Williamson Community Leadership Program participant Dayna Seymour, Kaiela Institute executive assistantFelicia Robinson, Uncle Paul Briggs and Fairley Leadership Program participant Keneisha Howell.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
From the city to the country, a Melbourne-based leadership program made its way to the Goulburn Valley in the past week to learn about leadership in regional communities.
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Leadership Victoria’s Williamson Community Leadership Program is a 10-month immersive program which, close to 30 years ago, inspired the Goulburn Murray Community Leadership’s own Fairley Leadership Program.
The program, made up of experienced leaders in business, government, not-for-profit, academia and philanthropy, travelled through the Goulburn Valley from Wednesday, May 14 to Friday, May 16 to learn more about the region.
Leadership Victoria chief executive Katherine Ellis said exposing the program participants to regional communities helped shape the way participants saw and practised leadership.
“It really opens their eyes up to how much is going on in regional communities, and particularly, how much leaders in regional communities have on their shoulders,” she said.
“A leader in a regional community is usually wearing four or five hats because they're not just the CEO of the hospital, they’re also on the board of the footy club and helping out with the local community, fundraising etc.
“Victoria is a pretty metro-centric state and so actually opening up our leader’s eyes to what is going on in regional areas is a really important part of the program.”
Williamson Community Leadership Program chief executive Katherine Ellis and participant Nicola Raudys.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
The three days consisted of three topics: arriving in the immersive, which looked at the arts, culture and the Goulburn Valley as a whole; the future of the region, which focused on agriculture and business initiatives; and leadership for community and Country, focusing on understanding Country and helping the region’s First Nations people thrive.
In the latter session, participants were also joined by Fairley Leadership Program participants and Yorta Yorta leader Uncle Paul Briggs.
Uncle Paul Briggs talked to leadership participants about the Goulburn Murray Regional Prosperity Plan as part of the three-day immersive trip.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
He talked to participants about the Goulburn Murray Regional Prosperity Plan and how they could implement change and support First Nations communities through the plan.
“We’ve worked pretty hard here to establish the regional prosperity plan, and a number of Goulburn Murray organisations identify themselves as playing champions within that,” he said.
“It’s asking how can we improve the quality of life of the region, but inclusive of improving the quality of life of First Nations or Yorta Yorta peoples.
“Today was to keep building partnerships and relationships and putting the question to Leadership Victoria as to how they can continue to support the region and to support the regional prosperity plan.”
Nicola Raudys, who is four months into the program, said this session was the one she had taken the most out of so far.
“I have a personal passion and interest in the First Nations communities, and wanting to learn more and understanding more and understand what I can do to ... enable, empower and be an ally of First Nations communities,” she said.
“It’s been a very valuable opportunity to, as someone from Melbourne, come into a regional area and learn more about Shepparton and the Goulburn Valley and understand some of the different factors to think about in regional areas.”
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