Why the most impactful leadership tool is presence, according to Her Royal Highness Princess Sylvia Sisowath of Cambodia

Duan arrived at a similar conclusion through her own international work. Through forums such as Davos, UN Commission on the Status of Women meetings and climate conferences, she saw how often the people with the deepest local insight were furthest from the rooms where decisions were made.

“Many representatives spoke in their local languages, and I needed translation support,” she recalls. “Communication wasn’t easy, but every time someone heard me—and I heard them—I felt the profound value of being included in global dialogue.”

“These experiences shaped my mission. I no longer want to be just an observer.”

Her response was to build a platform that could help close it; GFPIA was thus created to connect changemakers, encourage shared learning and support collaboration across borders and sectors. Its purpose is practical as much as principled: to help good ideas travel further and work better in real contexts.

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In today’s age of rapid technological advancement, both women are clear that technology has value to their work, but only when it supports human relationships rather than replacing them.

“Technology can be powerful,” Princess Sylvia explains, “but only if it meets actual needs and is used in real contexts.” She stresses that no tool can replace a well-trained teacher, a committed educator, or an adult who invests time and care in a child’s development. Technology matters most when it strengthens the people already doing the work.

Duan makes the same point from the perspective of her climate and ocean work. In her view, technologies such as AI, remote sensing and digital tools can improve restoration and conservation efforts, but only when paired with clear ethical principles and active community participation. “Without ethics and values, rapid technological advancement risks weakening human connection,” she states. Technology is an amplifier, not a substitute for human judgment, relationships or responsibility.

This is a critique that cuts against the grain of how technology is usually discussed in global forums—where speed, scale and disruption are treated as virtues in themselves. Both women are articulating something different: that the measure of any technology is not what it can do, but what it does to human relationships in practice.

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When asked about legacy, both women say it is not something static, nor a monument or an inherited label. Instead, legacy should be a habit of action. “Legacy isn't something you own. To me, it's a practice—something lived and renewed every day,” says Princess Sylvia. Putting legacy into practice means being present in Cambodia and staying engaged with work that creates meaningful encounters between children, families and communities.

“Asia is stepping into a new era of influence, I hope it will be remembered not only for its economic growth but for its care and attention to its own communities,” she shares. 

What emerges from both women’s work is not a theory of leadership in the abstract, but a lived discipline. Their example suggests that the most effective leaders are those who stay close to reality, design for human connection, and treat impact as something built through repeated, grounded action.

1. The greater the gap between decision-makers and reality, the greater the risk of distortion.
2. Use technology as an amplifier, not a replacement. Tools are most effective when they strengthen human systems.
3. Being available, observant and consistent matters more than remote authority.
4. Design for encounter, not just outcome. Real change often begins in relationships, not transactions.
5. Treat legacy as a practice. What endures is the accumulation of principled choices made over time.

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