Cultural Leaders Wanted!

Applications for the British Council's programme Cultural Leadership International 2011 are now open. Cultural leaders from the UK, France, Germany, Italy & Russia (as well as other non-ASEM countries listed below) may apply.

The British Council, with support from the Ford Foundation and the Open Society Foundations, are looking for the world’s most promising cultural leaders to take part in its 2011 Cultural Leadership International (CLI) programme. We are looking for mid-career potential leaders in the creative and cultural sector that are interested in developing their leadership skills and international networks, and that understand the impact culture can have in addressing wider global social and economic issues.

What?
Participants in the programme will:
(a) attend a 4-day Leadership Development Workshop in Istanbul from 23-27 October 2011 (alongside the Istanbul Biennale). This is the starting point of the programme, and involves training sessions on leadership skills and networking opportunities with the other international participants.
(b) receive a grant of £3000 to implement a Professional Development Plan. The Plan should identify participants' professional needs and goals and come up with a plan to achieve these through courses, placements, mentorship schemes, scoping visits, etc.
(Read more about the 2011 programme here)

Who?
CLI is for those who are actively engaged in the cultural sector and who want to play a key role in its future development. Participants can come from across the different creative and cultural sectors, or work for a national cultural institution or body. They don’t have to have experience of a leadership role, but they must be fluent English speakers and have at least three years experience in the sector. More importantly, they must be able to demonstrate a level of achievement and commitment to the sector as well as a commitment to self-development and learning from others.

Can I apply?
Applications this year will run in the following countries: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, France, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Palestine, Russia, Syria, Turkey, UAE, the UK and Ukraine.
Please follow the hyperlinks or contact us on cli@britishcouncil.org to find out more about each country's application process.

UK applicants
The application process in the UK will run from Monday 11 July to Monday 5 September, 2011. Successful applications will be short-listed for an interview in the w/c 19 September 2011, and the list of selected participants will be announced later that week.
If you are interested in applying please fill in the attached application form and send it to cli@britishcouncil.org before Monday 5 September, 2011. Attached are also some guidance notes that will help you fill in the form and let you know more about this year’s programme. Good luck!

To find out more about the Cultural Leadership International programme in previous years, visit the CLI pages here.