The International Leadership Association and Women4Change Indiana to host “Leadership for Democracy: Self, Identity, and Freedom” featuring Dr. Ronald Heifetz, Harvard Kennedy School-September 12th
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 3rd, 2024
Indianapolis, Indiana
Women4Change Indiana
The International Leadership Association and Women4Change Indiana are partnering to host “Leadership for Democracy: Self, Identity, and Freedom” featuring author, scholar, and founder of the Center for Public Leadership, Dr. Ronald Heifetz, Harvard Kennedy School
The acute threat to democracy and escalating movement toward autocratic leadership around the world is alarming.
Why is this happening? What does it mean? How can individuals and communities respond? These are the questions responsible citizens and leaders are asking — questions whose exploration will impact the present and future generations to come.
We are facing a critical juncture with this threat.
To delve further into these questions, the International Leadership Association (ILA) and Women4Change (W4CI) are pleased to announce our 2024 Virtual Collaboratory, “Leadership for Democracy: Self, Identity, and Freedom” with keynote presenter Dr. Ronald Heifetz, Founder of the Center for Public Leadership and King Hussein bin Talal Senior Lecturer in Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School.
Dr. Heifetz is a highly respected leadership scholar, educator, author, and practitioner. His consulting, teaching methodology, and seminal books — Leadership Without Easy Answers and Leadership on the Line — have been transformational in leadership studies and systems change. Over the past ten years, Heifetz has focused much of his work on the important questions related to democracy, consulting with heads of state around the world such as former Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou and former President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia.
Attendees will participate in a rich blend of lecture, small group exercises, and discussions that lead to deeper understanding of the powerful relationship between identity, systemic change, and leadership — an essential combination in a healthy democracy.
Ronald Heifetz (Keynote) is among the world’s foremost authorities on the practice and teaching of leadership. He advises heads of governments, businesses, and nonprofit organizations across the globe. In 2016, President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia highlighted Heifetz’s advice in his Nobel Peace Prize Lecture. Heifetz founded the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School where he is the King Hussein bin Talal Senior Lecturer in Public Leadership. Heifetz played a pioneering role in establishing leadership as an area of study and education at Harvard, in the United States, and around the world. His research addresses two key challenges: developing a conceptual foundation for the analysis and practice of leadership; and developing transformative methods for leadership education, training, and consultation.
Katherine Tyler Scott (Event Host & Moderator), Principle, Ki ThoughtBridge. Before becoming Principle of Ki ThoughtBridge, LLC Katherine Tyler Scott developed and directed several statewide and national leadership education programs. She has consulted with and trained thousands of leaders, authored numerous articles, developed curricula, and co-authored books on organizational change and development, conflict resolution change management and leadership.
Dr. Mike Hardy, OBE, (Discussant), is Professor and Executive Director of the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations at Coventry University and Board Chair for the International Leadership Association. Hardy has worked with the UK Government and European Commission as well as the British Council where he was a senior leader responsible for the global program for Intercultural Dialogue, youth engagement, and global strategic partnerships. He recently co-authored a report for the British Academy’s Cohesive Societies program which asks: “How can societies remain cohesive in the face of rapid political, social, economic and technological change?”
Angela Carr Klitzsch (Discussant), is CEO, Women4Change. Angela Carr Klitzsch is a successful executive leader and civil servant with more than 20 years’ experience building consensus and engaging in collective impact efforts focused on community, workforce, and economic development.
“Authoritarian regimes have reason to fear women’s education and political participation; when women activate and mobilize, mass movements are more robust, sustained and likely to succeed. In addition, outcomes of these efforts are more likely to promote equality, increase democratic participation and advance power-sharing beyond existing hierarchical structures. Over the last century, women have won the right to vote and worked diligently to expand access to education, economic opportunity and reproductive health care. These hard-fought wins, however, are in jeopardy as an assault on women’s rights has corresponded with a broader offense on democracy.”
Malala Yousafzai, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, an advocate for the education of girls and women in Pakistan, survived an attempt on her life by theocratic regime the Taliban in 2012. She continues her fight to preserve girls’ access to education, still today. Malala Day is July 12th, and in commemoration, we celebrate Malala Yousafzai’s courage and acknowledge theocracy and autocracy are rising global threats to both democracy, individual rights, and to the freedom and futures of girls and women, at home and worldwide.
Katherine Tyler-Scott, ILA Collaboratory host, who also serves on Women4Change’s Board of Directors and as Civic Education Chair, believes it is the right time to have a conversation about the threat of autocratic regimes. “The June 27 Presidential debate exposed much more than one candidate’s poor performance and the lack of truth telling of the other. It showed our democracy is at significant risk. We are in crisis. When we show up in November to exercise our civic duty to vote we are deciding what kind of country we want to live in and what kind of leadership we need to achieve this vision.
Citizenship and leadership in a democracy requires us to seek knowledge about the structures of governance and to be responsibly engaged with and informed about issues and those running for office. To do otherwise is a dereliction of duty.”
Tyler-Scott also believes that Women4Change in partnership with the International Leadership Association is the right organization to help serve as a vessel for this complex conversation. “The health of democracy is dependent on a well-informed, educated, and engaged, citizenry. Ignorance and apathy are corrosive and threaten our identity, values, and freedoms. W4CI and ILA are committed to providing trusted space for civil, substantive conversation on issues that matter in our individual and collective lives. We understand the kind and character of a leader is central to the kind of Country aspire to be, and we bring diverse voices together for the sake of the common good. The Collaboratory is this opportunity; participation is preparation for responsible decision-making and responsible action.”
Please direct media inquiries on behalf of Women4Change Indiana to Aimee Robertson-West at aimee@women4changeindiana.org
Learn more about the work of the International Leadership Association to elevate and improve global leadership-visit: www.ilaglobalnetwork.org
Learn more about Women4Change Indiana’s advocacy in Indiana and beyond- visit: www.women4changeindiana.org
