Disability advocate Ben Aldridge to bring new leadership, storytelling course to the South West this month

A South West war veteran heralded for his disability advocacy is launching a new leadership course for people living with a disability — and it hits Bunbury this month. Ben Aldridge will bring his Empowered Leadership course to the South West city through 30 Foot Drop, the company he founded, as part of a regional tour. It will give people with a disability the opportunity to develop their leadership skills in the hope they can be better represented in positions of power in politics, business and advisory groups. “Leadership is often portrayed in Australia as a position of power and it is often very white, very male, very able bodied and very old,” Mr Aldridge, pictured, said. “That’s politics, that’s not leadership. “This course is designed around breaking that cycle and getting people ready to continue on in the leadership sphere.” Mr Aldridge said much of the course, which combines face-to-face and digital experiences, is centred around storytelling and communication skills and will culminate in participants making a presentation about their experiences in front of representatives from three levels of government. “Storytelling is not something you instantly get good at; we are teaching people the basics and the tools to help them continue to improve,” Mr Aldridge said. “Storytelling is massive for the disability community because we experience things on a daily basis that other people just can’t understand.” The course begins on Monday, October 18, at Enable WA and goes for six days over two weeks. “The funding through the Department of Social Services means it is free for participants and we give priority to those with a disability, but people working in the disability area are welcome,” Mr Aldridge said.