Community Innovators, Volunteers and Leaders

The Community Innovators, Volunteers, and Leaders 2025–2026 Program applications are now open!

What is CIVAL?

The Community Innovators, Volunteers and Leaders (CIVAL) program is an educational program that supports current and emerging community leaders to develop their leadership knowledge and skills, and explore how to help their community in a more effective way.

The program is funded by the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs and is for Refugees and people from multicultural communities who work with refugee and refugee-like backgrounds.

The program covers the following topics:

Exploring leadership,
Communication and networking,
Trauma and self-care,
Incorporated associations, Managing an association,
Finance management,
Conflict resolution,
Co-design,
Community project designing,
Planning a project evaluation, and
Funding opportunities and writing a grant application.

During 2023-2024 we delivered the 7th CIVAL program to 35 current and emerging community leaders from 25 different countries of origin. Participants engaged in 14 workshops, covering topics of leadership, community association management, project management and conflict management. The 2025 group graduated in June at a celebration held at the State Library of WA.

Hear from Past Participants:

Learning skills through CIVAL program while trying to get the community off the ground helped us to apply it all straight into the community basically in real time.

Communication and networking are the most beneficial things I learnt. Before CIVAL program I had hesitation to talk however CIVAL strongly taught me don’t hesitate to talk.

I am more confident in connecting and contributing to my community… I’m eager to put out my skills and be of value to someone else’s life.

Who Should Apply:

Refugees and people from multicultural communities who work with newly arrived refugee and refugee-like backgrounds.

Cost:

This is a free program (please note: lunch and refreshments will be provided). Participants will be provided with a certificate of graduation on completion of the program.