The Leading Australian Resilient Communities (LARC) program, a 12-month program focusing on building leadership skills through a local lens.
The program - a collaboration between the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation (ARLF), the Regional Australia Institute (RAI) and leadership partners (Leadership Victoria, Leadership WA, Leaders Institute of SA and Tasmanian Leaders) - has equipped the 200 participants with the knowledge, skills and resources necessary to navigate and grow in the face of challenges and uncertainties in their communities.
LARC brought together diverse communities across Australia to build resilience and strengthen their capacity to respond and recover from crises. By providing practical tools, expert guidance and a collaborative environment, the program has helped participants feel empowered to enhance their community’s resilience and foster sustainable growth.
LARC is delivered as part of the Australian Government’s $5 million Building Resilient Regional Leaders Initiative (Pilot) commitment.
When Rohan Prowse moved to Geraldton WA in 2019, it was for a six-month research project. He was tasked with looking into the lack of homelessness services in the Midwest region. But when the launch of his paper rolled around in March 2020, Rohan (like the rest of the world) had to make other plans. And he discovered a new vocation—addressing the scourge of fatherlessness in his adopted community.
Ellen Nightingale says ‘yes, I was a nurse when I was younger,’ with the weariness of someone who has been responding to predictable questions about her name for a very long time. As it turns out, nursing isn’t the only thing Ellen has in common with Florence Nightingale. Both women believe in the power of building trust and having a community presence—and they both love a bit of data analysis.
When Tracey Rathbone is describing her family’s move to Western Australia, it’s hard not to conjure mental images of the settling of America’s wild west. Setting off from eastern Victoria in a convoy of caravans and vehicles filled with her parents, four brothers, grandparents, uncle, cats, dogs and birds, they picnicked on the Nullarbor and dreamed of a new start. Pausing in Kalgoorie long enough for her grandparents to buy a house, Tracey’s family eventually settled in Coolgardie- a small township of 850 people, about 550km east of Perth.
Lori-Ann Shibish’s work as a community engagement practitioner means that she has seen the way forced change can affect cohesion when imposed without good leadership and genuine consultation. Originally from Canada, Lori-Ann now calls the coastal Western Australian town of Esperance her home.
Tragedy has marked Dean Sutton’s leadership journey, but failed to derail his commitment to his community, serving instead to underline the importance of its resilience. Dean spent his early life in Traralgon, in the Gippsland region of Victoria. At 26-years-of -age he set off to London for adventure. He describes his two years of work in the “multi-cultural, churning” city as an “eyeopener” which revealed the work/life balance Australia offered.
Former cardio thoracic nurse Christine Boucher is focused on her community’s holistic wellbeing, determined to keep as many people as possible out of hospital beds like those she used to work around. Her goal has been boosted by involvement in the Leading Australian Resilient Communities (LARC) program and work with a group on the Be Well Gippsland project.
Stafford Ives-Heres farms in the North-West of Tasmania, in a ruggedly scenic area fringed by the deep blue, cool clear waters of the Bass Strait. Surrounded by inspiring natural landscapes, he lives within a community of people he describes as “wonderful.”
Fossil Bluff beach is at one end of Jacqueline de Jonge’s Wynyard street, and at the other the Inglis River flows, wandering from the Campbell Ranges before ending its journey in the Bass Strait. It is no wonder she describes her home as “a most beautiful place”, one that is a far cry from Sydney, where she grew up and attended university.
When Sal Allen left the Gold Coast and pointed her car in the direction of South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula, she was ready to start a new life. The former independent school Business Manager had accepted a new position as Marketing and Volunteer Manager for Care in Motion. But what she didn’t realise was she was stepping into an entirely new culture.
LARC is delivered as part of the Australian Government’s Building Resilient Regional Leaders Initiative (Pilot) grant. It responds to the need for leadership development in regional Australian communities to create more equitable experiences of social and economic wellbeing. The program connects community leaders from across the country and develops more of local from all backgrounds of regional Australian communities. The networks and initiatives ought to have long-term positive impact for your region and all of regional Australia
Your participation is covered by a scholarship provided by the collaborating organisations. You will only need to fund travel to and from program venues. LARC is delivered as part of the Australian Government’s Building Resilient Regional Leaders Initiative (Pilot) grant.