
Young Global Leaders are needed now more than ever. Here's why
As we launch the 2023 cohort of Young Global Leaders, we celebrate young people who are helping the world tackle complex issues such as climate change.
Wadia Ait Hamza is an executive leader working at the intersection of leadership, innovation, and collective impact. He currently serves as Director of Leadership Programs at MBZUAI in Abu Dhabi, where he curates transformative learning experiences designed to empower decision-makers to lead with purpose in a world constantly reshaped by artificial intelligence.
With two decades of experience in international relations, Wadia has built and led global communities across more than 150 countries—most notably as Head of the Global Shapers Community and the Forum of Young Global Leaders at the World Economic Forum. His work has focused on scaling purpose-driven ecosystems, fostering trust-based leadership, and enabling meaningful cross-sector collaboration in complex environments.
He is the author of How Can i Serve? Navigating Leadership and Building Communities, a book that distills lessons from his journey and introduces “The Constellation Effect,” a leadership approach rooted in service, emotional intelligence, and systems thinking.
Wadia has been recognized as a United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Fellow, Atlantic Dialogues Emerging Leader, Emerging Board Leaders Fellow, and World Economic Forum Global Leadership Fellow. He is also the recipient of the Tariq Ibn Ziyad Initiative Award and was named among the “15 under 40” shaping International Geneva. His writings have been featured on platforms such as Forbes and the World Economic Forum Agenda.
Driven by a deep commitment to empowering others and bridging sectors, Wadia thrives where strategy meets purpose—helping leaders and organizations navigate uncertainty with clarity, courage, and intention.
As we launch the 2023 cohort of Young Global Leaders, we celebrate young people who are helping the world tackle complex issues such as climate change.
In a divided world, finding solutions to interconnected problems is challenging. Social cohesion offers leaders a way to build cooperation and trust.
About 200 alumni from the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leaders programme meet this week in Geneva, to share how they are putting their training into action.
World Humanitarian Day is marked on 19 August every year. The Forum's global leaders and shapers provide insight on how to move forward and strengthen the humanitarian response.
Intergenerational justice is not a buzzword — it is a global imperative. On International Youth Day, the Forum's young leaders share how we can achieve it.
The World Economic Forum's Global Shapers Community of young changemakers celebrates its tenth anniversary this month. Here are a few of their impacts.
The "Millennial Manifesto" presents six guiding principles for young activists to enable them to take to lead and create a better post-COVID-19 world.
Young people are demanding that concrete action to change the world. Here's how leaders can adapt to work with the next generations.
From climate change to mental health, here's how young people around the world are working to create lasting change.
The Maghreb, in Northern Africa, is the perfect example of a region whose countries have been unable to find their way to a deeper integration. But there are ways to turn this around.