Shaping an executive summit for professional union leaders
How Praxis designed a five-day residential programme on leadership, bargaining and advocacy for unions working in developing-country contexts.
- For
- Leaders of teachers', nurses', doctors' and public-sector unions
- Where
- North Carolina, USA
- Year
- 2026
- What we did
- Programme design · Agenda and curriculum development · Participant packages and logistics planning · Partnership and outreach
Professional unions in developing countries carry growing responsibilities, from collective bargaining and policy advocacy to member welfare and partnerships, yet their leaders seldom have structured opportunities to build these capabilities together and learn from peers in other countries.
Praxis designed the Global Union Leaders Summit 2026 as an in-person executive programme: five training days and a Saturday tour, built around the operating challenges unions actually face. The programme combined leadership development with practical sessions on labour relations and social dialogue, ILO standards, negotiation and dispute management, advocacy and coalition-building, and partnership and grant readiness, with time set aside for peer exchange and action planning.
- A complete five-day executive agenda spanning leadership, bargaining, advocacy and institutional sustainability
- A programme tailored to teachers', nurses', doctors', civil-service and other professional unions
- Participant packages, fees and practical information published in one place for prospective delegations
Designing for decision-makers
The summit was written for union presidents, general secretaries, negotiators and emerging leaders: people who need frameworks they can use when they return home, not theory alone. Every module ends with practical tools and implementation ideas participants can adapt to their own context.
Learning across borders
Bringing leaders from several countries together creates room for comparison and shared problem-solving. The programme deliberately sets aside time for peer exchange and cross-country learning alongside the formal sessions.
A model for future convenings
The summit’s structure, combining executive learning, practical skills and peer exchange, gives Praxis a model for convenings with other professional associations and sectors.
