News

During October, the IM4DC brought a small group of representatives from governments, academia and industry organisations from around the world to take part in a four week short course on Community Aspects of Resource Developments in Queensland, Australia.

The course delved into the complexity of issues surrounding the governance of mining projects and the many challenges faced by all stakeholders. The course aimed to equip participants to better deal with complex community relations issues, drawing heavily on participants own experiences to explore these themes.

There was a strong focus on issues of relevance to government and community stakeholders, and how social issues are being addressed by industry at the local, national and international levels. The course aimed to assist participants to develop knowledge and skills to identify and analyse community issues, and to formulate appropriate responses to these issues.

Themes explored ranged from the global context of mining, development issues, multi-stakeholder collaborations and governance to specific issues such as local content and employment, gender impacts, resettlement and community engagement.

Sixteen participants, including seven women, came from three global regions providing the opportunity to share knowledge and discuss similarities, issues, and solutions across different jurisdictions. Course participants were from Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Mozambique, Zambia, Indonesia, Mongolia, Philippines and Peru.

A number of highlights throughout the program included a workshop on Enterprise Facilitation with the renowned Dr Ernesto Sirolli of the Sirolli Institute, and a field trip to Central Queensland, Stradbroke Island and Ipswich to visit mines and community stakeholder groups.

The group will travel back to their countries having developed projects to assist with disseminating their learning widely throughout the community as well as integrating concepts and models in their local contexts.