Applications are now open for the 2025/26 Aga Khan Foundation Global Leadership Program

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Closing Date: 8 June 2025

Applications are now open for the 2025/26 Aga Khan Foundation Global Leadership Program

Global Leadership Program

In a complex world where global forces are affecting our quality of life, where interconnectedness is the norm and challenges require collective action, exercising global leadership is essential. The Global Leadership Program is a new initiative of AKFC designed to equip Canadian professionals with the intellectual insight and practical ingenuity to navigate and shape our world. 

We all have a role to play in building a future where we all thrive together.

This program brings together a diverse cohort of mid-career Canadian professionals from across sectors to explore the forces shaping our societies and connect with others committed to a more peaceful, prosperous, and pluralist world for all. Through collaboration and shared learning, participants explore global and local challenges and consider Canada’s role, and their own, in addressing them.

About the program

This program features a combination of online resources, virtual learning and engagement sessions, and an immersive four-day in-person program in Ottawa. An optional overseas learning experience may also be available for participants.

Engage with seasoned thought leaders and practitioners in dynamic learning sessions. The program brings together global experts to share knowledge and guide discussions about core aspects of global leadership while inviting participants to apply a global lens to their own context, mandate, and leadership practice. Participants will learn through a combination of guided learning, case study review, peer-to-peer and collaborative learning, immersive reflective exercises, energizing simulations, networking, individual and group reflection, and group coaching.

Exchange, collaborate, and build relationships. This program creates opportunities to exchange, collaborate, and reflect on new ideas, as well as build connections related to global leadership. Participants are encouraged to break down silos, learn from others’ different experiences, and, in turn, share their own experiences and perspectives to shape the conversations.

Develop the mindset and skillset to be more insightful, effective leaders. Participants will leave the program equipped to approach complexities in our interconnected world not with a sense of despair but with a sense of agency and hope. They will be able to think critically about how global issues impact their work and consider what they can do to address these issues in their roles as Canadian leaders.

Ultimately, each participant holds the key to their own learning and growth in the program—the more they engage and participate actively, the more they’ll flourish and thrive. Being a part of this program doesn’t end with online and formal in-person online learning—it opens a lifetime of opportunities, connections, and growth.

This program provides a dynamic, interdisciplinary exploration of the forces affecting the quality of life of people around the globe. It is a unique opportunity for Canadian leaders to examine the complex connections between global and local challenges and mobilize their ethical imagination, intellectual insight, and practical ingenuity to forge a path forward toward a better future for all.

Eligibility

Be a citizen or permanent resident of Canada.
Be fluent in English.
Be available to travel to and attend the in-person program in Ottawa between November 2 and 6 (The cost of travel from anywhere in Canada, accommodation, and meals of the in-person seminar in Ottawa is fully covered by the program.)
Be committed to joining at least 10 virtual learning and coaching sessions before and after the in-person program.
Complete all questions on the online application form.
Demonstrate a clear desire to learn and a demonstrated a commitment to a more peaceful, prosperous, and pluralist world for all.