#LE26 Digital Engagement Overview

Click this link to view a flipbook overview of our Leadership Exchange 2026 digital activity.

GLE’s Leadership Exchange 2026 generated an extraordinary level of online engagement, extending the impact of the Ottawa event well beyond the plenary and in-country networking.

Throughout and following the event, delegates from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and many other countries shared their experiences through personal reflections, organisational updates, photographs and videos. Senior government leaders, chief executives, clinicians, researchers, academics, policy makers, people with lived experience and community organisations all shared reflections and contributed to a vibrant conversation.

The digital engagement reveals far more than positive feedback. It provides compelling evidence of a community actively exchanging ideas, forming international partnerships and committing to future collaboration.

We are pleased to publish our storybook to showcase the breadth and diversity of the activity.

The strongest themes emerging from delegate engagement were:

Ideas into Action

• Moving beyond discussion towards practical implementation.
• Sharing evidence, innovation and solutions that can be adapted internationally.

Global Collaboration

• Strong appreciation for learning across countries, systems and cultures.
• Recognition that many of the world’s challenges are shared, regardless of geography.

Relationships and Community

• Building trusted international networks.
• Reconnecting with colleagues while creating hundreds of new professional relationships.
• Creating a genuine sense of belonging within the GLE community.

Lived Experience at the Centre

• Consistent recognition of the importance of lived and living experience in leadership, policy, research and service design.
• Strong appreciation for co-production and inclusive leadership.

Cross-sector Leadership

• Mental health, disability, substance use, suicide prevention, veterans’ wellbeing, indigenous health, workplace wellbeing and community inclusion were discussed as interconnected challenges requiring joined-up solutions.

Inclusive Leadership

• Delegates repeatedly celebrated the diversity of voices represented, including Indigenous leadership, women leaders, disabled leaders, young leaders and people with lived experience.
• Inclusion was recognised not simply as a value, but as a leadership practice.

Learning Through Storytelling

• Many participants highlighted the impact of courageous conversations, personal stories and opportunities to reflect together.
• Knowledge exchange was viewed as being as valuable as formal presentations.

Hope, Optimism and Collective Purpose

• Perhaps the most striking feature of the online conversation was its optimism.
• Delegates consistently described leaving inspired, energised and hopeful about the opportunities for future collaboration.