Four local residents have graduated from the Tasmanian Community Fund’s (TCF) fifth Emerging Community Lead­ers (ECL) program, gaining invaluable experience across a range of areas. For the past year, twenty Tasmanians par­ticipated in the fifth ECL pro­gram, which aimed to increase their communication, finance, governance, leadership and project management skills.

The participants designed and implemented various commu­nity projects as part of the pro­gram, which teaches them to use their strengths to achieve positive community-focussed outcomes.

The four successful Brighton graduates have come out of the program with a better understanding of the needs of the Brighton community and will now have the opportunity to put what they have learned into practice.

TCF chairperson, Sally Darke, believes leadership is a vital ingredient in making positive change within the community. “The diverse group of partic­ipants in the 2022 program shows that leadership comes in many guises, with partic­ipants coming from around the state and bringing various skills to the table,” she said.

Through the Emerging Com­munity Leaders program, each graduate learnt more about themselves and how to better shape their future as leaders in Tasmania. Anyone interested in growing personally and with a genuine interest in serving the community would benefit greatly from the program.