The University of Melbourne has announced a $50 million grant from Atlantic Philanthropies to launch a fellowship program that will address issues of social inequality in Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific region.

With the goal of building the capacity of a new generation of leaders committed to advancing a fairer, healthier, more resilient, and inclusive society, the Atlantic Fellows for Social Equity program will explore how parity can be achieved for all people, regardless of  cultural background, race, gender, health, or financial status. Starting in 2017, up to twenty-five fellowships will be awarded annually in support of as many as five hundred social change agents, influential leaders, and innovative thinkers. With up to AU$40 million ($30.6 million) from the Australian government and additional contributions from the University of Melbourne, Queensland University of Technology, and the University of Auckland, total support for the program will come to AU$160 million ($122.2 million).

To be selected from a diverse range of backgrounds and chosen on the basis of their experience, impact, and commitment to social equity ideals, especially those focused on Indigenous communities, the fellows will be exposed to an intensive curriculum focused on the development of forward-thinking leadership skills and social action strategies. Indigenous Australians are the most disadvantaged and marginalized group nationally, with nearly 40 percent reporting some level of social exclusion and many lagging non-Indigenous Australians on economic, social, and health indicators such as life expectancy, rates of incarceration, homelessness, and obesity. Open to Australian and New Zealander applicants initially, the program eventually will expand to include applicants from the Pacific Islands.

"The approach that the fellowships will seek to embed in the next generation of social-change leaders will build on Indigenous leadership paradigms that are ideally suited to promoting collaboration, between other fellows, amongst those in the wider Atlantic Philanthropies network, and beyond," said University of Melbourne vice chancellor Glyn Davis. "In an increasingly interconnected world, such collaboration is not just a happy by-product of this leadership program, it is essential."