- Tony Douglas, Group CEO, offers words of advice to more than 250 young leaders tuning in from 23 cities across the world to the Cityzens Giving Young Leaders Summit.
- Over the course of the week, participants will hear from an impressive line-up of thought leaders on navigating times of uncertainty, adapting community football for the new normal, and developing specific programmes in response to COVID-19.
- The summit will run from 6 to 10 July and for the first time, will be presented virtually.
Etihad Airways is proud to be supporting the launch of the Young Leaders Summit, an annual initiative from Manchester City that brings together community leaders for a week of digital learning, delivered through interactive live sessions and webinars.
The summit was opened with a virtual address from Tony Douglas, Group Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Aviation Group, who welcomed the young leaders, and spoke about his experiences of leading an organisation through a crisis. 
“We all look to leaders, and what they stand for. I’ve had the great pleasure of being involved in a number of organisations, and I’ve seen leaders who have that incredible capability to remain calm, almost unflappable, but of course, inside they are harbouring their emotions just like everyone else.
“What we see in sport, as well as in business, is that the strongest leaders are quite often the ones who aren’t trying to make the most noise. They’re not the person who’s trying to self-promote and be in front of everybody all of the time. There are some incredible role models within City for young people to look up to. Leaders like the Chairman, HE Khaldoon Al Mubarak, and Pep Guardiola, who each carry themselves with a humble confidence that I admire.”
The Young Leaders Summit, sponsored by Etihad Airways, is an annual event which historically took place at the Etihad Campus in Manchester, however has turned virtual due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. 250 young people from 23 cities across the Americas, Central and Asia-Pacific regions, will receive live-streamed content from City’s community coaches, inspirational speakers and subject matter experts. The focus of this year’s event is arming young people with the tools to help them support their communities on their journey to recovery.
Each session will focus on one of four pillars – leadership in times of crisis, social impact through football, project management and community coaching in COVID and post-COVID environments. The Summit will also welcome guest speakers to share their inspirational leadership journeys, including Tommie Smith, US sprinter, Olympic gold medalist and human rights activist, Tanni Grey-Thompson, legendary Paralympian who won 11 gold medals and is now a crossbench peer on disability rights for the House of Lords within the British Parliament, Marion Bartoli, former Wimbledon winner, and Micah Richards, former England and Manchester City defender.
The Summit forms part of the broader ‘Cityzens Giving for Recovery’ campaign which was launched by City Football Group on 16 June 2020. The campaign launch was supported by Etihad Airways through the donation of the front of shirt space, ordinarily bearing the Etihad logo, to ‘Cityzens Giving for Recovery’. Etihad is proud to support the 12-month programme which is aimed at helping communities get back on their feet, and recover from the impacts of COVID-19.
Etihad has been Manchester City’s principal partner for more than a decade, and works in collaboration with City on their outreach programmes, including the Young Leaders Summit, to bring benefits to communities across the world. Since the beginning of the partnership, the Club has lifted 20 trophies across the men’s and women’s team, six during the 2018/19 season when they made history by becoming the first English football club to lift six trophies across both its men’s and women’s teams in the same season. City Football Group are an important partner for Etihad, bringing Etihad’s brand to football fans in regions all over the world.
