The Australia-Asia New Leaders Program 2002

The Australia-Asia New Leaders Program prepares participants to play leadership roles in guiding a prosperous and peaceful future for Australia in the Asian region.

Asialink is delighted to announce the generous support of Levi Strauss (Australia) Pty Ltd for the program in 2002. A number of Levi Strauss scholarships are available in 2002.

A partnership with The Research Institute of Asia and the Pacific (RIAP) at the University of Sydney has allowed Asialink to meet increased demand and deliver programs in both Melbourne and Sydney for 2002.

The Australia-Asia New Leaders Program acknowledges and builds on the work of Asialink’s Weary Dunlop Leadership Program, which operated in Melbourne from 1996-2001. The program will work closely with Dunlop leadership alumni as it expands its national reach.

In 2002, up to twenty participants from Sydney and up to twenty from Melbourne will be chosen from the corporate, government, community and non-profit sectors to provide a challenging mix of backgrounds, views and experiences.

Guiding philosophy
Asialink and its partners believe that there is an urgent need for knowledge-based leadership to ensure that Australia maintains a peaceful coexistence with our Asian neighbours in our region into the future.

We have a responsibility to equip future generations of leaders to understand the diverse mosaic of Asia with its many cultures. We must also introduce these future leaders to their peers and encourage dialogue and the building of friendships.

Creative leadership skills can be learnt when people are given timely and appropriate opportunities to develop new understandings and ways of working.

The Australia-Asia New Leaders Program will produce over time:
 A regional network of emerging leaders across all sectors with solid understandings of contemporary regional social, cultural, political, economic and environmental trends, challenges and issues
 Leaders who are comfortable and respectful of their own cultural contexts and traditions and those of others
 Key decision makers whose preferred leadership style is founded on humanity and mutual respect
Our program objectives

The Australia-Asia New Leaders Program will:
 Increase participants’ knowledge and understanding of the peoples and cultures of Asia within Australia and the Region
 Build supportive networks to share and debate new understandings across sectors and geographic boundaries
 Provide strategies to apply new knowledge and insights gained through the program to participants’ current leadership roles now and into the future

About the program
Asialink’s Leadership Programs are shaped annually to reflect world events and current important issues for Australia and the region.

The program will run from March to November 2002 with the following components:

 Two 2 day workshops, one 4 day retreat at ANU in Canberra and four 1 day seminars will:
– build knowledge of events and issues that underpin dialogue and interaction with people from the region
– increase understanding, respect and confidence in dealing with people from the diverse cultural traditions living in Australia and the Asian region
– explore the challenges and expectations of leadership within a range of contexts, starting from within participants own organisations through to leadership at national and international levels

 Community outreach projects designed to take the leadership program’s main messages to mainstream Australia. The project is negotiated with participants’ managers and Asialink leadership program managers.

 Evening seminars, lectures, dinners and other key Asia focused events presented by Asialink / RIAP in Melbourne and Sydney.

 Presentation final dinner

Key elements of the program will include capacity building in areas such as: creative problem solving, cross-cultural understanding, strategic planning, team building and networking.

Time will be structured into the program for developing relationships with other participants across sectors and geographic boundaries. It will create a “safe” environment for participants to explore difference, to strengthen understanding of complex issues as well as building opportunities for collaborative efforts. This will occur through face-to-face meetings and electronic networking.

The emphasis on practical learning and cross-cultural understanding provides a wide-ranging educational experience within a short timeframe.

Who should apply?
The program is designed for people who believe that they can make a difference.
Successful applicants will:

 Have already displayed leadership potential in their communities
 Demonstrate commitment to making a difference in improving Australia-Asia relations
 Desire to learn more about the Asian region and to deepen cross-cultural understandings and communication skills.
 Have a minimum of 3 years work or other relevant experience
 Be interested in exploring their own leadership potential through practical work-based projects

Levi Strauss Scholarships
To ensure equitable participation from the community and non-profit sector, in 2002, the program is very pleased to be able to offer a number of Levi Strauss scholarships. Scholarships will be available from 25% to full fee payment depending on assessed need or an organisation’s capacity to pay.

Assessment
To successfully complete the program participants must;

 Attend 80% of scheduled seminars and workshops
 Attend the Canberra retreat
 Successfully complete the Community Outreach Project

How to apply
1. A TYPED APPLICATION is preferred. Application forms are available in PDF Format or MS Word at http://www.asialink.unimelb.edu.au/cpp/leadership/index.html

2. THREE COPIES of this application form needs to be submitted.

3. Include a LETTER OF ENDORSEMENT SIGNED BY YOUR EMPLOYER, acknowledging the time commitment required.

4. Please mail your application to:

Director Leadership and Public Programs
The Asialink Centre
Level 4 Sidney Myer Asia Centre
The University of Melbourne
Parkville, Victoria 3010 Australia

No later than Monday 14th January

The delivery partners

 The Research Institute for Asia and the Pacific (RIAP)
http://www.riap.usyd.edu.au/

The Research Institute for Asia and the Pacific (RIAP) is a multi-disciplinary Foundation within the University of Sydney. Established in 1987, RIAP aims to promote social and economic cooperation in the Asia Pacific region. Its major activities contribute to the building of institutional and human resource capacities, and the promotion of networks between Australia and the Asia Pacific region.

 ANU
http://online.anu.edu.au/asianstudies/

The Australian National University is one of the world’s leading centres for research and teaching on the Asia-Pacific. Asialink has a Memorandum of Understanding with the ANU governing collaboration on key programs including the Asialink leadership programs. Professor Tony Milner, Dean of the Faculty of Asian Studies is the lead facilitator of the proposed Asialink Australia-Asia New Leaders Program drawing on his major research project the Asia Australia Perceptions Project 1991-5.