The Governor-General’s Advice on Building Thriving Communities and Organisations

By Yasmin Mole

Local councils are on the front line of building cohesive communities. But how do they do it, and what do young people have to do with it?

Last week, Bel and I headed to Canberra for the National General Assembly of Local Government, where councils from across the country gathered under the theme “stronger together, resilient, productive and united”.

Her Excellency the Honourable Ms Sam Mostyn AC, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, opened the conference with a beautiful opening address that has stayed with me all the way back to Melbourne.

She was clear, local councils are pivotal in shaping strong communities.

Why? Because councils are “most trusted by our citizens”, because you live and work among the people you represent. They know you, and they know that you know them.

But in the midst of local and global uncertainty, it is clear that holding communities together is an incredible challenge for local government leaders across Australia. All over Australia, people are constantly contesting truth and division feels sharper. Ultimately, it feels that for many, trust in our democracy and institutions is slipping.

So how did she suggest local government continue to forge strong, connected communities?

A few things. Put care, kindness and respect at the centre. Stay close to your communities, and listen, because that relationship is where trust is established. Push back on division and offer hope instead of fear. And keep asking who’s being missed: who isn’t being heard, and who’s being overlooked.

In addition to these points, she drew attention to young people, and specifically the idea that councils should invest in them. And it was this point in particular that stuck with me.

She talked about Mohammed Semra, who at 27 is Mayor of Maribyrnong and the first Australian mayor from Sub-Saharan Africa. For a deeper look into his incredible journey, his recent *Australian Story* episode A Seat At The Table is definitely worth a watch! She talked about young mayors, youth forums, and Bendigo’s Youth Council, where young people have the chance to contribute to local city strategies, plans and decisions.

She said that giving young people a real chance to contribute to civic life is “a major investment in the strong future of our much revered and admired democracy”.

At CIC, we see the return on this investment all the time.

When a young person gets a genuine chance to shape the place they live, when they’re given a challenge their community is facing and trusted to generate and pitch a solution to council and community partners, they don’t just move through the motions of the program. They genuinely get excited and engaged, and as they discover their personal agency, the realisation that they have the power to shape their community, they feel more hopeful about the future of their place. They start to believe they can make a difference, because they just have.

But they don’t stop there. Once they realise they can make a difference, they come back hungry for more. Hungry for more opportunities where they can step up and make a difference. What starts as a young person attending a two-day CIC Social Innovators program transforms into a young person reaching out for more opportunities in their community to volunteer, to support the issues they care about, or maybe even apply to be a young mayor.

Our Term 2 Social Innovator program reflections are in, and the outcomes reflect that journey exactly: 90% agreed or strongly agreed that having other people listen to their ideas helped them believe in themself; 87% agreed or strongly agreed that this program made them realise they are capable of more than they thought; and 83% agreed or strongly agreed that they will seek out opportunities like this in the future (n=198 students from 16 schools across Aus).

A young person who feels heard and capable is one who stays connected to their community instead of checking out of it. Do that across enough young people in a community, and you’re building the exact thing the Governor-General was describing — strong, connected, resilient and united communities.

Investing in young people doesn’t just shape strong communities. It shapes strong industries, strong schools, and a stronger world.

At CIC, we know investing in young people isn’t just a smart decision for councils. It’s one that ALL industries and organisations should be making too. Give them a seat at the table and the support to make a difference, and they won’t stop there, they’ll stay, step up and lead.

• If your organisation wants young people to one day engage with your industry, don’t just hope they’ll realise its value — let them shape it now.
• If your organisation is dedicated to caring for the environment, and you need the next generation to carry that vision forward — let them contribute now.
• If you want young people to work at your organisation, but values misalignment is leading to a pipeline challenge — let them help shape the culture of the industry they’ll one day work in.
• If your organisation is grappling with problems that young people are deeply passionate about and will define their future — climate, technology, mental health, housing etc. — let them help build the solutions, not just inherit them.

Give them a chance to make a difference to your organisation today, and they’ll come back hungry for more.

This is about reimagining who’s responsible for unleashing young people’s potential. It’s no longer just on schools. It’s on councils, industries and organisations everywhere to invest in young people, and by extension, to invest in a stronger, more connected, more prosperous future.

That’s what we do at CIC. We’d love to do more of it with your communities and organisations.