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Repairing and Restoring: The Need for International Cooperation in ‘Trust Building’

Speakers:
Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Ambassador Mark Green, President, Director & CEO, The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; Concordia Leadership Council Member

History progresses in a linear fashion with periodic disruptions, but occasionally they converge into a seismic shake up, began Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. In a time of real disruption, leaders need flexibility and the ability to adapt for progress to occur. Issues like severe weather and migration are real, and common to all of us, and these high-risk challenges require high-level coordination. 

Pushing on that point, Amb. Mark Green, President, Director & CEO of The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and Concordia Leadership Council Member, asked the Queen how to sustain leadership. She answered that we need a new understanding of the nature of challenges. At a time where collaborative action is crucial, we have an increasingly integrated landscape that requires consensus. Looking at the idea of disinformation, Queen Rania noted that honesty is the currency of leadership, but the media rewards outrage over honesty. Leadership takes clear, honest, and consistent information, and principles over popularity. 

Green then asked about migrants in Jordan. Queen Rania noted that we are entering an era where mass displacement will be the norm. We must pursue a dignified, orderly system of migration. There has never been a time where we have needed more cooperation and when we have had so little of it.

Key takeaways & next steps:

  • The stakes are high for addressing global issues like climate change, war, and migration. 
  • Leaders have an obligation to trust their constituents with the truth, even when that truth may be hard to hear.

“Honesty has always been the currency of leadership.”

 

Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

“You have to have leadership that people can believe in, even if they disagree with [it].”

 

Mark Green, President, Director & CEO, The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; Concordia Leadership Council Member