The first World Young Leaders Forum took place on the island of Kaua'i / Hawai'i. The BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt brought together fifty-six young leaders from Europe, China, India, Russia, and the United States. The aim was to provide the participants from the fields of business, politics, media and academia with an opportunity to exchange views and opinions and to build an international network.

On three conference days, the forum's topic - "Identity and Trust in Transnational Relations" - was explored from three different perspectives.

"How do we build up trust vis-à-vis someone else and how do we establish friendship?" was the core question of the first day. André Kuipers, a Dutch astronaut and a member of the 2004 Russian Soyuz mission to the International Space Station, illustrated his talk about his experiences in an international team with breathtaking slides. For him, learning the language and the culture of your team mates is essential. Having a common objective encourages people to build trust.

The rest of the day was devoted to such common objectives: Participants were divided into five teams and challenged to engage in a variety of outdoor teambuilding activities around the topics of identity and trust. The ensuing BBQ party at an old sugar mill offered a great opportunity for more networking.

The next day was dedicated to "Identity and trust in politics - Does identity help build up trust?" Sabra Kauka, a native Hawaiian Kahuna, introduced the group to traditional Hawaiian ways of conflict resolution. Jürgen Chrobog, State Secretary of the German Federal Foreign Office, pointed out that knowing who your negotiating partner is and what he/she stands for is crucial to building up trust. According to Chrobog, any hidden agenda would undermine trust. Looking back on many years in international diplomacy, he illustrated his point by telling the story of how he negotiated the release of thirty-two tourists in Mali who had been held hostage by Algerian militants.

After a lively discussion about how to build up trust in international politics, the participants were challenged to practice their intercultural skills in a role play. Specific rules of conduct had to be decoded. But even then, individual and cultural differences were hard to deal with and provoked confusion and debate. In the evening, however, cultural differences took a backseat as United States Congressman Ed Case invited all attendees to a traditional Hawaiian Lu'au featuring a hula show.

On the last conference day, the discussions focused on how companies gain the trust of new business partners, customers and employees and on the question of whether there are different approaches resulting from different cultural backgrounds. According to Stan Shih, founder of Acer Computers, business culture is universal because all enterprises strive to achieve their goals and mission through cooperation. But he made clear that in business, too, it's human relationships that create or destroy trust. Different cultural backgrounds require different communication methods. If you try to put yourself in the other person's shoes, you will earn the other person's trust. The session concluded with a breakout group session. Participants intensified their discussions on certain issues in six breakout groups moderated by experts in the field.

Before the concluding dinner, the conference participants gathered again in their outdoor teams. Their last challenge consisted in producing a ten-minute stage play on the conference topic, with each performance drawing great applause by the other participants. The conference culminated in a lively dinner party.