From October 6 to 8, the IFRC Solferino Academy brought together humanitarian leaders from across Latin America and the Caribbean for a Leadership Bootcamp held in the heart of Panama’s rainforest. The immersive experience was designed to strengthen adaptive leadership and cultivate new ways of thinking and acting in the face of growing complexity and uncertainty.

The rainforest served not only as a setting, but as a living metaphor for leadership. Surrounded by its interconnected ecosystems, participants explored what it means to lead with agility, resilience, and foresight in environments defined by constant change. Guided reflections and interactive dialogues encouraged leaders to draw inspiration from nature’s capacity to adapt, regenerate, and thrive amid disruption.

Over three days, participants shared leadership stories from their National Societies, explored real dilemmas faced in humanitarian work, and co-created strategies to navigate transformation collectively. Through experiential learning, systems thinking, and peer exchange, they examined how to balance immediate response with long-term change, prevent burnout while nurturing resilience, and move from incremental improvements to systemic innovation.

“Our intent is to help leaders become systems thinkers—able to sense, respond, and shape change across many levels simultaneously,” said Gintare Guzevicuite, Leadership Lead at the IFRC Solferino Academy.

Read our Report on Humanitarian Leadership for the Future

“Here, immersed in the rainforest, participants experienced leadership as an evolving practice rooted in connection and shared purpose.”

Throughout the Bootcamp, leaders experimented with adaptive approaches such as safe-to-fail learning and collaborative foresight. By drawing lessons from the rainforest’s interdependence, they explored how humanitarian leadership can remain grounded in solidarity while embracing uncertainty and experimentation.

The Bootcamp concluded with a shared commitment among participants to continue collaborating beyond borders, advancing new leadership practices across the Americas, and strengthening National Societies’ capacity for sustainable humanitarian impact.The Leadership Bootcamp in Panama forms part of the IFRC Solferino Academy’s ongoing work to reimagine leadership and transformation across the IFRC network—supporting leaders to navigate the challenges of today and shape the humanitarian systems of tomorrow.

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