Former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, is taking on new roles at the prestigious Harvard University.
The former country leader announced she was joining the Ivy league institution for three fellowships via her Instagram page on Tuesday.
A press release by the Harvard Kennedy School revealed that Arden “has been appointed to dual fellowships at Harvard Kennedy School—as 2023 Angelopoulos Global Public Leaders Fellow and as a Hauser Leader in the School’s Center for Public Leadership.”
The Angelopoulos Global Public Leaders Fellowship grants former world leaders who are transitioning from public service an opportunity to reside on the school’s campus. Similarly, the Hauser Leader Programme employs high-profile leaders each semester “to engage with students and faculty on building skills in principled leadership”.
Concurrently, the former Prime Minister will also serve as a fellow at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society based in the University’s Law school
“The Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University is thrilled to announce Jacinda Ardern as its first Knight Tech Governance Leadership Fellow. Ardern served as the 40th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 2017 to 2023,” a statement by the Center read.
Expressing her excitement, Arden stated that she was “incredibly humbled” by the opportunity.
“Harvard has been a really important partner in the Christchurch Call work, and my semester there later this year will also be an opportunity to take up the first tech governance leadership fellowship at the Berkman Klein Center.
“Not only will this be a chance to work collaboratively with the centre’s research community, but also work on the challenges around the growth of generative Al tools.
“I’ll also be sharing my experiences through speaking both here and abroad, while also taking time over the next year to learn too. While I’ll be gone for a semester (helpfully the one that falls during the NZ general election!) I’ll be coming back at the end of the fellowships. After all, New Zealand is home!,” she wrote.
The Christchurch Call is a community of over 120 governments, online service providers, and civil society organisations collaborating “to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online”.
It was established under Arden’s administration in 2019 after a tragic terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. The shooting which was live-streamed via Facebook by the terrorist, led to the death of 51 worshippers.
Arden, who announced her resignation as Prime Minister in January, was recently appointed as a Special Envoy for Christchurch Call by her successor, Chris Hipkins.
At the Berkman Klein Center, Ardern will continue to “further the mission of the Christchurch Call in collaboration with the Center’s vibrant, collaborative research community of multi-disciplinary scholars and practitioners.”
