After decades of centralized “command and control”, government leaders espouse market-led economic growth and community empowerment without a clear understanding of the changes this likely requires in their roles and behavior. After years of operating as what many in their own lands considered “pariahs” and “profiteers”, business leaders are unfamiliar with emerging norms of public-private cooperation and corporate social responsibility. And, eternal advocates for change, civil society leaders often lack a clear understanding of the need for business and government alike to satisfy multiple stakeholders in order to create truly sustainable prosperity and peace.

For there to be progress, the next generation of leaders in all three sectors must come together:

The Aspen Institute, established in 1950, is a global forum for leveraging the power of leaders to improve the human condition. The Henry Crown Fellowship program, established by the Institute in 1997, seeks to establish the next generation of community-spirited leaders, providing them with the tools necessary to meet the challenges of corporate and civic leadership in the 21st century.

In 1998, then Peter Reiling, President and CEO of TechnoServe, an international organization promoting market-led economic growth in Africa and Latin America since 1968, was named to the Millennium Class of Henry Crown Fellows. Like his classmates, he was asked to carry out a community project – designed to put into practice the principles of values-based leadership. Mr. Reiling decided that his project would be to bring the message of the Aspen Institute to Africa, a continent where he has lived and worked for the past 22 years.

In 2000 and 2001, with the assistance of Keith Berwick, Executive Director of the Henry Crown Fellowship Program, and Beth Brooke, Inaugural Henry Crown Fellow and Vice Chairman of Ernst & Young, TechnoServe sponsored Executive Seminars for business, government and civil society leaders in Ghana, Tanzania and Mozambique. The Executive Seminar, the flagship of the Aspen Institute seminar series, uses the writings of some of the world’s greatest minds to prompt a dialogue on each participant’s vision of "the good society."

By all accounts, these seminars were a success -- proving that the Aspen methodology is transferable to Africa and spurring serious discussion on the respective roles of business, government and civil society in economic and social development. Notably, two new Henry Crown Fellows emerged from these seminars – Kenneth Ofori-Atta, Chairman of Databank Financial Services (Ghana) and Ali Mufuruki, Chairman and CEO of Infotech Investment Group (Tanzania).

In late 2001, Peter Reiling, Keith Berwick, Ali Mufuruki and Ken Ofori-Atta decided to launch the Africa Leadership Initiative. Isaac Shongwe, Chairman of Letsema Holdings in South Africa, agreed to join this effort in April 2002. He has subsequently been named a Henry Crown Fellow as well. Romeu Rodrigues, Chairman and CEO of CETA, one of the largest construction companies in Mozambique, and a participant in the December 2001 Executive Seminar held in Mozambique, also agreed to join the effort in April 2002.

An initial class of twenty Fellows between the ages of 25 and 50 have been chosen in each of four countries/regions: Ghana, East Africa, Mozambique and South Africa. These Fellows, nominated by recognized local business and community leaders, are men and women who:

Each class participates in a program comprising seminars and leadership development activities under the guidance of skilled Aspen Institute moderators. The program requires a commitment of 16 days spread over 36 months for seminar meetings plus the time allocated for individual leadership projects and periodic informal gatherings.