The International Academy for Leadership (IAF)

Gummersbach, Germany

Theodor Heuss Academy in Gummersbach

The Friedrich Naumann Foundation set up the International Academy for Leadership (IAF) at the beginning of the 1990s in Portugal. Since 1995, the IAF is located at the Theodor Heuss Academy in Gummersbach. The aim was to provide a forum and centre for the international political dialogue. Here, participants from all over the world have the opportunity to exchange political experiences, to learn about other cultures, and to work together on liberal solutions.

At the events of the IAF, which are developed in very close collaboration with the international projects of the Foundation, eminent experts and leaders come together to debate on topics from politics, economics and science, as well as media and security issues, within an international context.

The goals of this intercontinental forum are to allow the specific experiences and insights which the participants bring from their respective native countries to be exchanged in a tolerant and free atmosphere, to work on liberal approaches to problems, and to encourage an understanding for intellectual freedom, cultural differences and global connections.

The IAF offers two-week seminars, information tours and introductory workshops, organises contacts with representatives from public life, supplies topics from all relevant areas of society, and initiates talks at government offices, political parties and associations, as well as at companies, organisations and for projects in Germany and Europe.

Activities
• International e-Academy
• Carrying out seminars within the framework of “Blended Learning” and as an international discussion forum for former IAF participants
• Training for expatriate staff of the Foundation in the main themes
• Support and expansion of the alumni networks in the projects and regions
• Forum of the International Political Dialogue
• International and intercontinental dialogue centre for liberal politics
• Free exchange of opinions and points-of-view on a global basis
• Learning workshop for tolerant thinking and actions
• Initiator of alumni and fellow networks
• Learning centre for cultural understanding
• Support of liberal democracy

Themes

International exchange

• Human rights and rule of law
• Market economy and deregulation
• Conflict management and conflict prevention
• Local politics and civil society
• Political strategies
• Liberalism and globalisation
• Freedom of press and of information
• Combating fundamentalism
• No freedom without education
• Lean state, lean government
• NGOs and political parties

Participants
• Eminent leaders and multipliers from politics, the economy, science, the media and the security sector
• Representatives and employees from the partner organisations of the Foundation
• Young leaders from liberal parties, think tanks, youth organisations and NGOs of the project countries
• Local employees of the Foundation in the project countries
• Expatriate staff of the Foundation

Packages Offered
The IAF holds seminars and workshops for the international leaders of today and tomorrow, both at the Theodor Heuss Academy in Gummersbach, and decentrally via various study and information opportunities in Germany and Europe.

• 2-week seminars for young leaders
• 1-week seminars for managers
• 4-week course at the International Human Rights Institute (HRI) in Strasbourg for human rights experts
• 2-week course for human rights experts in Gent/Utrecht/South Africa
• Training courses for Foundation personnel and partners from the projects
• Information trips and conferences for leaders from the project countries
• Conferences for think tanks and other top managers

Conferences for Think Tanks and Eminent Leaders
The conferences of the IAF provide a platform for the exchange of opinions and experiences and help to form an opinion on current matters in development and social politics. At the same time, new impulses and possible solutions for central questions in terms of world politics are expected from these events, which are attended by eminent figures. The orientation towards real requirements plays a key role in the conception of high-quality training for the leaders of today and tomorrow.

Information trip for liberal leaders from Latin America

Seminars for Leaders
The one-week seminars are aimed primarily at the management level of parties, partner organisations, interest groups, companies, the media, administration, the judiciary, the police, the military, etc. The topics are based on the main themes of the Foundation as well as on the requirements in the project countries. Taking the high level of this target group into account, the main focus of this type of event lies in the strategic implementation planning of existing concepts and insights as well as in the creation of liberal development and social and economic political concepts.

Seminars for the Leaders of Tomorrow
In the two-week seminars for young leaders, which are partly standardised in content, the main focus lies on imparting the fundamentals. Here, too, concrete and practice-oriented case studies are used to develop liberal solutions to various issues.

Visitor Programmes for Experts, Leaders and Multipliers

In the plenary of an IAF seminar

The visitor programmes, which are usually of one week in duration, are aimed at groups, small groups or individuals from the global partner network of the Foundation. They provide the opportunity for direct exchange of experiences with selected German or European dialogue partners. These expert, cultural and social-political dialogues allow for the building of multinational bridges and the creation of new levels of contacts.

Individually Designed Programmes for Groups and Small Groups in Strasbourg and Geneva
The individually designed programmes of the IAF focus on the main themes of the Foundation within the areas of “peace and conflict management”, “human and civil rights“ as well as “the constitutional state, human rights and minorities”. The events are preferably multinational and are primarily aimed at multipliers and decision-makers, but may also address qualified young leaders from non-governmental organisations.

Screenshot of an online seminar of the International e-Academy

The International e-Academy
Following the example of the successful and comprehensive “Virtuelle Akademie” of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, the “International e-Academy” has been developed as part of the International Political Dialogue. Under the theme “global blended liberal learning” the tried-and-tested seminar and information programmes of the DPB, the IAF and the TAD will be complemented by online events, thereby further promoting the formation of the global network. The numerous alumni associations, former scholarship holders, friends and patrons of the Foundation will have an additional platform to exchange on an international basis and to create a www.global-lib.