News
Manhattanville hosts future business leaders
By Mark Lungariello
8.1.2008
International female leaders of the future have been converging on Purchase’s Manhattanville College for a summer program that helps them hone their business expertise. The Global Student Leadership (GSL) program, held since 2000, brings together youths from all over the world. For several weeks, they live together and participate in training sessions. This year’s session began June 29 and runs six weeks through August 9.
"The young people who come through the program develop problem-solving skills and receive business-related training that will allow them to really implement positive changes in the world," says Ann Marie Almedia, executive director of GSL.
GSL involves leadership and entrepreneurial training that aims to prepare participants to pursue active leadership roles in their communities. Attendees also develop an "action plan" – requiring them to identify a pressing issue within their community and design solutions for it.
Tanzania native Cleopatra Mikangara, who attended GSL 2003, had an action plan called "Installing Women in Technology," focusing on the lack of women in the IT industry in her native land. Upon attending GSL, being pushed by the curriculum and interacting with other attendees from diverse cultural backgrounds, she was able to streamline some solutions in her plan. "I had to make sure that my plan would remain not just words on paper, but rather something that will be implemented and carried forward for the betterment of my community," says Mikangara. Mikangara is now a consultant and business analyst in New York City. She continues to expand the depth and reach of her action plan as she gains experience in the IT field.
According to GSL, the group’s goal is to create a broad wellspring of local business and social leaders who seek to revitalize villages, communities and economies. The program has received much interest from aspiring leaders from around the world. The six-week program adds a dimension beyond standard curriculum too; according to GSL the experience of interacting with others from all over the world broadens fostered leadership and an expanded world view. Beginning in 2005, GSL has also been offered by the University of Dares Salaam in Tanzania.
The program has been called the "brainchild" of Michaela Walsh, a founder and former president of Women’s World Banking. Each year, participants in the program are chosen from a pool nominated by program supporters including Women’s World Banking, United Nations Development Program, Carnegie Corporation of New York, and Open Society Institute, as well as local professors and community organizations.For additional information about the program visit www.gslnet.org or contact Ann Marie Almeida at almediaa@mville.edu.