LEADERSHIP BEGINS IN COMMUNITIES
Citizen leaders are the backbone of resilient societies. They foster agency, strengthen trust, and create the conditions for communities to thrive.
Communities today face deep challenges — poverty, housing shortages, racism, family violence, climate disasters, and mental ill-health. These problems are interconnected and exceed the capacity of any single authority. Citizen leaders bring lived experience and informal influence that can cut through silos and drive collaboration.
Why It Matters:
- Engaged citizens are essential to building robust democracies.
- Community resilience reduces fragility to shocks and crises.
- Leadership at the local level restores trust and strengthens cohesion.
What We Do:
The Foundation seeds partnerships and incubates initiatives that:
- Equip citizens with the skills and confidence to act collectively.
- Co-design new forms of governance that prioritise accountability to communities.
- Create sustainable financial and cultural platforms for community-led change.
Projects
Reimagining
a Civil
Australia
Reimagining a more civil Australia with a unifying narrative about race and diversity and a national platform for action that helps all Australians engage constructively across differences and strengthen their communities’ resilience.
Strengthening Community Leadership in Victoria
Building citizen leadership across Victoria to strengthen community resilience, connect local leadership programs, and support collective action on complex social challenges.
Tasmanian Community Leadership Movement
Strengthening Tasmania’s community-led leadership movement, connecting people, organisations, and regions. Building a shared vision that supports truth-telling and inclusion, and empowers local leaders to create systems that work for all Tasmanians.
New Urban Governance for Resilient Communities
Reimagining how citizens, communities, and institutions collaborate to strengthen democracy and social cohesion, helping build more connected, empowered, and resilient communities across Greater Melbourne.
Knowledge in Action
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