Two civic leaders in conversation in an urban street, with a younger leader observing in the background.

City Leaders Program  ·  Founding Cohort  ·  25 July 2026

The cities where people love to live will be shaped by leaders who
develop themselves today.

The world's first leadership program designed to empower city leaders in small to mid-sized cities to succeed and thrive in complexity — unlocking the potential of places often overlooked in global development and mainstream programs.

Explore the Program Speak with an advisor
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Three Pillars of Transformation

Pillar 1

Expand Your
Leadership Capacity

The pressure doesn't stop. The decisions don't wait. This pillar builds the multi-dimensional capacities required to respond, adapt, and lead effectively as circumstances evolve.

Pillar 2

Implement
While You Learn

Practice, not only theory. Progress, not only promises. You apply what you learn immediately through implementing city development projects - creating real results during the program.

Pillar 3

Local Action.
Global Connection.

You act local. Your support is global. Connect with 100+ city leaders across 50+ countries - sharing real experience and collective wisdom that continues beyond the program.

700+Our Faculty have helped leaders
from 700+ cities
55+Countries represented
across our global network
70+Experts & Practitioners
co-creating the GMA

We understand

"Leading a city is one of the most demanding forms of leadership that exists — yet one of the least supported."

Ferial Puren

CEO of the Global Mayors Academy

You face pressure from multiple directions simultaneously – citizens, councils, budgets, nested crises – often without support, without peers who truly understand, without time to step back and reflect.

Most programs teach you to manage complexity. They don't give you the capacity to lead from within it – with clarity, integrity, and the confidence to make positive impact that outlasts your term.

Voices from the Field

City leaders who know what you are experiencing.

Mathias Müller
Mathias Müller City President · Lichtensteig (Switzerland)
GMA Advisor & Faculty,
Speaker at GMA Swiss Leadership Camp
"
We want to bring people together, moderate and motivate. In the end, it's about self-realization, about implementing your ideas and making a difference.
Dr. Marilyn Hamilton
Dr. Marilyn Hamilton GMA City Development Project · Findhorn, Scotland
Integral City Design Expert
"
We must stop looking at the city as a machine and start seeing it as a living system that breathes, consumes energy and has its own intelligence.
Alec von Graffenried
Alec von Graffenried Mayor of Bern in 2017-2024 · Switzerland
GMA Advisor & Faculty,
Speaker at GMA Swiss Leadership Camp
"
Switzerland has 4 languages, many cultures. People from 160 nations live in Bern... They make Bern great, again and again, every single day

Founding Cohort · 2026

The leaders who join now are not simply enrolling in a program — they are co-founding a global movement.

Their names will be part of this initiative’s history. Their experience will shape every future iteration of this program.

The founding-cohort rate isn’t a discount. It’s recognition of the role you take on by entering first.

1

A Living City Lab

Become the benchmark.

2

Extended Faculty Advisory Access

To implement your WowYourCity projects.

3

Priority pathway to the master’s degree

In 2026 the GMA is launching the world’s first integral master’s degrees in city transformation. Founding cohort graduates carry priority standing into that pathway — as the first generation prepared to enter it.

4

A voice in the methodology itself

Founding participants don’t just complete the program — they help shape it. Your city case, your feedback, your lived practice become part of the living methodology that future cohorts will inherit.

Reserve Your Place
£6,000 Founding Cohort · 25 July 2026

Activate the foundations of a thriving city while you learn.

By the time you graduate, the journey
toward a thriving city will already be in motion.

Co-Create Your City's Integrated Development Plan

A practical, whole-system roadmap co-designed with your stakeholders to guide your city's transformation into a thriving, regenerative ecosystem.

Ignite a City-Wide Movement for Thriving Futures

Host a powerful, participatory event that brings citizens, leaders, and innovators together to activate a shared vision and collective action.

Empower the Next Generation of City Leaders

Activate a Future Leaders pathway that equips young people with the skills, mindset, and opportunities to co-create the future of their city.

Design a Regenerative Local Economy

Reimagine your city's economic system to align prosperity with wellbeing, sustainability, and long-term resilience for people and planet.

Unlock Investment for Transformational Projects

Position your city to attract aligned funding and partnerships by becoming investment-ready for regenerative, future-focused development.

Build a Living Learning Ecosystem for Your City

Create an ongoing, intergenerational learning environment that enables citizens, institutions, and organizations to continuously evolve together.

The Program

Real Results
for Your City.

This is not just a learning experience — it’s a practical implementation program. Each step builds on the last — from developing your inner leadership to applying proven tools for city transformation. You learn, practice, and implement simultaneously. By the end of the program, measurable impact is already unfolding in your city.

Full curriculum

Over seven months, you will

  • Develop your leadership capacity
  • Apply proven tools and frameworks
  • Launch real initiatives in your city

By the end of the program, you will have

  • A clear strategic direction
  • Active projects underway
  • A stronger network of aligned stakeholders
  • And visible, measurable progress

Step 1 · Orientation

Set Your Direction. Define Your Impact.

Welcome & Orientation — Entering the Journey Together: Context, Connection & Clarity

Curated by GMA Curriculum Development Team

Step 2 · Personal Leadership

Strengthen the Leader Driving the Change.

Empowering You as a Leader — Deepening Your Personal Development and Authentic Leadership

Curated by Dr. Paddy Pampallis

Step 3 · Systems and Change

Identify High-Impact Leverage Points for Real City Transformation.

Developing Your Leadership Capacities for Transformational Impact — Taking a Systems Approach & Learning from Transformative Practices Around the World

Curated by Dr. Anneloes Smitsman

Step 4 · Collaboration

Mobilize the People Who Make Change Happen.

Helping You Engage Your City & Build Alignment — Building Collaborative Capacity and Inclusive Leadership

Curated by Nathaniel Whitestone

Step 5 · Global Positioning

Unlock Funding, Partnerships, and Global Opportunity.

Position Your City for Global Relevance — Connecting Local Action with Global Impact

Curated by Dr. Pavel Luksha

Step 6 · Integration

Turn Progress into a Scalable Strategy.

Harvesting & Planning for the Future — Integrating Your Learning and Shaping What Comes Next

Curated by GMA Curriculum Development Team

Step 7 · In-Person Graduation

Step into a Global Network and Continue the Work.

An Immersive Experience & Graduation — Completing the Journey, Celebrating Progress, Continuing the Work.

At the end of the structured learning of the program, every cohort gathers online or in person — to reflect, celebrate, and cross the threshold together. One shared commitment to what cities can become. For those who can meet in-person, two destinations await.

The in-person immersion is an optional add-on — not included in the £6,000 program fee. The online graduation is included for every participant.

Cross the threshold from structured learning into ongoing leadership and impact.

In this immersion, you will

  • Celebrate your progress alongside a global cohort of city leaders
  • Deepen cross-cultural relationships and international networks
  • Experience real-world innovation in different city contexts
  • Strengthen your sense of global connection and shared purpose

In practice, you will

  • Share your work, insights, and progress with peers and faculty
  • Explore real-world examples of thriving city initiatives
  • Identify pathways for continued collaboration and support
Outcome

A strong global network, renewed clarity, and ongoing support to continue your city transformation journey well beyond the formal program itself.

Curated by GMA Events and Curriculum Teams

Global North

Switzerland

Geneva · Lausanne · Bern · Zurich · Lichtensteig

Five days across Switzerland, journeying through cities and towns that offer living examples of civic innovation, regenerative development, participatory governance, and community transformation — surrounded by some of Europe's most breathtaking natural and cultural landscapes.

Along the way, you will experience place-based learning with civic leaders, changemakers, and local initiatives — including the historic town of Lichtensteig, where the mayor and city leaders will host the graduation event and share how their town became one of Europe's most inspiring examples of small-city transformation and community-led renewal.

  • Experience inspiring examples of civic innovation, regenerative leadership, and community transformation across some of Switzerland's most beautiful and thoughtfully governed cities and towns
  • Engage in place-based learning, reflection, and dialogue with mayors, civic leaders, changemakers, and your international cohort as you journey together
  • Celebrate your graduation and transition into the wider global alumni community committed to creating thriving futures
Switzerland — Lichtensteig

Global South

South Africa

Cape Town · Paternoster · Cape Winelands · Robertson · McGregor

Five days across the Western Cape region of South Africa, journeying through landscapes, towns, and communities shaped by deep histories of resilience, diversity, ecological relationship, and transformation — within one of the most naturally beautiful and culturally complex regions in the world.

Along the way, you will walk in landscapes connected to humanity's earliest origins, learning from the enduring wisdom, resilience, and deep ecological relationship of the Khoi and San peoples — among the oldest continuous cultures on Earth — while engaging with local changemakers, regenerative initiatives, and community-led transformation efforts across the region.

  • Experience the beauty, diversity, resilience, and regenerative potential of the Western Cape through immersive place-based learning and cultural engagement
  • Engage with local changemakers, community initiatives, wisdom-keepers, and your global cohort through dialogue, reflection, and shared learning
  • Celebrate your graduation and transition into the wider global alumni community working toward cities and communities where life can increasingly flourish
South Africa
Live Workshops Bi-weekly · 4 hrs
Peer Groups 4-6 people · Bi-weekly
1:1 Coaching 2 sessions / program
Project Work Expert guidance · Self-directed
+ Peer support
Time Commitment 5-6 hrs / week

Our Faculty

People who have
practiced what
they teach.

Our global faculty brings together current and former mayors, urban developers,
and leading thinkers from across disciplines — not only academics who study cities,
but practitioners actively transforming them.

Dr. Paddy PampallisPP

Dr. Paddy Pampallis

Consciousness Evolution & Leadership Maturity · Cape Town, South Africa

"How consciousness shapes decisions that shape cities"

Dr. Marilyn HamiltonMH

Dr. Marilyn Hamilton

Whole-City Intelligence & Urban Resilience · Findhorn, Scotland

"How cities think, learn, and evolve as living systems"

Dr. Pavel LukshaPL

Dr. Pavel Luksha

Future Literacies & Urban Strategy · Amersfoort, Netherlands

"How futures thinking shapes the cities that will shape the world"

Dr. Anneloes SmitsmanAS

Dr. Anneloes Smitsman

Collective Intelligence & Systems Transformation · Mauritius

"How human & artificial intelligence align to shape our collective future"

Joseph RathinamJR

Joseph Rathinam

Relational Leadership & Distributed Democracy · Chennai, India

"Neighbourocracy — the foundation of distributed democracy"

Ferial Puren

Ferial Puren

Transformative Learning & Whole Systems Evolution · Dalgety Bay, Scotland

"Cultivating the response-ability to lead in service of life"

Lev GordonLG

Lev Gordon

Visionary Leadership & Strategic Development · Seattle, USA

"Inspiring leaders to co-create cities where life thrives"

Mathias MüllerMM

Mathias Müller

Civic Leadership & Participatory City Transformation · Lichtensteig, Switzerland

"Proving what is possible when a city aligns with life"

Alec von GraffenriedAG

Alec von Graffenried

Urban Governance & Responsible Leadership · Bern, Switzerland

"Responsible and responsive leadership in service of the city"

Dr. Darrell GoodenDG

Dr. Darrell Gooden

Organisational Transformation & Relational Leadership · Los Angeles, USA

"Aligning organisational dynamics with the thrivability of cities"

Nathaniel WhitestoneNW

Nathaniel Whitestone

Distributed Governance & Collaborative Leadership · Hastings, England

"Cultivating healthy power to enable cities to thrive"

Dr. Alexander LaszloAL

Dr. Alexander Laszlo

Living Systems & Evolutionary Design · Buenos Aires, Argentina

"Designing for thrivability in a living world"

Comfort LebeseCL

Comfort Lebese

Built Environment & Social Impact Design · Johannesburg, South Africa

"Designing built environments for the thrivability of cities"

Shanaaz MajietSM

Shanaaz Majiet

Elective Topic Designer · Faculty Contributor · Pretoria, South Africa

"Developing the leadership capacities for next-generation city leadership"

Anne-Marie VoorhoeveAV

Anne-Marie Voorhoeve

Meshworking & Systemic Coherence · Amsterdam, Netherlands

"Weaving connections to enable systems to come alive"

50 faculty members across 4 continents — all active practitioners

Meet the full faculty  →

Your Qualification

A qualification that carries
weight beyond graduation.

The Swiss Professional Certificate in Regenerative City Leadership is a document you can present to citizens, councils, and partners — not just keep in a drawer. It names what you learned and what you committed to.

GAC — Global Accreditation Council ✓ Confirmed

How GMA is Different

Built for the cities that other programs overlook.

Traditional Programs
from leading global institutions		 GMA City Leaders Program
City focusMegacities and corporationsSmall to mid-sized cities and towns
Cost£10,000–35,000£6,000
ApproachTheory + case studiesApplied learning with real-time city implementation
Starting pointPolicy and strategyLeadership development before frameworks.
OutcomeCertificateCertificate + measurable real-world results.
FormatResidential, 1–3 weeksFlexible format integrated with your existing leadership responsibilities.
NetworkGlobal corporate leadersGlobal peer network of mayors and city leaders.

Upcoming Events

Meet us, live.

Live conversations, cohort gatherings, and graduation immersions — direct windows into how GMA works in practice.

GMA Live Event

7 May 2026  ·  Online · 90 min

Ambassador Activation Event

A live conversation with Ferial Puren and the GMA leadership team — for the leaders bringing the program to the world.

View event  → GMA Live Event

14 May 2026  ·  Online · Free · 4:00 PM UTC

Can complexity be managed?

A live conversation with Dr. Paddy Pampallis and Shanaaz Majiet on how consciousness shapes decisions that shape cities.

View event  → Graduation Event

2027  ·  Switzerland

Swiss Graduation Immersion

Five days across Geneva, Bern, Zurich and Lichtensteig — the closing immersion for the cohort.

View event  → Graduation Event

2027  ·  South Africa

South Africa Graduation Immersion

A multi-day journey through Cape Town and the Western Cape — graduation in Kirstenbosch Gardens.

View event  →
See all events  →

Choose how you want
to explore this.

Three doors. No pressure. All paths lead to the same place.

Ready to join

Reserve your place in the founding cohort

Secure your place before the cohort closes — the earliest opportunity to join the City Leaders Program.

£6,000

Founding Cohort · 25 July 2026

Apply Now  →
Want to explore

Speak with a program advisor

A 30-minute conversation to understand whether this program fits your situation, your city, and your goals. No obligation, no sales pressure.

Schedule a Call  →
Need council approval

Download the investment brief

A two-page document for your council or funding committee — with ROI framework, accreditation details, and cost comparison.

Download PDF  →

"The cities of the future are being shaped now.
The question is what kind of leaders will shape them?"