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Conference
Women as Global Leaders Communities in Transition

International Conference

Women as Global Leaders
Communities in Transition


Organized by:
Zayed University of Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, March 12-14, 2006

Conference Presentation

For three days in March 2005, over 1000 students and educators from 40 countries gathered in Dubai, UAE for the first international student leadership conference ever held in the Middle East - "Women as Global Leaders." With internationally renowned speakers, over 150 papers and workshops, and a rich variety of cultural diversity, the conference was a milestone event in leadership education and the history of the region.

In 2006, we intend to build on the success of the inaugural "Women as Global Leaders" and broaden our commitment to educating the next generation of women leaders. This year's conference theme, "Communities in Transition," will focus attention on the ways in which women can act in leadership roles at the grassroots level of the community to effect change on a local, regional or even global scale.

Call for papers

The deadline to submit papers is January 1st, 2006. Submitters will receive notification of acceptance or rejection by late January.

Conference Main theme

Communities unite and divide people around shared values, ideas, experiences, and behaviors. Community forms the basis of social, economic, political, and religious life and it is within communities that we have our most intimate access to and investment in leadership. Still, as we invoke the concept freely, it is important to explore what constitutes community, women’s roles within communities, the processes by which communities undergo change, and how leadership drives and responds to transition. Zayed University explores the above issues and others in the theme of its 2006 “Women as Global Leaders” student leadership conference, “Communities in Transition.”

Conference Subthemes

• Service Learning and Volunteerism: Educating Tomorrow’s Leaders?
Service learning, volunteer, and community engagement programs are playing an increasingly major role in university curricula and student affairs activities because they are seen as ways to teach students flexibility and empathy, which are needed for responsive and enduring leadership practice as well as community problem-solving. This subtheme addresses the connections among university service programs, community service, volunteerism, and leadership development.

• Community Organizations and Networks: Women’s Leadership, Roles, and Expectations
Women play important roles within communities, taking initiative and paving pathways to change through their activism, leadership, and social networks. Community-based organizations can offer women new leadership possibilities especially as they often tackle problems specific to women as well as pertinent to the entire community. This subtheme encourages presentations that address the informal and formal roles women play in community organizations and networks with emphasis on the types of women’s leadership, opportunities, and expectations.

• Partnering for Change: Social Capital and Leadership
Communities work with corporations, universities, nongovernmental organizations, and other bodies in order to meet community needs through collaborative and flexible partnerships. Partnerships offer new ideas, resources, and networks for creative problem solving, as well as the potential for conflict, as different groups embrace distinct leadership models and constituencies. This subtheme addresses community partnerships as vehicles for initiating and guiding change, with special attention paid to the forms of social capital and leadership that arise from joint ventures.

• Community Transformations: Societal Change and Leadership
Community leadership often tackles larger societal issues, seeing the community as a stepping-stone to a better society. Women’s place in society often raises pivotal questions about the direction of community transformation, especially concerning gender roles, education, family structure, the workforce, and traditional values. This subtheme explores how communities change, the relationship between community and societal change, and the challenges leadership faces in directing, controlling, and responding to transition.

• Leaders as Change Agents: Local Action for Global Problems
Many problems communities confront such as poverty, housing, domestic violence, education, and social services have both local and global faces. The adage “think global, act local” has special currency within community leadership as it places the context for leadership within the global but the onus for action clearly within local communities and their cultural values, resources, and leadership. This subtheme examines how communities problem-solve, the requirements and needs for leadership, the role of women within the definition and solution of problems, and the relationship between local and global contexts.

• Leading the Future: Vision, Imagination, and New Forms of Community in the Modern World
In the modern world, members of the same community might not live in the same geographic space, share similar values, or even know one another. The anonymity of leadership in new communities such as those found on the Internet can engender women’s participation especially in societies where women have limited access to power and authority. It is clear that as communities themselves experience change, questions about what constitutes leadership in new community formations also arise. This subtheme encourages presenters to think creatively about new forms of community as well as what leadership might look like within these communities.

• Women in Public and Private Spaces: Building and Sustaining Community
Although women are increasingly present in the public sphere, they continue to drive community leadership from informal positions. Women’s investment in community leadership is unique because they are perceived to embody specific values of the community through their roles as mothers, daughters, and wives. This subtheme explores women’s networks and roles in public and/or private spaces, as well as how these roles influence the construction, development, and sustenance of local and global communities.

Conference Registration

The price for all delegates will be US$ 250. This includes three days of conference activities, lunch on each day, a Gala Dinner, Desert Safari/Barbeque, and conference pack. Lunches during conference days and transportation between hotels and the Emirates Palace will be provided. Student accommodation also will be provided free of charge. All other attendees and spouses can avail of discount conference rate accommodation at selected hotels.

Conference's official web site

Please visit the Conference's official web site to learn further and updated details.

Organizzazione

Zayed University of Dubai

Zayed University is an educational centre of excellence in an emerging and evolving nation. Proudly bearing the name of the founder of the nation – the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan – it stands for innovation, inspiration, and education. The University was founded to prepare...

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