Brimbank City Council
Women's Leadership Programs
Contact: Lynley Dumble
Phone: 03 9249 4000
Email: LynleyD@brimbank.vic.gov.au
The Project
Stronger links between communities of women and their local representatives can build better informed and more culturally aware leadership by councils. Recognising that one-size doesn"t fit all, Brimbank City Council has tailored two programs to provide women with opportunities to strengthen their community leadership skills. The programs are the Brimbank First Nation Women's Leadership Through Art program and the Brimbank Muslim Women Community Leadership program.
These two programs provide an opportunity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and Muslim women respectively to constructively engage with local government. The women are also encouraged to take on leadership roles within their communities.
Community Outcomes
The women participating in these programs are supported in building on their existing leadership capacity, creating new ties within their communities and helping foster better cultural understanding and communication between their communities and Brimbank City Council. In these ways, the programs are helping women to deepen cross-cultural awareness and provide opportunities for Indigenous and Muslim women to advocate for positive changes in support of women in their communities.
Next Steps
Using feedback from program participants, Brimbank City Council will continue to develop these programs and improve delivery techniques in order to make future iterations of the programs even more successful.
Over time, these programs will build and strengthen relations across communities, leading to a more informed and collaborative jurisdiction throughout the City of Brimbank.