Resources
In addition to peer-reviewed publications and conference research, Children & Leadership Futures has developed a growing collection of creative and publicly accessible resources designed to support dialogue, learning, and action.
These resources translate the insights of our research into formats that can be shared widely— with children, across classrooms, staff rooms, community spaces, and beyond. Whether you’re an educator, researcher, policymaker, parent, or young person, these materials are here to help you explore how leadership is understood, imagined, and experienced by children.
From Australia’s first Leaders Exhibition to podcasts, public talks, and a new series of short videos exploring children’s views of leaders and leadership, this section offers practical and thought-provoking entry points into children’s leadership perceptions. These resources can be used to support inclusive education, leadership development, and intergenerational conversations about power, identity, and the future.
We invite you to explore, share, and reflect on how these perspectives might inform your own work—and help shape more equitable leadership cultures across generations.
- Watch: Short Video Series
- Explore: Leaders Exhibition
- Listen: Podcasts
- Join the Conversation: Professional Development Talk
- Get creative inspiration: Blog – Children and Leadership
Watch
Short Video Series
A collection of eight short, powerful videos created with children, exploring questions like “What is a leader” “What is a good leader?” and “Would you like to be a leader?”. These videos are perfect for use in classrooms, family discussions, or youth group sessions — or simply to enjoy and reflect on. Browse the videos below, or visit the Showcase to view the full series in one continuous playlist.
Explore
Leaders Exhibition
This Australian-first exhibition asked over 900 Melbourne children to draw and describe what a ‘leader’ looks like. Their artworks revealed powerful — and sometimes surprising — ideas, hopes, and stereotypes. Ideal for school displays, PD sessions, community spaces, or anyone interested in seeing leadership through children’s eyes. It was supported by a Community Grant/City of Darebin.
Listen
Podcasts
The Future Leaders Podcast (2023) FUSE Festival
Leadership from the Eyes of Children
A special podcast series hosted by Deakin. Hear directly from children, educators, and researchers about what leadership means in today’s world — and how it could look tomorrow. Listen here
The Future Leaders Podcast
This series delves into how children imagine the future of leadership — what they expect from leaders today, and how they might lead tomorrow. Commissioned by FUSE Festival, City of Darebin. Listen here
Join the Conversation
Professional Development
In Conversation: Children & Leadership at The Wheeler Centre
What do children think a leader is — and what shapes those beliefs? This public session was designed for educators, families, and anyone curious about how children engage with leadership ideas in their everyday lives. The talk explored how children between the ages of five and twelve conceptualise leadership, and what influences those views. The session offers practical insights into how to model inclusive leadership and support early leadership learning, informing programs, services, and conversations with the next generation.
Get creative inspiration
Blog
Children and Leadership
This personal blog shares stories, creative projects, and reflections from over two decades of working alongside children and young people. Since 2003, Claudia Escobar Vega has developed child-led programs that invite young people to express their ideas about leadership, identity, and community—on their own terms.
Using participatory arts methods like drawing, theatre, storytelling, and object-making, these projects have taken shape in diverse settings across Colombia, Australia, Italy, and Afghanistan. Many have resulted in creative outcomes that amplify children’s voices and challenge adult-centred assumptions about how children think and lead.
Here, you’ll find examples and reflections of what children have taught us—about the world, about each other, and about their hopes for the future. Whether you’re a child, a teacher, a researcher, or simply someone curious about working creatively with young people, this blog is a space for inspiration, learning, and exchange.
Sitting alongside the Children & Leadership Futures research initiative, the blog offers a field-based lens into Claudia’s ongoing practice in the youth arts and culturally diverse sectors. It’s a space where ideas grow, partnerships form, and children’s thinking takes the lead.
Visit and follow the blog
Blog