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WHAT? - PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT AND DELIVERY

OBI sponsored a 2-day curriculum design meeting, in October 2005. There was 23 senior OB staff as participants from 15 countries. The workshop went into depth on the curriculum of GLP and the conditions needed to achieve the desired outcomes for the program. Following the workshop a specific curriculum for the Kilimanjaro pilot program was developed by Noelle Thurlow, Vice President Program TIOBEC and a Global Leaders Resource book was developed by Colin Clark, Director Professional Program TIOBEC. Detailed reports on the design meeting, Kilimanjaro curriculum and the resource book are available from OBI.

Immediately prior to the Kilimanjaro program the staff working the program reviewed the curriculum materials and developed specific itineraries and activities for this GLP. It was reassuring that the senior staff from two Outward Bound centers (Australia & Singapore) found this process relatively straightforward given the resources created. This indicates that replication of the GLP in other environments should not be difficult.

The Kilimanjaro GLP had three phases: -
Phase 1 was a three-day exploration and discussion of global leadership issues, principles and challenges, led by Mark Gerzon, co-director of the Global Leadership Network. The seminar was held at Ngurdoto Mountain Lodge in Arusha, Tanzania, at the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Phase 2 involved the team in an ascent of Kilimanjaro's highest peak, called Uhuru (meaning "freedom" in Swahili), applying those leadership principles. OBI chose Mt. Kilimanjaro as the first site for the program for its physical challenge as well as the complex human and environmental issues evident on the mountain. The rapidly receding summit glaciers are visible evidence of a major world issue - human impact on climate. The economic disparities between the fees paid by visitors to Kilimanjaro and the compensation of porters and guides are striking issues also.

Phase 3 of the expedition featured a collaborative application of GLP principles involving the team and Tanzanian government and commercial leaders to address Kilimanjaro issues and establish a framework for further dialog.

The entire program was the subject of a documentary film, produced by Indonesian SCTV. A cameraman accompanied the program.

"We, the people of Tanganyika, would like to light a candle and put it on top of Mount Kilimanjaro which would shine beyond our borders giving hope where there was despair, love where there was hate and dignity where before there was only humiliation.

". we cannot, unlike other countries, send rockets to the moon. But we can send rockets of love and hope to all our fellow [humans] wherever they may be."

That statement, over two years before Tanganyika's independence, was made by that countries first President, Julius Nyerere, to the Legislative Assembly in October 1959.

The eight tools identified by the Global Leaders Network staff were used to discuss leadership and conflict issues throughout the program: -

1. Integral Vision. Committing ourselves to hold all sides of the story, in all their complexity, in our minds - and in our hearts.
2. Systems Thinking. Identifying all (or as many as possible) of the significant elements related to the situation and understanding the relationships between these elements.
3. Presence. Applying all our mental, emotional, and spiritual resources to witnessing our community and our world.
4. Inquiry. Asking questions that elicit vital, essential information about our community and our world.
5. Conscious Conversation. Becoming aware of our full range of choices about how we speak and listen.
6. Dialogue. Communicating in order to build trust and knowledge that maximizes the human capacity to bridge and to innovate.
7. Bridging. Building partnerships and alliances that cross the divisions or polarities within an organization or community.
8. Innovation. Catalyzing social or entrepreneurial breakthroughs that foster new options for creating a stronger community and a more just, sustainable world.