PROGRAMME DESCRIPTION

Seminar 1: “Why Me? Why Us? Why Now?”  

The first weekend seminar primarily focuses on introductions and your personal exploration of  your public purpose. Through a combination of group plenaries, small group discussions and  inputs from guest speakers, you will explore the internal and external drivers of your decision to transition to public life.  

Seminar 2: “Ready to Govern 1 – The State of Your Nation”  

The second weekend seminar introduces you to the challenges and complexities of securing consensus and driving change within political organisations and government structures.  

A continuation of the work begun in the first seminar, you will  be challenged to define your vision for the constituencies you hope to serve, before engaging with the realities of taking your aspirations from vision to plan, and from plan to implementation.  

You will also consider the question of how to take a broad, long-term vision for a society from concept to implementation in the contested context of politics and public service.  

Seminar 3: “The Elements of a Public Life”  

The third seminar introduces you to the systems, practicalities and challenges of a career in the public eye. A skills-heavy programme comprising media management, technology, driving issues for impact as well as speechwriting and speechmaking, will be complemented by deep-dive reflections on the personal and social impact of a career experienced in full view of the public.  

You will have the critical opportunity to engage with questions about the impact of public life on self, loved ones, and broader networks of friends and family. We will explore media and public representations of women, young people, and “outsider” candidates in election campaigns, political office and the public eye. How do these differ from representations of their more traditional  counterparts? And are these salient matters for consideration as political candidates transition to public leadership roles?  

Seminar 4: “Ethics in Public Leadership & Corruption Case Study”  

One of the flagship seminars of the Apolitical Academy Public Leadership Programme, “Ethics in  Public Leadership”, will introduce you to government and political leaders who have faced  ethical cross-roads in their efforts to be responsible and accountable public leaders. 

A case study on corruption will give you an opportunity to interact with the experiences of  political and government leaders who have been invited to abandon their values in favour of self enrichment at public expense, and to hear about how they managed this challenge and complexity in the face of extreme political pressure.  

This seminar will also explore the divergence between unethical and unlawful behaviour in public leadership, and challenge fellows to define a personal framework for ethical leadership which does not only rely on the limitations of statutory obligation.  

Seminar 5:  Political Campaigns & Grassroots Organising”  

The fifth seminar of the programme takes the form of an extended campaign simulation,  designed to provide you with an opportunity to dive deep into the practicalities of running a political campaign for election to public office. Seminar 5 asks you to deploy what you have learned about defining a vision, identifying constituencies, making a case for change, and leading ethically and transparently to the challenge of seeking election to public office.  

By engaging with experienced campaigners and political leaders to identify the diverse elements of  an election campaign – both as party political and independent candidates – you will gain insights into how high-level media and communications strategy come together with movement building and grassroots organising to define a political candidate’s offer to the people she hopes to  serve.   

Seminar 6: “Ready to Govern 2: The Politics of Change”  “

The former governor of New York, Mario Cuomo, famously said: “You campaign in poetry. You govern in prose.” 

What then does it take to drive systemic and organisational change in the public sector? What is the  difference between formal and informal political authority? What skills and networks should public leaders be nurturing in order to become not only effective  campaigners, but also powerful change-makers once their campaigns have been successful?  

The sixth seminar expands upon the work begun in Seminar 2, further exploring the challenges and  complexities of driving change for the better in public sector institutions. Fellows grapple with  the realities of moving from activists to political entrepreneurs; from demanding accountability to  taking responsibility for improving the lives of the people they serve.  

What difficult trade-offs are required to deliver the best possible life to the largest number of  people? How do public leaders assemble internal constituencies to support their vision, and how  do they manage factionalism and competing interests? 

The seminar  helps to illuminate some of these challenges, while providing fellows with the  opportunity to engage with government and political leaders who have found themselves wrestling  with these matters as they seek to deliver on their public service commitments and mandates.  

Seminar 7: “Managing the Transition & Graduation Ceremony”  

The last seminar is a return to the personal aspects of a life in public leadership. As an introduction to the Apolitical Academy’s Alumni Programme, you will have an opportunity during this seminar to define a personal strategy for your transition to public service.  

Who will form part of your inner circle of mentors, advisors and supporters?  

How will you ensure that self-care is built into every stage of their leadership journey? In times of  stress and pressure, upon whom are you confident you can rely for advice and quandary? How will you ensure your ability to “survive” the many stresses of a complex system of competing  interests?  

On the final evening of this weekend seminar, you will graduate from the programme as Public Service Fellows or as Women in Public Service, and be formally admitted as an Apolitical Academy Alumni Programme.