Executive Summary 

The Central America Leadership Initiative Foundation (The CALI Foundation) is a joint venture between the Aspen Institute, INCAE, TechnoServe and FUNDEMAS. Inspired by the Henry Crown Fellowship Program of the Aspen Institute, the CALI Foundation is designed to create a new generation of civically-engaged leaders across Central America, moving them “from success 

to significance” and “from thought to action” as they envision the creation of a “good society” in their region and commit to personal leadership projects to help make it a reality. 

CALI Fellows also form part of a wider global network called the Aspen Global Leadership Network (AGLN), a growing, worldwide community of entrepreneurial leaders from business, government and the nonprofit sector, currently 950 Fellows from 43 countries.  All share the common experience of participating in the Henry Crown Fellowship or one of the dozen Aspen Institute leadership initiatives it has inspired in the United States, Africa, Central America, India, and the Middle East.   

With four classes of CALI Fellows graduated or underway we are going far towards building a critical mass of values-based leaders who will help the Central American region manage its growth and development on one hand, while addressing social, economic and political problems, persistent poverty, provision of educational opportunities and basic health care, and protecting the environment, on the other. Central America has great development potential, but is dogged by significant leadership challenges.   

Building on the first two seminars, The Challenge of Leadership, and The Aspen Seminar,  they continued to progress through their journey from “success to significance” as they develop into a critical mass of values-based leaders who will help Central America manage its growth and development on one hand, while addressing social and political problems on the other, including ethnic and religious coexistence, persistent poverty, provision of educational opportunities and basic health care, and protecting the environment, on the other.  Central America has great development potential and this class is proving to be a promising piece of its potential.  

The main concern Fellows expressed during this globalization seminar was a heightened awareness of how vulnerable Central America is in all contexts – social, economic, environmental, cultural, and technological, vis-a-vis globalization. In the discussions, the sense of urgency was felt constantly with regards to how to survive and take advantage of this reality. The comments focused on the need to prepare for globalization, specifically in the areas of inclusive education, economic competitiveness and having benefits reach the poor and the farmers. Fellows also expressed concern for the current economic crisis and evaluated how it is affecting the region.

Leadership in an Era of Globalization Seminar:

From January 18-23, 2010 the fourth CALI class, self-named CALIdad, gathered at INCAE’s Francisco de Sola Campus in Managua, Nicaragua for the Leadership in an Era of Globalization Seminar, their third seminar in the series of four leadership seminars that comprise the Fellowship. Guided by the Aspen Institute’s senior moderator Stace Lindsay, along with moderators Margarita Herdocia (fellow in training) and Sylvia Gereda (fellow in training). 

Fellows delved into the challenges and opportunities that globalization places at their doorstep through this seminar. They were most engaged in dialogues on the readings  of  culture  and  environment  like  Joseph  Conrad:  ¨Typhoon¨,  George Packer, ¨Letter from Ivory Coast:  Gangster War¨, Sylvia A. Earle, ¨Sea Change:  A Message of the Oceans¨, and  Anton Chekhov,  ¨Gooseberries¨.  The  Group  also went  to   the   Masaya  Volcano   and  had a  trip  to   Granada,   t he oldest city of Continental America.  Fellows also had the opportunity to view Al Gore´s film, Än Inconvenient   Truth¨,    a  passionately   portrayed   documentary    about   global warming and the climate crisis.

Only 22 of the 23 Fellows that comprise the class attended the seminar, nevertheless, the group maintained a good balance, which provided an opportunity for Fellows to deepen the bonds of trust they began to develop during the first and second seminar.  

This class is already having a measurable and positive impact in the countries and communities where they live. During this seminar in particular, Fellows reported progress made on their leadership commitments, explaining their plans to make changes in their professional and/or personal lives as a direct result of the CALI seminars, and disclosing the status of their leadership projects.  

The CALIdad will meet again in 12-16 July in Costa Rica, CALI 4 Graduation, The Promise of Leadership Seminar, with David Rubenstein, from The Carlyle Group as special guest speaker on July 15th.