An entrepreneur, filmmaker and advocate committed to celebrating and uplifting farming communities will headline a free event in Winchelsea.
Local business owners in the hinterland and beyond are invited to attend Rural Resilience: Keynote by Leila McDougall at Winchelsea Shire Hall on Friday 2 May.
Hosted by Surf Coast Shire Council, the breakfast and networking event will welcome Leila to share valuable insights about the often-invisible challenges of rural life.
Surf Coast Shire councillor Joel Grist encouraged local business owners, particularly primary producers in the hinterland region, to attend the keynote.
"Leila's film Just A Farmer has sparked important conversations about the struggles that farming communities face, and highlighted why connections are so vital," Cr Grist said.
"As well as hearing from Leila, attendees will have the opportunity to chat with other locals to help build those connections."
The event is from 7.30am to 10am. It will be followed by a small business drop-in session from 10am to 11am.
"Whether you're a farmer or not, the drop-in session is a chance for all small business owners to pop in and receive advice from experts on a range of topics – from developing a business plan and applying for grants, to wellbeing support. These are all services that Rural Financial Counselling Service offers," Cr Grist said.
"Council staff will also be there to share the various business support initiatives that are available to local business owners."
Rural Resilience is part of Council's Better Business Skills workshop series.
"We heard through our 2024 Business Insights Survey that business owners wanted to improve their skills through training opportunities," Cr Grist said. "Learning from Leila will no doubt help our hinterland business owners."
Book your spot
Council is delivering Rural Resilience in partnership with Rural Financial Counselling Services and FinWell Support.
The event is being held at Winchelsea Shire Hall to support the launch of the Community Co-Working and Study Space. This community initiative invites people to hire a space at the hall to work or study each Monday and/or Thursday.
