Diocese of Ballarat Catholic Education Limited: Towards 2035

Professor Pasi Sahlberg and Dave Runge sit down together to reflect on the changing landscape of education worldwide. From equity to wellbeing, from system coherence to innovation, this conversation offers deep insight into the ideas that influenced the development of the DOBCEL strategy.

Hear how global perspectives connect to local action – and why our context matters.

Principal of St Alipius Parish School, Ballarat East – Emily Clarke – joins Dave Runge for a candid conversation about the opportunities and pressures facing school leaders today. She reflects on how the DOBCEL strategy resonates with her school community and the ways brave leadership is required to enact meaningful change.

How did a regional Catholic education system in Victoria end up working with one of the world’s most respected educational thinkers? In this episode, Executive Director Tom Sexton is joined by Marketing & Communications Manager Ruth Appleyard to share the story behind connecting with Professor Pasi Sahlberg and futurist-educational strategist Dave Runge – a hopeful opportunity that quickly evolved into a meaningful partnership.

In the second half of the episode, Tom and Pasi sit down together to reflect on the early beginnings of the DOBCEL strategy. They explore the big questions that sparked the work: Why now? What challenges and opportunities were emerging? And why is courageous, future-focused change essential for Catholic Education Ballarat?

This episode reveals the human side of strategic design: the relationships, curiosity, and shared purpose that set our bold and brave journey in motion.

In the first of our short “School Voices” conversations, Dave Runge – Director of Future Schools, engages with Principal of Lumen Christi Primary School in Delacombe – Carmel Hanley, to discuss the DOBCEL Strategy 2035 and what it means in her own school context.

Together they explore the hopes, struggles and practical realities of leading change from the ground up – and what the 2035 strategy means for students and staff today.

In our opening episode, we explore the aspirations behind building a high-performing system of Catholic schools across the Diocese of Ballarat. What does “high-performing” really mean in a Catholic school context? Why now? And how have we shaped a strategic direction that is bold and brave, but not reckless?

Join us as Executive Director Tom Sexton, in conversation with Julia Petrov (Strategy Implementation Manager), unpacks the origins of the strategy, the co-design process that engaged leaders across the system, and the critical role of the DOBCEL Board in shaping, challenging and ultimately endorsing the vision for 2035.