In our youth we learn different things, we aquire knowledge and values that form the platform upon which we build our lives. These years influence us and are of great importance for how we, later on in life, will interact with other people. Because of this, it is very important that today´s youth, who are the leaders of tomorrow, early in their lives come into contact with the concept of good leadership.

What Raoul Wallenberg did in Budapest during the Second World War, shows what good leadership can lead to. His initiative and creativity serve as an example. He carried out a task that could be described as setting aside your own personal interests, to have your own convictions and to take a stand even if it means going against the majority, to be dedicated, to dare, to question, sometimes to take risks, to improvise and to find ways out. Last but not least - all this has to be based on the belief that all people have equal value independent of social or ethnical background.

Good leadership does not necessarily mean risking your own life in the way Raoul did. It is needed in everyday life, in everyday situations between ordinary people. It is important that today´s youth, who are the leaders of tomorrow, get an understanding of what good leadership is.

I am responsible for the educational branch of the Raoul Wallenberg Academy for Young Leaders. In this position, I have the privilege of meeting the leaders of tomorrow, today. Young, enthusiastic, reflecting, questioning, courageous, full of fresh ideas and the willingness to take on responsibility, they express ambitions to take leading roles in the future.

My opinion is that good leadership consists of many different parts forming a whole. The platform for all of this is primarily the willingness to take responsibility for yourself and your own actions, to lead yourself. First after having done this, you can take responsibility for leading others.

I believe that each of these pioneers within the Raoul Wallenberg Academy for Young Leaders, are ready to, in their own personal way, take on responsibility for their own personal leadership. Based on this, some of them or all of them, will in different ways act as intermediaries in the process of spreading the concept of good leadership to others.

I am impressed by the ambitions, reflections, thoughts and doubts that the participants develop and share. I wish I had been as wise when I was their age.

Ann Westerberg
Educational supervisor, Mgruppen
Raoul Wallenberg Academy for Young Leaders