Lessons from CLP Extend, Doha
In late 2025, 28 senior humanitarian leaders from 18 countries gathered in Doha, Qatar for CLP Extend — five days of learning, reflection and knowledge exchange. We spoke with participants and facilitators about what brought them there, what they learned, and what they’re taking home.
Leadership can be a lonely place, but not with CLP Extend
Daniela Montesinos Cuadros, Regional Emergency Response Manager at Plan International, found herself reflecting on the isolating and sometimes-solitary nature of humanitarian leadership during her time in Doha with 26 other senior leaders from across the globe.
“The leader’s job or title can be a really lonely one,” she says. “But being in this space with other leaders who understand your own experiences – that makes it really heartwarming.”
This is CLP Extend, where warmth, shared experience and humanity break down borders.
Bringing frontline leaders to the forefront
The cohort that gathered in Doha in late 2025 represented eighteen countries and an extraordinary breadth of experiences: from Sudan to Pakistan, Syria to Latin America, the Gulf States to Southeast Asia. They came as deputy CEOs, directors of programs, international relations specialists, policy advocates. They came, in other words, as people who don’t usually get to stop.
For Hourie Tafech, Director for Refugee Leadership and Partnerships, Refugees International, that breadth was itself the curriculum. “Having such a group of diverse members in the same room (mostly local leaders who are at the frontlines of their communities), I felt it was of the utmost importance to be there with them,” she says. “They all have different techniques, different tactics. It’s all based on the context they’re operating in, and there’s a great deal to learn from the group.”
Farouq Habib, Group Deputy General Manager, The White Helmets, was struck by something he hadn’t expected: how much common ground emerged across such different contexts.
“It surprised me how many similarities we identified across our work, from South Asia to Africa to the MENA region to Asia. And at the same time, I learned a great deal of new information and new approaches.”
Beyond the theory
CLP Extend is not conventional training. Participants were clear on this. Mustafa Manla, Director of Programmes, GOAL Global Syria, put it directly: “It’s not really like the normal way of giving courses to participants at director level. It’s more dialogue-based. We got the theory, but what surprised me was that we were able to reflect that theory into scenarios, group work, different perspectives. It went beyond the theory into more applicable ways.”
That dialogue-based design (co-learning rather than instruction) produced some of the week’s most significant moments. For Adnan Merie, International Programs Manager at Baitulmaal, it crystallised into a single concept he is carrying back into his work: “One of the key things I learned here is to create a brave space (for myself, my colleagues, and the people I work with) in order to be more fruitful and impactful towards the people we work for.”
The idea of brave space — distinct from safe space and demanding something more active — surfaced again and again across the conversations. Fatima Abdeen, International Relations Specialist at QRCS, described the trust that formed between strangers within days.
“Even though this was our first time meeting each other, we trusted each other enough to have a zone where we could speak without fear and learn from each other’s experience.”
The human side of leadership
Many participants found that CLP Extend gave them permission to be uncertain and vulnerable, and to admit that leadership, even at the most senior levels, is a continuous process of learning rather than a destination.
Khadija Khan, Acting/ Deputy CEO of Tameer e Khalaq Foundation, spoke about the particular significance of that permission for women in leadership roles in her context. “Genuine leaders are rare,” she says. “This is a very good opportunity to polish yourself, to groom yourself as an emerging leader, and to accept and embrace your vulnerabilities, identify your boundaries, and work around them.”
For Fatima Abdeen, from Qatar Red Crescent Society, the insight was about the nature of leadership itself.
“Leadership is like an art. It’s not one plus one equals two. It’s a combination of creativity and innovation. A leader has to be flexible enough to adapt in times of crisis — and each crisis is different. It’s not one fix for all.”
Solafa Aied, a community leader and project manager with a local NGO from Sudan, left with something specific: “The concept of psychological safety is what I want to take home with me.” For Mustafa Manla, it was the same — and he connected it directly to his responsibility as a leader. “If I’m in a good position psychologically, I’ll be able to provide that psychological safety to my team and the people I work with.”
A circle of experience
CLP Extend Facilitator and Head of International Relations and IHL General Secretariat QRCS, Aiham Alsukhni, completed the CLP several years ago and has since become part of the team that delivers it.
“I have participated in this program a few years ago and now I am facilitating it,” he says.
“It’s a beautiful circle of experience. I enjoy seeing the program from different perspectives; working with participants on their journey of learning.”
His definition of leadership is simple and quietly radical: “Leadership is a relationship of trust. It’s built by helping team members. It grows by clear vision, flexibility, and commitment to principles. The most important thing is that this program treats leadership as a human process. It helps people understand that strength is not the opposite of vulnerability. Both are needed.”
As Hourie Tafech puts it: “As a leader, you will always have to learn. There is no one who knows it all. And it’s a process, your leadership journey.”
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Watch all the video highlights from the Doha cohort: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCja6sEz3ZfVOU8F6HW7k4R8_J2QVgT2W
Applications for upcoming Crisis Leadership Program cohorts: https://www.centreforhumanitarianleadership.org/education/courses/short-courses/crisis-leadership-program/
CLP Extend in Doha was delivered by the Centre for Humanitarian Leadership in partnership with the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies.
