Birchip Cropping Group’s Grace Hosking was among sixty regional changemakers from across Australia selected to take part in the National Impact Forum in Mildura, building the leadership skills needed to strengthen drought-affected communities.
The forum brought together five emerging leaders from each of 12 drought-sensitive regions across Australia to strengthen national connections, share regional knowledge and build the confidence to lead collaborative action within their communities.
Rather than focusing solely on individual leadership development, the program aims to build collective leadership capacity that will support long-term, locally driven solutions to the challenges facing regional Australia.
Grace said the forum highlighted the importance of connecting with leaders from other drought-affected regions to share ideas and learn from the different approaches communities are taking to similar challenges.
“Coming together with leaders from other drought-affected regions really highlighted that we don’t have to solve these challenges alone. There’s so much strength in sharing what’s working and what’s not across different rural and regional communities,” she said.
Participants explored systems thinking, human-centred design and community engagement approaches that will help them facilitate regional leadership programs and forums in their own communities between 2026 and 2028.
One idea Grace brought forward was a more coordinated, region-wide approach to the shrinking number of essential services across the Mallee, aimed at ensuring rural communities aren’t left without access to the health, education and support services they rely on.
Andrea Hogg, Director of Leadership Innovation at the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation, said the program is about building the social infrastructure needed for regional communities to thrive.
“By embedding these leaders in complex systems thinking, human-centred design and community engagement practices, we are helping build the social infrastructure that keeps regional communities connected, develops local solutions and prepares them for future climate disruptions,” she said.
Feedback from participants reflected a shift in mindset, moving away from feeling responsible for solving problems alone and instead recognising the value of strong community networks.
Following the National Impact Forum, participants will begin preparing and delivering local leadership workshops and community forums within their own regions, sharing the knowledge and connections they developed in Mildura and expanding the network they’ve built to include other leaders across their region.
“The National Impact Forum is just the beginning of a much larger, systemic capability that is being built across rural, regional and remote Australia,” Hogg said. “As these participants return home to facilitate local programs, they will scale this collaborative capability, ensuring that broader rural, regional and remote communities have the robust local networks required to navigate future challenges on their own terms.”
Delivered through a partnership between the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation (ARLF) and the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR), the three-day forum was a key component of the Impact Leadership Program, part of the Future Drought Fund Communities Program.
