Prague, Czech Republic - International Leadership Association

Vítejte v Ceské republice,
Vítejte v Praze!
Welcome to the Czech Republic,
Welcome to Prague!
It is a great pleasure for us to welcome you, on behalf of the ILA board,
staff, and ILA European and local conference teams, to the 11th annual conference
of the International Leadership Association. It is the first time ILA has come to
Central Europe, and the first time in a post-communist country.
The theme of the conference is Leadership for TransformaTion and for a good reason: we
celebrate 20 years from the fall of the Berlin Wall and the 20th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution—the
events that started the journey of transformation for the whole of Central and Eastern Europe.
To commemorate those events we have prepared two Preconferences: Experiential workshops on
Prague’s Jewish History and The 20th Anniversary of the Velvet Revolution. The two Preconferences will
not only celebrate the leadership from the past but they will also serve as lessons for the leaders of
today. In these turbulent times, now more than ever, we need excellent leadership, bold visions, and
transforming ideas. We also need pragmatic skills and practices to achieve these visions and ideas.
All of these will be present in the keynote and concurrent sessions, roundtables, and panels of the
conference.
The conference is held in the heart of Prague, one of the most beautiful cities in the world. We would like
to give the participants of the conference the opportunity to enjoy at least a small part of Prague´s historic
beauty and atmosphere, therefore some of the sessions will be held at venues outside the hotel in the
historic buildings now housing the New York University in Prague.
In the last 20 transforming years, Prague has changed from a grey ‘real socialism’ city into a colorful
multinational capital of a thriving democracy and EU member. Praise for different cultures and regard
for global perspectives is also more than ever apparent in the ILA. Participants at the 2009 conference
come from over 40 countries from all over the world.
The spirit of synergy, transformation, and sharing new visions has been a unique feature present at every
ILA conference. We hope that the welcoming environment of Prague, the ancient history, as well as
the not-so-remote past will, together with the conference atmosphere of friendliness and inclusion,
help each of us find something unique, new, and transforming in ourselves.
Thank you for joining us in Prague and we wish that this conference
is a most fruitful and rewarding experience for you.
ivana mrozkova, 2009 Conference Chair;
members of iLa europe and The LocaL conference Team
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