Leadership Programs

Middle East Leadership Initiative

 

The Inaugural Class of Fellows in the Middle East Leadership Initiative met at the Dead Sea in Jordan for the first seminar in a series of four, The Challenge of Leadership.  The class is made up of eighteen entrepreneurial leaders (nine men and nine women) from nine countries around the region.  Please see the MELI press release to read more on the seminar.   

The Middle East. There is no other region in the world that suffers such civil unrest, such conflict -- cultural, economical, religious and political -- between countries and peoples. At the same time, there is no other region in the world that has demonstrated such resilience and determination to persevere. As the countries of the Middle East develop, they must be mindful that they cannot succeed in isolation. Each is inextricably linked by history, politics, economics and culture. And so, the next generation of leaders in the region – business leaders, government leaders, civic leaders -- must come together.

It is for this reason that The Middle East Leadership Initiative (MELI) has been conceived.

The Vision

The aim of The Middle East Leadership Initiative is to identify and motivate emerging leaders to apply their energies, their skills and their resources to the foremost societal challenges of their countries, their region – and their times.


Background

In 1997, the Aspen Institute established the Henry Crown Fellowship Program, an initiative that seeks to establish the next generation of community-spirited leaders ("Henry Crown Fellows"), providing them with the tools necessary to meet the challenges of business, government and civic leadership in the 21st century. This program has proven highly effective at moving the Fellows "from thought to action" and "from success to significance," leading to the creation of twelve similar "leadership initiatives" spanning new geographies and sectors – from the US to Africa, Latin America and India; business leadership to public sector leadership, the environmental sector and the education sector. All of these initiatives, and the 900 Fellows from 44 countries who currently comprise them, are now being linked through the creation of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Modeled after the original Henry Crown Fellowship Program, MELI will develop a new generation of community-spirited leaders in the Middle East.

MELI

Each class of "MELI Fellows" is comprised of 20 Fellows who are between the ages of 30 and 45 when selected and hail from across the Middle East (including Gulf Cooperation Council countries). Fellows, nominated by recognized local business, government and community leaders, are men and
women who:

  • have already achieved significant success in their fields of endeavor;
  • have demonstrated their potential for future leadership at the very highest levels;
  • come from diverse backgrounds in terms of occupation, industry, political leaning, ethnicity, religion and gender.

Following the completion of the series of four seminars and the implementation of their leadership projects, the Fellows will remain active through MELI-related meetings in the region as well as through participation in activities of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.