Raoul Wallenberg Academy for Young Leaders would like to provide the young generation with knowledge about the important role of leadership.

When the Soviet Union fell 10 years ago many countries opened which were closed before. The borders disappeared. Optimism and belief in the future spread over the world. What happened instead was that long suppressed ethnical, religious and regional conflicts arose. New and dangerous regimes saw daylight. The information technology got its breakthrough and the world trade increased. The development has gone faster and faster and the world has grown more complex. We do not know how individual incidents affect the whole. The global risks are considered bigger than ever, due to increased criminality, increased environmental pollution, increased terrorism, increased weakening of cultures, the vulnerability of the financial systems.

The responsibility for our future increasingly rests on the shoulders of the trade and industry leaders in accordance with the increasing globalization and the nations' decreased influence. A nation can in general only decide within its own borders while a multinational company can have an influence in several different countries. With the companies' increased power comes an increased responsibility for the development in those countries that they are active. A responsibility which most companies do not know how to handle.

To find the solutions to this a leadership which has been formed by the rapid development is needed. A leader who has the courage to take new directions, who understands to cooperate between state, trade and industry, organizations and individuals is necessary in order to form a better and more secure world.

Raoul Wallenberg is an example of such a leader. His help efforts in Budapest by the end of Second World War are amazing and show what a person can achieve for his fellow beings. He saved thousands of lives from the Nazigerman concentration camps in the middle of a raging war.

Raoul Wallenberg Academy for Young Leaders would like to provide the young generation with knowledge about the important role of leadership. A leader can contribute to a better development for us all. However, a leader can also cause harm to his fellow beings. History has shown this. Our purpose is to create a wider understanding and respect for the leadership role and its different dimensions; to create models, but also act as an example. How to get an increased knowledge of oneself and awareness, how we influence and can be influenced. This knowledge we need to obtain in the early stages of life.

Claes Cronstedt
Chairman
Raoul Wallenberg Committee, Sweden