The Coady International Institute has been promoting community self-reliance since it opened its doors to educate leaders from around the world 50 years ago. The Institute is world-renowned as a centre of excellence in community-based development and leadership education. Over the past five decades, the global reach of the Institute has grown immensely. More than 5,000 development professionals from 130 countries have taken part in the Institute's campus-based programmes, and many others have benefited from Coady training overseas.