Future Shapers | Community Projects
Community Projects are a key element of our Future Shapers program.
Future Shapers are challenged to identify a priority or issue to address, they then scope, plan and deliver the project during the 10-month program. The projects are a real-time, hands-on learning experience for our participants and an opportunity to demonstrate the leadership skills and learnings gained during their time in the program.
Future Shapers are encouraged to step up and into the complex community leadership space and to deliver a tangible benefit to their community. The capacity built in this process is returned ten-fold to their professional spaces.
Using principles of social license and the collective leadership concept, projects are designed to amplify the social impact of individuals and build resilience in our regional community.
2023
BASIC – Building Accessible Safe and Inclusive Communities
Team: Lynne Duncan, Adam James, Blythe Fenton-Barwick, Demott Connaugton
Project Description: The original pitch of BASIC was to make a series of videos and stories which demonstrate how small changes make powerful differences. Through powerful storytelling the project aims to demonstrate across the community how BASIC things can change lives.
Outcome: Throughout the project the team realised that BASIC could become a movement that business and community groups could adopt and the team could work with these groups to develop simple plans to boost accessibility, safety and inclusion.
Find Out More: BASIC website, Instagram
Status: Ongoing
Ballarat Informal Volunteer Awards
Team: Cathy Bushell, Shannen Mennen, Deepa Kuriachan, Kate Taylor and Connor Dowie
Project Description: The original aim was to increase volunteering in Ballarat. We chose to lead recognition and awareness efforts of existing volunteers in the under-represented category of informal volunteering, as a gateway to more locals choosing to volunteer formally.
Outcome: Ballarat’s inaugural Informal Volunteer of the Year Awards was held on Nov 28, 2023. With 39 nominations across 4 categories the evening was a wonderful celebration of volunteers and also helped raise awareness of the benefits of volunteering for individuals and organisations.
Find out More: Courier Article
Status: Complete
Life After Release
Team: Ash O’Callaghan, Padma Giri, Keegan Spilsbury, David Brown
Project Description: This project aims to demonstrate the commercial, community and social value of meeting employer skill shortages by helping ex-prisoners find employment in the Ballarat area.
Outcome: A business breakfast was held on Oct 24, 2023 with local businesses and employment service providers to learn more about novel skills and labour pathways in our community.
Status: Complete
Safety4U
Team: Jacki Whitwell; Vanessa Brady; Stephanie Stanley; Diana Carli-Seebohm; Evelyne Nyamwiza; and Angela Campbell
Project Description: Statistics show that the rates of family and domestic violence in our community are 12% higher than the rest of the state. This project invites members of our community to respond to the question “What does safety mean to you?” via a simple photo and short narrative. This would provide an opportunity for contributors to be empowered, have a voice, and participate (anonymously if they wish) in a project that creates something tangible and visible.
Outcome: An exhibition of submitted photos and stories was held on Nov 25, 2023, on International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and the start of the Global 16 Days of Activism.
Find Out More: Website, Facebook, Instagram
Status: Complete
2022
Urban Food Farm: Research and Development
Team: Lou Ridsdale, Elin McPadden, William Ko
Project Description: This project will determine if running an Urban Food Farm (governed by Food Is Free Inc.) is a viable, needed, and financially achievable project through a 6-month research and development project.
Outcome: The team have determined that the Farm is indeed feasible, funding pending. They have a verbal agreement securing centrally located land and have already worked with an architect to develop
the design. They will launch a fundraising campaign for the first stage of this 3 stage project.
Find Out More: Food is Free website, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
Status: In progress
Corporate Social Responsibility
Team: Claire Huntington, Heath Baker, Kelsie White, Megan Tucker, Sophie Jones
Project Description: For corporations (big and small) that genuinely want to do good with their business, the biggest hurdle is usually the execution. A CSR strategy and tools to aid their ability to find a suitable community partner is the solution.
Outcome: The Give Better: Together. DIY Guide was developed to help provide small to medium businesses with a tool that will help them develop their CSR strategy. The guide was launched at Committee for Ballarat’s Corporate Citizenship event in March 2023.
Find Out More: Download the guide HERE
Status: Ongoing
Active Kids
Team: Meghan Casey, Melissa Farrington, John Bradshaw, Josh Waight and Ben Darby
Project Description: Children’s participation in sports and physical activities declined through the pandemic (SportAus, 2022). These children have missed opportunities to develop their physical literacy, which is so important to develop early in life to promote lifelong participation and active lifestyles.
Outcome: This project worked alongside Lucas Primary School, Yuille Park Community College P-8 and Sports Central to co-design physical activities with students and provide a resource for schools to keep children active. The program was delivered as a 7-week school inclusive activity program in both schools.
Status: Complete
Sleepbus
Team: Bicarra Gazanis, Charaka Lelwala, Chrystal Douflias, Joeline Rayment, Renata Rotast
Project Description: The aim of this project is to address one of the recommendations from the “BALLARAT WHERE ARE YOU SLEEPING TONIGHT? A forum on homelessness in Ballarat” 2021 report. The project goal was to fundraise to purchase a sleepbus for Ballarat. sleepbus offers safe sleeping accommodation for members of our community.
Outcome: Work is currently underway on fitting out a sleepbus for Ballarat.
Find Out More: Sleepbus website
Status: In progress
2021
Homelessness Forum
Team: Anna Watts, Grant Berriman, Nicole Snibson, Fiona Murphy, Shelley Wood, Rochelle Kirkham
Project Description: To shine a light on homelessness and bring together community, business and service providers to see gaps in the system, and identify where they can help or contribute
Outcome: The “Ballarat, Where are you Sleeping Tonight?” forum was held on Tuesday, Nov 9 2021 at the Ballarat Tech School and also broadcast via live stream.
Find Out More: Ballarat, Where are you Sleeping Tonight?
Status: Complete
Creative Multipurpose Infrastructure
Team: Kasey Cornwell, Owen Harris, Tabitha Rickard, David Waldron
Project Description: Infrastructure in our urban areas, such as electrical boxes, bridges, easements and telephone exchanges, can often become eyesores. This creative infrastructure project endeavours to take these sites and give them multiple uses and spaces in our community.
Outcome: The team worked on a project to identify and inspect potential assets for conversion into multi use infrastructure in the community of Clunes.
Status: Complete
Life Skills
Team: Suzanne Liu, Caroline Amirtharajah, Kim Halbert-Pere, Kayla Manning, Caylene Vincent
Project Description: This project aimed to identify if there is a need for further life skills training in the community, identify if there are certain groups in the community which require life skills training and to determine the potential for including car maintenance training within the L2P program
Outcome: An online survey was developed and sent out to 41 community and government organisations and schools. 17 responses were received (41% response rate). Following discussions with Ballarat Foundation, two surveys were developed to determine the need and capacity to include a car maintenance program into the L2P learner driver program.
Status: Complete