Professor Adel Safty, the founding UNESCO Leadership Chair and the founding President of the School of Government and Leadership at Bahcesehir University in Istanbul, founded the Global Leadership Forum when he was Head of UN Mission, and Director of the UNU Leadership Academy in Amman, Jordan, in the 1990s.

Vision: The vision of the Global Leadership Forum is to make leadership the business of everyone in every field: in public policy and governing administrations, in private sector corporations, in educational institutions, in citizens’ associations, and in inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations.

Mission: The mission of the Global Leadership Forum is to promote, in publications and in fora open to all, commitment to leadership for human development through the promotion of good governance, good management, and multilateral cooperation in whatever field: in public policy administrations, in private sector corporations, in educational institutions, in inter-governmental, non-governmental, and youth organisations.

Goals: There is a positive correlation between human development as defined in the various UN Human Development Reports, and the interconnectedness of peace, democracy, and sustainable development. Leadership for human development is therefore facilitated by and committed to an environment of peace, democracy, and sustainable development. To create and sustain such an environment is the responsibility of all, but it is facilitated by a partnership between public institutions, inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations, educational institutions, and socially responsible private sector corporations sharing the same goals and working together to help achieve them. The goal of the Global Leadership Forum is to facilitate such alliances, build partnerships, create networks, and use relational leadership as an effective tool to promote the mission of leadership for human development.

The UNESCO Leadership Chairs: To promote the mission of the Global Leadership Forum, Dr. Adel Safty founded the first UNESCO Leadership Chair when he was in Jordan. When The Global Leadership Forum moved to Istanbul, he founded the second UNESCO Leadership Chair.

Advisory Council: In establishing the Global Leadership Forum, Dr. Safty was assisted by a group of dedicated men and women who later formed the Advisory Council of the Global Leadership Forum. This group included:

• Dr. Carol Allais, Chair of Sociology, Cape Town University, South Africa
• Ms. Marina Tyasto, Chair of International Relations, The Siberian Academy of Public Administration, Russia
• Dr. Hafiza Golandaz, Director, the International Leadership and Management Alliance, Mumbai, India
• Mr. Leong Sze Hian, Singapore Representative of the Inter-American Economic Council. Singapore.
• Dr. Mansour Elagab, Chairman, Sudan Human Rights Organisation, London, England.
• Ms. Anjelika Borovikova, the United Nations Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna. Austria.
• Congressman Jose Gomez, Congressman and political advisor to President Chavez, Venezuela.
• Mr. Fisan Bankale, United Nations Population Fund, Nigeria.
• Barry Featherman, President and CEO of the Inter-American Economic Council, Washington, USA.
• Dr. Mahy Abdel Latif from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry was a member of the group for the first four fora.
• Mr. Luis Correa-Marquez, a lawyer from Puerto Rica.
• Mr.Rupert Douglas-Bate, Humanitarian aid worker, Founder of MapAction (UK) and Founder of Global MapAid (USA
• And Mrs. Harriet Fulbright, the former Director of the President’s Committee for the Arts and Humanities in the Clinton Administration, USA.

Mrs. Harriet Fullbright (USA)	Prf. Marina Tyasto (Russia)	Prof. Carol Allais (South Africa)	Mr. Fisan Bankale (Nigeria)	Prof. Hafiza Golandaz (India)	Dr. Mahy Abdel Latif (Egypt)
Mrs. Anjelika Borovikova (Austria)	Rupert Douglas Bates (England)	Congressman Jose Gomez (Venezuela)	Mr. Leong Sze Hian ( Singapore)	Dr. Mansour Elagab (Sudan)	Barry Featherman (USA)

Participants: Over the years the GLF has brought together distinguished political leaders, senior representatives of inter-governmental organisations such as the UN and the World Bank, distinguished scholars of public policy and of management, corporate and business leaders, representatives of various governments from all over the world, leadership scholars, and leaders of non-governmental organisations, students, and community and local government leaders. People from over 100 countries participated at the Global Leadership Forum.

Locations: After Amman, Istanbul.
“Istanbul, at the crossroads of cultures and civilisations, eternal and magnificent, is the only city in the world, which bestrides two continents, as if to eloquently symbolise union in diversity- a theme more relevant today than perhaps at any other time in contemporary history. Appropriately, the Global Leadership Forum and its emphasis on leadership for human development draw both inspiration and strength from this immortal and majestic city.” Dr. Adel Safty.