ZITTEL B., EZZEDDINE S.H., MAKATJANE M., GRAHAM I., LUANGAMORNLERT S. & PEMO T. (2011) Divergence and convergence in nursing and health care among six countries participating in ICN's 2010 Global Nursing Leadership Institute. International Nursing Review59, 48–54 In 2009 the International Council of Nursing (ICN) launched, with support from Pfizer External Medical Affairs, a Global Nursing Leadership Institute (GNLI) which was again repeated in the fall of 2010. The programme, provided in English, at a location near ICN headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, provided the opportunity for senior and executive level nursing leaders throughout the world to acquire new knowledge and skills about national and global leadership within a supportive and stimulating learning environment. Once selected for participation, GNLI members are requested to complete a country profile – a two to three page précis providing information regarding health and nursing specific to their respective country encompassing the following: the country's health system and how it is funded; identification of current or proposed changes in the health system; national demographic data such as population, gross national income, average life expectancy, number of nurses and physicians, and the top three causes of deaths; and key issues facing the health system and nursing in the country. On arrival at the Institute, participants were divided into leadership development teams, small groups of six persons each, which met throughout the week to discuss the ways in which health challenges and nursing in their respective countries both converged and diverged. Shared insights learned are presented from one such 2010 GNLI team representing nursing leaders from the countries of Australia, Bhutan, Lebanon, Lesotho, Thailand and the USA. A comparative analysis of the health profiles of their respective countries is also provided.