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“When young people step into these spaces,” she says, “we bring perspectives that are urgently needed. We see the world differently, and that difference is part of the solution.” When Adjoa Assan speaks about leadership, she doesn’t begin with positions, titles or polished rhetoric. She begins at the margins — the places young people often […]

In a world shaped by fragmentation, inequality and accelerating change, many leaders find themselves asking a deceptively simple question: What am I actually here to do? For Dr Naba Alfayadh, founder of Rahma Health and a globally recognised leader in health equity, that question has been guiding her life since her teenage years. In Episode

Across Australia, communities are grappling with rising division, eroding trust and a sense that our social fabric is under strain. Yet, again and again, we also see something quieter and more powerful at work: people choosing care, restraint and responsibility toward one another, even in moments of shock, grief and disagreement. This opinion piece, written

By Sarah Jenkins, Menzies Leadership Foundation Belonging is not a program — it is a practice. When workplaces cultivate belonging, they build stronger organisations, stronger communities and stronger democracies. Work has always been more than economic exchange. It shapes identity, purpose, connection and belonging. Yet in 2025, workplaces are experiencing fractures: generational divides, hybrid tensions,

Insights from Professor David Day’s 2025 Public Oration + Podcast  At the 2025 Leadership Development Summit, the Menzies Leadership Foundation, ANU and the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation hosted a landmark Public Oration delivered by Professor David Day, a globally recognised scholar of leadership development. The oration, paired with the companion episode of the Future of Leadership Development podcast, set out one

The Challenge Student disengagement is one of the most urgent issues facing schools. In some communities, attendance rates are falling, and students at risk of leaving education early face compounding disadvantages. For leaders, disengagement is not just an educational issue — it’s social, economic, and cultural. At Katherine High School, leaders recognised that tackling disengagement

The Patience of Change: Leadership for a World in Transition What does it take to lead when the world itself is changing form? When institutions are being remade, when time horizons stretch beyond the next quarter, and when complexity demands patience over speed — how must leadership evolve? In the fifth episode of The Future

Australia is living through a moment of profound transition. Across the country, people are navigating overlapping disruptions — environmental shocks, social fragmentation, institutional distrust, and economic precarity. We are in a period where old systems are breaking down while new ones remain uncertain and unfinished. Against this backdrop, the recent Transforming Systems Forum, co-hosted with

The Menzies Leadership Foundation is delighted to announce Elly Hanrahan as the 2026 Menzies Youth Board Observer, following a competitive and rigorous selection process. This initiative, now in its second year, builds on the success of the inaugural appointment of Dr Thi Kim (Julie) Dao, the 2025 Youth Board Observer. We thank Dr. Thi Kim

Indigenous women across the Kimberley — and increasingly across Northern Australia — are not just building businesses. They are building futures. A powerful transformation is underway, led by Indigenous women themselves: women redefining what economic participation, leadership, and community strength look like on Country. Since 2020, the Menzies Leadership Foundation has been honoured to walk