Programme

Edinburgh Ocean Leaders launched in 2020. It is the only executive leadership programme designed specifically for young professionals working on the oceans. The programme combines leadership, mentoring and networking support with international field-based experiences.

The ethos of the programme is to support leadership in situ and globally distributed. 
The current COVID-19 pandemic makes this mission even more timely as we support remarkable leaders in navigating exceptional change across the World.

Through supporting creativity, leadership, problem solving and networking, the ambition of the Edinburgh Ocean Leaders programme is to accelerate and amplify the visions and capacities of these talented people and their organisations, providing an enduring positive impact on the oceans for decades to come.

Through a global nomination process, each year up to 10 young professionals are selected by our International Advisory Panel. The Leaders come from diverse backgrounds and professional experiences – spanning industry, conservation, policy, advocacy, education, media and research. The programme is free for the Ocean Leaders.  This ensure they are selected based on their capacity and potential for leadership rather than their ability to pay.

Each Ocean Leader is at a pivotal juncture in their career, having already shown exceptional promise and capacity to become a change-maker. Whilst maintaining their existing professional roles, they come together for mentoring, leadership training, professional skills development and face-to-face learning exchanges in field-based settings to solve complex challenges. They become part of a globally-distributed, and growing lifelong network of highly effective Ocean Leaders, many of whom will become mentors to future cohorts.

Core elements of the Ocean Leaders programme includes the following, 
and are designed to be adaptive to global circumstances.

  • an initial Induction event in Edinburgh for the new cohort, linked to an Annual Ocean Leaders Meeting of current and past cohorts;
  • bespoke leadership training and support, and mentoring
  • an intensive international Field Mission with experienced leaders to explore issues and strategies for problem solving in diverse and complex international contexts;
  • participation in at least one major UN-level or similar ocean conference, helping translate recommendations into tangible pathways to actions and outcomes; and
  • building a life-long network of global ocean leaders and change-makers.

In light of this exceptional year, the 2020 Cohort is conducting ongoing exchanges and discussion sessions on-line, bespoke individual and group leadership coaching, and high-level participation in the first ever in the first ever ‘digital’ Monaco Blue Initiative.

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