"You need to experience The Forum at least once in a lifetime in your professional career. It is so eye-opening and creative. You will take away so much new information and ideas for action, it will keep you busy for quite a while before realizing them all." - Luc Vandenbroucke, President, BarcoView, Belgium
"A very relevant way to combine the deep necessity for personal development as senior executives and the opportunity to gather/raise ideas and orientations for further company strategic improvements." - Jean-Pierre Duprieu, Vice President, Air Liquide S.A., France
"I came away re-energised, back in touch with things I had forgotten and with new insights and understandings." - Christopher Lawrence, Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers, United Kingdom
The International Forum experiences are designed and led by its founders who established the organization in 1988 in Philadelphia, USA at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Since 1993 it has been an independent organization devoted to creating active learning experiences all over the world.
The International Forum recognizes the necessity for senior leaders in organizations to learn from real life experiences and the perspective of other leaders. As such, the Forum was created to compliment the technical business and leadership skills acquired through many of the executive education programs available to businesses today.
The Forum's emphasis on Active and Experiential Learning as a means for self discovery and development and the importance of exposure to a very broad range of leaders, beyond the business world are part of the distinguishing feature of the Forum philosophy.
What are some important features of an International Forum experience?
- The rich backgrounds of the
participants who are selected to take part in the Forum:
participants are primarily business leaders who have
responsibilities for a global business. They come from more
than 15 countries around the world and over 200 companies.
Each program however is generally limited to 25 participants.
- The breadth of themes and issues which are addressed
involve
business, society, politics, history, culture, science and
exploration, art, music and health and how they are connected to
each other and affect business and leadership today
- The global network of expert resource
people who are a part of each Forum experience
- The continued involvement of chief executives who have attended
the Forum and remain an active part of it today
What is Unique about the International Forum?
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- The learning takes place face-to-face, on the ground in
businesses and societies all over the world (including China,
Japan, Thailand, Poland, Sweden, Belgium, USA, Czech Republic, France
and Russia).
- Leadership roles and challenges are encountered in meetings with
executives, doctors, educators, artists, journalists, social
workers, scientists
etc where they live and in the organizations where they work.
What Can a Participant Gain from The International Forum Experience?
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- Each participant gains a deeper understanding of how the economies
and societies in which they do business are changing and what that
means for them and their organizations by experiencing them
first-hand.
- Participants learn from each other and enhance their capability to
understand cultural differences and how that affects outlook and
behavior. This relates to not only people in the country in which the
Forum is held but also the 15+ other nationalities of the other
participants.
- The small size of the group (approximately 20 participants) and the
level of confidentiality ensure that each participant is able to
observe themselves, learn more about their own values and the choices
they make when those values come in conflict in their daily lives.
- Each participant has the opportunity to learn from all types of
leaders, particularly those who have solved enormous challenges in
society and other disciplines besides business and related this to
their own leadership roles.
A Global Network of Leadership Resources
The International Forum maintains a large global network of over 1,000 expert resources and facilitators in business, politics, culture, history, arts and sciences and draws from schools around the world including University of Pennsylvania, University of Michigan, Princeton University, INSEAD, University of Tokyo and others for its faculty.
The network of resources exists for the benefit of its members and executives who have participated at The International Forum draw on this as an information resource, for coaching and advice and for assistance with new markets and opportunities.
History of The International Forum
The International Forum has its origins at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and became an independent global organization in 1993. It has developed senior executive education experiences for companies and individuals all over the world. Over 250 global companies have participated in programs of The International Forum in the past 14 years. A sample of The International Forum's programs include:
- The Leaders Forum in China Shanghai, Hangzhou and Wuhan (2004)
- Encounters: Travels to Tibet (2004)
- The Wharton Global Leadership Series - North America, Europe and East Asia (1989-2002)
- Leadership Through Music: An experience using music as a metaphor and practical tool for leaders (2000-2003)
- Understanding China - in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Souzhou and Nanjing, China (1994-2003)
- Understanding Japan - in Tokyo and Kyoto, Japan (1996-2002)
- The Internet and The Global Company- in San Francisco, USA (2001)
- Poland: A Lens on Europe's Emerging Market - in Warsaw and Krakow, Poland (2000)
The International Forum also designs and develops custom leadership experiences for the most senior members of a company’s management team.
To learn more about upcoming experiences offered by The International Forum e-mail us or browse Forums & Programs