CELA - Central Eurasia Leadership Alliance Information

The Central Eurasia Leadership Alliance (CELA) is an ambitious, multicultural initiative, promoting regional cooperation and fostering the development of tomorrow’s most forward-thinking, mid-career leaders in the Caucasus, Central Asia, Afghanistan and Mongolia. What is CELA? Thirty years ago, a group of American business leaders recognized that global economic interdependence required them to establish successful international business networks and partnerships. They formed the Society of International Business Fellows (SIBF) to further the development of their international business goals, but in the ensuing 30 years the organization has grown. SIBF members want to share their experience with future leaders around the world. The pillars of CELA are learning, linking and working together. Learning comes in the form of the leadership education which members experience in the annual summer leadership academies, and then the follow-up events held in the course of the years in the countries of the region. These have ranged from business roundtables in the Caucasus, or a conference on tourism development in Central Asia, to workshops on mountain development in Tajikistan or corporate social responsibility in Georgia. In each case, best practices and lessons learned are shared among participants from different parts and perspectives of the region. This is the point about linking and working together in CELA – it means pooling knowledge from within the region itself, and turning them into actionable ideas appropriate to the local circumstances.