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Clinton backs international scheme for nurturing young leaders
NEW YORK, NY, 18 SEPTEMBER 2005 – Former US President Bill Clinton has endorsed an innovative and practicable start-up programme addressing critical leadership needs for future leaders and designed by Hong Kong-based independent social venture think tank the Global Institute For Tomorrow (GIFT).

Former President Clinton told Mr Chandran Nair, GIFT’s founder and chief executive officer, that the Young Leaders Programme (YLP) was an “excellent initiative with a great name that focuses on leadership for the future”. He made his comments at the inaugural meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) on September 15-17 in New York City, which coincided with and complemented the Millennium Summit of the United Nations General Assembly.

Former President Clinton said many of the challenges discussed at the CGI hinged on building the leadership of the future. “Training young leaders and changing people’s attitudes … it seems to me, is profoundly important,” Former President Clinton said.

He said leadership development programmes like the YLP could get “more people committed to change minds and … that there is money to be made by saving the planet”.

The CGI brought together heads of state, distinguished people, business leaders, non-governmental organisations and noteworthy academicians to identify immediate and pragmatic solutions to the world’s most pressing problems. It identified a workable agenda and required participants to make specific commitments to take action in one of four areas identified: poverty; governance; climate change; and religious tolerance.

Mr Nair said GIFT’s commitment was to sign at least 10 corporations to take part in the YLP within six months, and to expand this to 20 inside a year.

Mr Nair said he believed the YLP was the first programme of its kind in Asia and that obtaining the personal backing of the former president meant “one is further
inspired to ‘do’”. He hoped the endorsement would encourage corporations in Asia and worldwide to be active supporters of such an innovative programme.

Each project will deliver an outcome, with participating corporations making real contributions to change.

Mr Nair said the YLP took young executives out of the classroom to do their learning about globalisation and related challenges in real-life situations. “There, they see the faces and the situations on the other side of detached profit-and-loss theories, marketing and corporate social responsibility jargon,” Mr Nair said.

“It’s what many of the participants at the CGI viewed as a critical and urgent need.

“This is what I call the ‘Life-Change Experience’. It puts them in the field, somewhere they can see for themselves that the issues of poverty, governance, religious tolerance and climate change are real and confronting, and where real people are struggling to cope with new realities. They come face to face with their future markets and future customers, and take away from this a new perspective on doing business – it’s the only way to bring about long-lasting change and find solutions.”

About GIFT
The Global Institute For Tomorrow is an independent social venture think tank dedicated to advancing understanding of the impacts of globalisation.

Further information about GIFT and details of the YLP prospectus can be found at www.globalinstitutefortomorrow.org/

CONTACT:
The Global Institute For Tomorrow
Chandran Nair
Office: (852) 3571 8103
Mobile: (852) 9171 3981

Suite 1002 Two Pacific Place
88 Queensway, Admiralty, Hong Kong
Phone -- (852) 3571 8103
Fax -- (852) 3585 3910

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