Newspaper readers around New Zealand have nominated more than 600 people as tomorrow's leaders in the Knowledge Wave Trust's emerging leaders search.
The search involved 20 newspapers and set out to identify 50 talented young people.
They will attend Knowledge Wave 2003 - The Leadership Forum, in Auckland from February 19 to 21.
The project is run in conjunction with Industry New Zealand.
The search has been described by trust director Bridget Wickham as "a celebration of New Zealand talent".
The newspapers will select participants from the readers' nominations.
The 50 emerging leaders will also a take part in a programme that includes a further 50 young leaders chosen by the trust.
The three-day forum will hear leading international and national thinkers speaking on knowledge, growth and community and will work with them to generate fresh thinking on the issues and opportunities facing the country.
About 350 established leaders have been invited.
They include Prime Minister Helen Clark, the former World Trade Organisation Director-General Mike Moore, Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide CEO Kevin Roberts, and former National MP and Environment Minister Simon Upton, who chairs the OECD Round Table on Sustainable Development.
Among confirmed international speakers are Bill Emmott, editor-in-chief of the Economist, Professor Richard Florida, professor of regional economic development at Carnegie Mellon University, Juan Enriquez-Cabot, director of Harvard Business School's life sciences project and Professor Robert Putnam, professor of public policy at Harvard University.
Ms Wickham said the programmes would give the young leaders an opportunity to develop their skills and networks and extend to a national arena the contribution they were already making locally.
While 50 would be chosen by their local newspapers to come to Auckland, the trust would try to find ways to draw all those nominated into a network of emerging leaders.
"It is a wonderful opportunity to foster New Zealand's leadership capability," Ms Wickham said.
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