Leadership in a World, Disrupted

Global Leaders Workshop in Athens, Greece | June 23-25, 2023

Introduction

This workshop has two underlying purposes. First, to stimulate deep discussion among participants about the big issues that are shaping the human condition today—disruptive technology, climate change, mass migration, and global disorder—with the aim of generating not only new thinking, but also new initiatives among the participants. Second, to provide the Tällberg Foundation with renewed energy and purpose, starting a transition from our historical focus on exploring ideas to acting on them.

The participants are key to achieving any portion of either purpose. Almost three dozen past laureates and jurors from 20 countries are each extraordinary. They bring vast experience in a wide range of disciplines and issues; they have demonstrated the capacity to think differently about the challenges they are addressing; and they are all proven leaders who understand the imperative of thinking and operating at the systems level. They also understand the moral imperative that effective, sustainable leadership must be rooted in universal values.

Tällberg workshops are typically designed with a core theme and careful orchestration that combines different elements to sustain enthusiastic engagement. However, the design of this meeting will not be typical; this will be more jazz than symphony with lots of room for improvisation.

As outlined below, the program will combine an initial input stage where all participants will very briefly share no more than four minutes’ worth of key thoughts or developments in their work. This is intended to allow us to map who is doing what and to focus on overlaps or potential synergies. All of this will be recorded and quick transcripts produced; in a perfect world, the team will distill key ideas and words to be displayed and connected.

The second stage will be built around two group discussions: one will focus on climate, tech, power politics, economics while the other will focus on justice, tech, democracy, migration. Think of the difference between the pods as sort of left-brain/right-brain conversations. These conversations will be led/nurtured/encouraged/stimulated by a group of pre-selected “provocateurs” whose main role will be to curate the work of the groups.

The provocateurs have a second role in the program: to provoke. Each will have a 10-minute (or less) slot to speak to something that they believe impacts on the overall conversation. These provocations are outlined below, although they will inevitably stray from these descriptions.

Of course, the meals are always elements of a successful workshop. The opening dinner on Friday will be an opportunity to frame the workshop, but also to encourage open discussion across the whole group. (Indeed, the venue was chosen to allow that kind of conversation.) The Saturday dinner will be free flowing.

Sunday’s session is likely to be defined on the fly. Have the group discussions proceeded in interesting enough directions that a plenary conversation makes sense? Should the groups reconvene and continue? Should the groups be re-defined and push in alternative directions? Again, think improv jazz, not orchestral composition.

Program

Day 1: Opening conversations and dinner at the Cycladic Museum

6:30 PM
Meet in the NJV Athens Plaza lobby for a 15 minute walk to Stathatos Mansion, Museum of Cycladic Art, Irodoutou 1 (entrance at the corner of Leof. Vassilissis Sofias and Irodotou).

7:00 PM
Opening of the workshop at the Cycladic Museum
Including drinks, museum tour, dinner, conversation

– Why are we meeting? Alan Stoga intro
– Sitawa Namwalie provocation
– Stelios Vassilakis provocation
– Open discussion

10:15 PM
Transportation will be available for return to the NJV Athens Plaza

Day 2: We need to talk…and act! at The Lighthouse, SNFCC

From 7:00 AM
Breakfast served at hotel

8:15 AM
Meet in NJV Athens lobby for bus to Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC), The Lighthouse

9:00 Morning session
During the morning session each participant will have four minutes to describe the most important aspects of their work or to introduce key ideas for consideration. These bits and pieces will be input for the rest of the workshop.

Provocations will be incorporated throughout the day by Shahidul Alam, Tomas Anker Christensen, Juan Enriquez, Mike Niconchuk and Mark Mitton.

1:00 PM
Open lunch at The Lighthouse

2:15 PM
Working group sessions
Join your pre-selected session:
– Climate, tech, power and economics
– Justice, democracy, migration and tech

5:30 PM
Return to NJV Athens Plaza

7:30 PM
Meet NJV Athens Plaza lobby to go to Vassilenas Restaurant (Vrasida 13)
– With transportation: 10-15 minutes
– Walk: 20 minutes

8:00 PM
Dinner and open conversation

10:30 PM
Transportation available for return to the NJV Athens Plaza

Day 3: Closing session at 10AM Lofts

From 7:00 AM
Breakfast served at hotel

Prior to 8:30 AM
Hotel check-out if you are checking out on Sunday.

8:30 AM
Meet in NJV Athens lobby for transportation to
The 10AM Lofts (Konstantinoupoleos Ave. 82)

9:00 AM
Plenary: Where are we? Alan Stoga

Provocations by Ashok Mirpuri and Fio Omenetto will be incorporated during the day.

9:15 AM
Group discussions continue

12:45 PM
Plenary: Next?

1:00 PM
Lunch

2:30 PM
Return to NJV Athens Plaza

PROVOCATIONS

The role of the agent provocateur is, simply put, to provoke. In the context of our meeting in Athens, the idea is for our provocateurs to address briefly (no more than 10 minutes, religiously enforced) a series of critical issues, ideas, and attitudes that frame and inform everything about which we are talking. There will be no immediate opportunity for the participants to question, to object, to endorse or—frankly—to say anything, at least during the sessions. This is input, not debate.

However, there will be plenty of time in the group and plenary sessions as well as over meals for yelling and screaming as needed.

Guidance given to the provocateurs: don’t pull punches; don’t use jargon that excludes listeners; don’t worry about challenging the room to think differently, because that’s what they all do. Do tell us something we don’t know but should!

Of course, each of these topics deserves a long lecture to even begin teasing out the complexities and possibilities. But each provocateur has only 10 minutes, which probably means choosing and explaining a very few, very important ideas.

In alphabetical order:

1. Tomas Anker Christensen
2. Juan Enriquez
3. Mark Mitton
4. Ashok Mirpuri
5. Sitawa Namwalie
6. Mike Niconchuk
7. Fio Omenetto
8. Stelios Vassilakis

Preparations

If you haven’t done so already

Select a WORKING GROUP
Take the SURVEY

Pre-reading materials

Practical details

TRANSPORTATION FROM ATHENS AIRPORT TO THE CITY
You arrange your own transportation to and from the airport. There are plenty of options to choose from such as airport taxis, metro, and buses. The most convenient way to reach the hotel is by taxi. The yellow Athens airport taxis are queuing up at the official taxi rank outside Exit 3 at the Arrivals Level. The taxi fare is flat, at 40€ (42$) during the daytime (05:00 am – 00:00 am) and 55€ (58$) during the night shift. Ubers are also available in Athens. The total journey to Athens city center takes 35-40 minutes under normal traffic conditions.
Find details about transportation from Athens Airport to City Center

THE HOTEL
NJV Athens Plaza
2, Vasileos Georgiou A’ str.,
Syntagma square, 105 64 Athens, Greece
https://www.njvathensplaza.gr/

IMPORTANT CONTACTS

Sara Ersson
Email: sara.ersson@tallbergfoundation.org
WhatsApp/Mobile: +46 73 267 0880

Cecilia Nordström
Email:cecilia.nordstrom@tallbergfoundation.org
WhatsApp/Mobile: +46 70 618 3587

Alan Stoga
Email: alan.stoga@tallbergfoundation.org
WhatsApp/Mobile: +1 646 243 3800

NJV Athens Plaza
Address: 2, Vas.Georgiou A’ – Syntagma Square – 105 64 Athens, Greece
Phone: +30 210 3352400

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY
For all emergencies (ambulance, fire, and police), dial 112

VENUES

Friday, June 23
Stathatos Mansion, Museum of Cycladic Art, Irodoutou 1 (entrance at the corner of Leof. Vassilissis Sofias and Irodotou).

Saturday, June 24
The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, The Lighthouse
Dinner in the evening will be at Vassilenas Restaurant (Vrasida 13)

Sunday, June 25
The 10AM Lofts (Konstantinoupoleos Ave. 82)

DRESS CODE
The dress code is casual. Don’t forget to check the local weather report. It looks to be hot in Athens and you’ll want to pack accordingly.
Some of the venues are close by and you may choose to walk so consider bringing comfortable shoes.

WiFi
The accommodations and the workshop venue will have WiFi available. Most places in Greece also have 5G.

STAY CONNECTED BY JOINING THE WHATSAPP GROUP
We encourage you to join the WhatsApp group by clicking on this link:
https://chat.whatsapp.com/E3Q1HROwTOfDbaaEmqU9Uq

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR TRAVELING IN GREECE
Time zone: UTC/GMT +3 HOURS
Dialing codes for Greece: +30 country code, see also https://countrycode.org/greece
Currency: EURO
Electricity: Electric power voltage in Greece is 230 V / 50 Hz and the plugs are F type.

Participants

Shahidul Alam

Bangladesh; photographer, writer, and human rights activist

Yevgenia Albats

Russia; investigative journalist, political scientist, author, educator, and radio host (currently based in USA)

Antonella Battaglini

Germany; working to develop transparent, environmentally sensitive electricity grids in Europe to enable the energy transition

Tomas Anker Christensen

Denmark; career diplomat with extensive global experience and currently serving as his country’s Climate Ambassador

Rana Dajani

Jordan; mother, educator, scientist, social entrepreneur, activist and global thinker

Juan Enriquez

USA; polymath, author and entrepreneur operating at the intersection of life sciences, brain research and finance

Jared Genser

USA; international human rights lawyer, activist and author

Gloria Gilbert Stoga

USA; social entrepreneur who trains prison inmates to raise service dogs for veterans and first responders

Jason R Glaser

USA; social entrepreneur working to end heat related illness among workers and their communities worldwide

Anne Goldfeld

USA; physician-scientist and activist working at the interface of scientific research, delivery of medical care, and human rights

Becca Heller

USA; lawyer and activist who co-founded of the International Refugee Assistance Project, enforcing legal and human rights for refugees

Martin von Hildebrand

Colombia; ethnologist, anthropologist and activist seeking to secure indigenous territorial rights and the protection of the Colombian Amazon

Sunitha Krishnan

India; activist and social entrepreneur, fighting sex trafficking and helping victims recover their lives

Faustin Linyekula

Democratic Republic of the Congo; dancer, choreographer, and social activist

Lala Lovera

Venezuela; social entrepreneur and activist leveraging education to work for the inclusion of refugees in host communities

Elias Mastoras

Greece; educator and youth trainer who works to make football accessible for visually impaired children worldwide

Ashok Kumar Mirpuri

Singapore; career diplomat most recently served as Ambassador to the United States

Gouri Mirpuri

Singapore; serial social entrepreneur with a focus on environment

Mark Mitton

USA; magician and (more than) amateur mathematician

Sam Muller

Netherlands; lawyer, legal scholar and entrepreneur who seeks to make justice systems deliver for everyone

Sitawa Namwalie

Kenya; poet, playwright and performer

Michael Niconchuk

USA; researcher and practitioner working at the intersection of psychological trauma recovery, migration, and violence prevention (currently based in Albania)

Christian Ntizimira

Rwanda; pioneering doctor aiming to bring equity and dignity to palliative care in low- and middle-income countries

Fiorenzo Omenetto

USA/Italy; academic and materials engineer working at the interface of technology, biologically inspired materials and the natural sciences

Rodrigo Rubido

Brazil; architect and social change entrepreneur

Bright Simons

Ghana; technology innovator, development activist and social entrepreneur

Celina de Sola

El Salvador; humanitarian worker, public health expert, and entrepreneur building community-based education and public health initiatives primarily in Central America

Alan Stoga

USA; strategist, entrepreneur and consultant focused on geopolitics and economics; Chairman, Tällberg Foundation

Charlotte Vangsgaard

Denmark; business executive focused on driving social impact in both nonprofit and commercial client organizations

Stelios Vassilakis

Greece; classicist, consultant and NGO executive

Asha de Vos

Sri Lanka; marine biologist, ocean educator and blue whale researcher

Joan Weinstein

USA; art historian, author and philanthropy strategist

Rafael Yuste

USA/Spain; neuroscientist and neural rights activist

Who helps make this possible?

Lead Supporter

About the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF)

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) is one of the world’s leading private, international philanthropic organizations, making grants to nonprofit organizations in the areas of arts and culture, education, health and sports, and social welfare. SNF funds organizations and projects worldwide that aim to achieve a broad, lasting, and positive impact for society at large, and exhibit strong leadership and sound management. The Foundation also supports projects that facilitate the formation of public-private partnerships as an effective means for serving public welfare.

Since 1996, the Foundation has committed more than $3.5 billion through over 5,300 grants to nonprofit organizations in more than 130 countries around the world.

Learn more at SNF.org.

VISIT SITE