Etihad Aviation Group launched today the Young Leaders Summit, an annual initiative from Manchester City that brings together community leaders for a week of digital learning, delivered through interactive live sessions and webinars.
The summit was opened with a virtual address from Tony Douglas, Group Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Aviation Group, who spoke about his experiences of leading an organisation through a crisis. “We all look to leaders, and what they stand for. I’ve had the great pleasure of being involved in a number of organisations, and I’ve seen leaders who have that incredible capability to remain calm, almost unflappable, but of course, inside they are harbouring their emotions just like everyone else.
“What we see in sport, as well as in business, is that the strongest leaders are quite often the ones who aren’t trying to make the most noise. They’re not the person who’s trying to self-promote and be in front of everybody all of the time. There are some incredible role models within the City for young people to look up to. Leaders like the Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, and Pep Guardiola, who each carry themselves with humble confidence that I admire,” he said.
The Young Leaders Summit, sponsored by Etihad Airways, is an annual event which historically took place at the Etihad Campus in Manchester, however, has turned virtual due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. 250 young people from 23 cities across the Americas, Central and Asia-Pacific regions, will receive live-streamed content from City’s community coaches, inspirational speakers and subject matter experts. The focus of this year’s event is arming young people with the tools to help them support their communities on their journey to recovery.
Each session will focus on one of four pillars – leadership in times of crisis, social impact through football, project management and community coaching in COVID and post-COVID environments. The Summit will also welcome guest speakers to share their inspirational leadership journeys, including Tommie Smith, US sprinter, Olympic gold medalist and human rights activist, Tanni Grey-Thompson, legendary Paralympian who won 11 gold medals and is now a crossbench peer on disability rights for the House of Lords within the British Parliament, Marion Bartoli, former Wimbledon winner, and Micah Richards, former England and Manchester City defender.
The Summit forms part of the broader ‘Cityzens Giving for Recovery’ campaign which was launched by City Football Group on 16th June 2020. The campaign launch was supported by Etihad Airways through the donation of the front of shirt space, ordinarily bearing the Etihad logo, to ‘Cityzens Giving for Recovery’. Etihad supports for the 12-month programme is aimed at helping communities get back on their feet, and recover from the impacts of COVID-19.
