Between June and July, Empower Kiribati delivered three rounds of its Empowering Community Leadership workshop, a two-day programme funded through the New Zealand High Commission to Kiribati that equips local leaders with practical skills in leadership, digital literacy and financial literacy.
Each round was built for a different group of leaders, so that the training spoke to the realities of their work:
- Civil society organisation leaders met on 18 and 19 June at the Seminary and Institute Lounge (LDS) in Teaoraereke.
- Faith-based organisation leaders met on 7 and 8 July at the LDS venue in Bwangantebure, offered by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
- Community-based organisation leaders met on 30 and 31 July at the YCL Boardroom in Antebuka.
On the first day, participants worked on strategic leadership, communication and advocacy grounded in community voice, and then turned to digital tools that can make their organisations more efficient and extend their outreach, with particular attention to staying safe online and protecting organisational accounts and information. The second day focused on financial literacy, tracing how real financial stability is built step by step from strategy and budgeting through fundraising, record-keeping and reporting, and helping leaders recognise the quiet financial patterns that can hold organisations and communities back over time. For church leaders, the sessions also explored how stewardship, transparency and sound budgeting sustain faith-based organisations into the future.
Empower Kiribati thanks the New Zealand High Commission for investing in community leaders, the LDS Church for its venues, and every leader who took part and shared openly across the six days.