Madinah mayor to join prestigious global leadership program

Michael R. Bloomberg and Bloomberg Philanthropies host the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative Mayors Programming at 731 Lexington Ave, New York, Sunday, July 16, 2023 (Photo by Craig Warga)

Madinah region official, Fahad Al-Bulihshi, will participate in the seventh class of the year-long Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative. (Photo by Craig Warga)

• The initiative, billed as the flagship program of the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University, aims to help leaders improve their key organizational practices
• The initiative is part of Harvard’s efforts to improve public administration, leadership, and governance

RIYADH: A Saudi mayor has been selected to take part in a prestigious professional management training program with 40 counterparts from around the world.
Madinah region official, Fahad Al-Bulihshi, will participate in the seventh class of the year-long Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, joining mayors from nine countries.
The initiative, billed as the flagship program of the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University, aims to help leaders improve their key organizational practices, bolster their teams’ use of data and evidence, drive collaboration and innovation across sectors, and deliver impact for communities.
By applying the knowledge gained, participants are hopefully equipped to assist in improving quality of life for residents and achieving sustainable economic development in cities.
Through workshops, coursework, and convening with peers to learn about various practices, program organizers said that on completion of the scheme participants would be able to close the gap in executive development for the public sector and improve the lifestyles of city dwellers.
The initiative is part of Harvard’s efforts to improve public administration, leadership, and governance. Its key areas of focus are on education, environment, government innovation, public health, and the arts.
Along with Al-Bulihshi from Saudi Arabia, officials taking part in the seventh class of the initiative will come from the US, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Switzerland, Brazil, and South Africa.
Since its 2017 launch, 275 mayors and more than 470 senior city leaders have participated in the program.