Leadership vision impacts young lives
Monday, 18 June 2007

Adrian with the 2006 youth leaders in Cairns

Nurturing leadership has been a mission for Ganbina Executive Officer Adrian Appo for the past 10 years.

His first intensive encounter with leadership was in 1997 when he completed the Fairley Leadership Program and then he tackled the Williamson Leadership Program in 1999. His journey since then has seen him take every opportunity to build leadership in all aspects of his life - family, business and community.

"Fairley and Williamson gave me a unique opportunity to see leadership operating effectively in different environments and it inspired me to provide our Indigenous community with the same benefits as I got," Adrian said.

"Ganbina is looking at developing the next generation of leaders. Generally in the past we have been getting leaders by default rather than design and we want to equip our youth with tools and skills to lead our communities and make a valuable contribution to the future of their families, their communities and this nation."

This vision was shared by several members of the Ganbina Board who are also Fairley Fellows -Neville Atkinson, Justin Mohamed and Shane O'Brien. "Thus the Ganbina Indigenous Youth Leadership Program was born - an Indigenous youth focused leadership program built on similar principles and goals as the Fairley and Williamson models."

"At Ganbina we believe that every young person has the right to believe in a positive future and equipping them with good leadership skills provides a great foundation."

The program develops youth leadership by exposure to various leadership styles, governance, Indigenous and broader community issues at a regional, state, national and international level. Determination, passion, inspiration, fun, courage, enthusiasm, learning and adventure are what it's all about. The program is a fully-financed 10-month adventure packed with learning experiences that transform the participants thinking, expands their minds, enhances their skills, builds their confidence and helps them discover the many facets of leadership.

"It's really an investment into the next generation. Three Indigenous Year 11 students from Shepparton and Mooroopna are selected to participate in the program as we believe they have a level of maturity required to tackle leadership issues and we felt it was important not to run the program for Year 12 students as it could interfere with their final year."

The program requires the students to participate in a series of small focus discussions, visit communities and cities in Australia and New Zealand and complete a community capacity building project. "Developing and implementing their community project sees them put leadership into action immediately."

The program is in its second year and outcomes have been amazing. The 2006 group, Aleasha Appo, Kurtis Atkinson and Kristine Mahy, were transformed by the year.  "It made me see more clearly how I can make a difference," Aleasha said. "I have learnt that leadership is the ability to take charge and be able to make decisions that will benefit the common goal."

Kurtis said while the program only lasted a year "what I've learnt will stay with me forever." Kristine was equally impacted by the program. "The things I was privileged enough to learn while being on the program I can take away with me and apply to my own life. Every leader is different."

While Ganbina doesn't have the hitting power of Williamson it has attracted support from an elite line up of leaders the students meet throughout the year including Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon, Melbourne University Chancellor Ian Renard, Westpac CEO Ann Cherry and Auckland University Maori Business School Associate Dean Manuka Henare. Equally important are the many community leaders they meet along the journey who sometimes have a bigger impact on the group than the high profile personalities.

"We traveled to Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney, Cairns and New Zealand to meet with different leaders and visit communities and it was really amazing to talk to so many inspiring people one-on-one. They all had different styles of leadership and offered us new learning experiences," Aleasha said.

This year's group, Luke Brown, Danielle Matthews and David Murray, just returned from their first trip to Melbourne and Canberra. Already, the exposure to different leaders and environments has made an impact. "It takes hard work to become a leader and there are sacrifices to be made," David said. "Key parts of a good leader include passion, organisation, honesty, trust, persistence, patience and respect."

Luke has transformed his life after almost dropping out of school last year is now one of Ganbina's youth leaders and has his sights set on high goals. "The program has influenced me a lot in my schooling because now I try a lot harder because when I leave school I want to be something and I get in less trouble now because I actually give eye contact to the teachers so they know I'm listening to them...I have learnt it shows respect to give people eye contact."

Danielle's leadership journey has helped her explore the foundations of leadership. "You have to be honest, responsible and committed. I've learnt that our values are very important to what we do."

So what has been the most significant impact Adrian has seen from his youth leaders? "We now have young people in our community aspiring to take on leadership because they have realised that it isn't something to be scared of - it's about people who want to make a change."