Creating a New Portrait of Equitable Leadership in the Pacific Century

One of the most powerful metaphors for the 20^th century model of global leadership is the official “family portrait” of the 1945 Yalta conference to determine the post-war landscape of Europe. The iconic image features Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin flanking a wan Franklin Roosevelt, the three seated leaders surrounded by a coterie of standing officers and aides.

It was the perfect representation of the second half of the 20^th century: an era in which the Atlantic was the central axis of world affairs, and in which it was believed that even the most vexing issues of the day could be solved by a privileged few over cigars and whisky.

That worldview was always incomplete, but now it’s also obsolete. Today, the portrait looks very different. The key challenges of our time involve unprecedented degrees of complexity and interdependence, and the Indo-Pacific is in the global spotlight as the most consequential region on the geopolitical playing field. Those once marginalized and excluded from the corridors of power are now demanding their rightful seat at the table.

This new landscape of the Indo-Pacific century requires a new kind of leadership portrait, one that is inclusive of voices from a wider region and world, not just a few “great powers.” This new portrait will look less like Yalta, and more like the first-ever US-Pacific Island Country Summit held at the White House in 2022, which included 16 heads of state from places like Fiji, the Marshall Islands, Tonga, and Papua New Guinea. Or like the APEC leaders’ meeting held in San Francisco last November, where the forum’s 21 member economies from throughout Asia and the Pacific are bound to decision-making by mutual consensus.

At the historic Pacific Islands summit, Secretary of State Antony Blinken affirmed that “what happens in the Indo-Pacific will, more than any other region, shape the trajectory of the world in the 21^st century.” And it’s worth noting that for the first time ever at an official US state summit, the Pacific leaders were welcomed in their native languages, in acknowledgement of the region’s unique traditions and history.

Similarly, the equitable leadership required by the Pacific Century won’t reflect a single vision for regional prosperity, but instead embrace and affirm diverse outlooks and perspectives. What do we mean by equitable? In contrast to conceptions of ‘equal’ treatment for all that presume every human being to be the same, equitable policy and action are based on acknowledging our differences and working within them toward a sustainable future for all of us.

Equitable leaders recognize that surging movements for the recognition of Indigenous cultures and traditions are not a threat to shared prosperity, but a source of shared strength. Successful leaders for the Pacific century will emerge from these and other community movements and integrate their core beliefs into a governing outlook that promises not only prosperity and sustainability, but justice for those who have been left out. Their brilliance will not lie in negotiating among competing interests, but in working collaboratively to solve complex, dynamic problems like climate change and migration—problems that transcend national borders and stymie conventional problem-solving paradigms.

To help prepare the leaders who will appear in this new portrait of the Pacific century, the East-West Center and Doris Duke Foundation have teamed up to launch the Equitable Futures Fellowship in recognition of the need for a new leadership template for our times. Applications are open now for emerging global leaders from a broad variety of places and professions to immerse themselves in an exploration of what equitable leadership means. Effective leadership training is no longer about “us” teaching “them.” It’s about a shared “we.”

The program recognizes that the portrait of future leadership will need to come from all areas and sectors. Gone are the days of global affairs governed exclusively by social and policy elites. The fellowship’s premise is that the only acceptable future is an equitable one, transcending any single nation and rooted in the human values of freedom and liberty. It recognizes that the complexities of equity must be explored and enacted in a world of systemic imbalances in access to power and prosperity.

The advent of the Pacific century is not just about one region. It’s a clarion call for a new kind of global leader—one with the skills and vision to succeed in our complex, interdependent, and diverse world. Through this partnership, our organizations are working together to frame a new portrait of leadership that future generations can be proud of.