduct for other managers under my supervision or influence.

This is my pledge I make freely and upon my honor.