AVI announces new direction for youth opportunities
14 August 2009
Australian Volunteers International CEO, Dimity Fifer, today
announced that following a recent review, it was decided that AVI
will look at new ways of working with young people on youth
development initiatives.
Australian Volunteers International (AVI) CEO, Dimity Fifer,
today announced that following a recent review, it was decided that
AVI will look at new ways of working with young people on youth
development initiatives.
Ms Fifer said that December 2008 will see the last groups of AVI
Youth Program volunteers head overseas under the current
self-funded, team-based model.
"Young people will continue to play an important part in AVI's
programs and we remain committed to providing opportunities for
young people to contribute to development, while responding to the
needs of our partners.
"The Youth Program has established strong connections between
young people and AVI, and also between communities in Australia and
overseas. Through the Youth Program, young people have also shown
true commitment to working with our overseas partners, and have
made a lasting impact within their host communities."
In 2001, AVI formed a partnership with Youth Challenge Australia
(YCA) to establish the Youth Program. This initiative provided
international community youth development experiences for young
Australians, by working with AVI's existing partners.
In the last seven years, the partnership has provided
opportunities for more than 1,000 young Australians to contribute
to over 100 development projects. Of these, 300 young Australians
have participated in the Youth Program with AVI. They have worked
on rural development initiatives in India, alongside youth in Papua
New Guinea and with street children in the Philippines.
"The Youth Program has had an impact on so many lives," Ms Fifer
said. "It has offered personal and professional development
opportunities for young people, built lifelong friendships and
developed connections with communities that will last forever.
"AVI is aware that young Australians have a strong interest in
being involved in international development and volunteering. This
is demonstrated by the fact that 25 per cent of participants in our
long-term programs, including the Volunteer Program, PACTAM and the
VSO/AVI partnership, are under 30.
"We want to encourage more young people to participate across
all of AVI's programs. We also know it is vital that we work to
identify new opportunities and initiatives to respond to the needs
of our partner organisations, which are looking for young
Australians to contribute to their work.
"For instance, AVI has developed a new partnership with
Macquarie University that will provide its student population and
staff the chance to volunteer with our overseas partners as part of
their study and research efforts through the Global Futures
initiative.
New opportunities will also be explored with our long-term
overseas partners, SPW India and Rural Development Organisation
(RDO) in India, Bahay Tuluyan in the Philippines and HELP Resources
in Papua New Guinea. We will continue to provide opportunities for
our returned Youth Program volunteers to stay connected to AVI and
our partners."
Ms Fifer said opportunities were still available for young
Australians to participate in the final three Youth Program
projects in the 2008/2009 summer, working in India with RDO and SPW
India, and with Bahay Tuluyan in the Philippines.
She acknowledged the contribution made by hundreds of Youth
Program volunteers to AVI's partner organisations. These include
Bahay Tuluyan and Shontoug Foundation in the Philippines, Rural
Development Organisation, SPW India and Gram Vikas in India, and
Koiari Holdings Limited and HELP Resources in Papua New Guinea.
"We will continue to work in the spirit of collaboration with
our Australian partners, Youth Challenge Australia (YCA) and
Students Partnership Worldwide (SPW). Our joint commitment to youth
development will see us continue to provide opportunities for young
people in the future," Ms Fifer said.
"Young people now have a number of international experiences
available to them. These can include volunteering with dedicated
youth development organisations such as YCA and SPW,
'volun-tourism' opportunities, or paid youth placements," she
said.
"While young Australians had shown strong interest in the AVI
Youth Program, this had not been translating into a sustainable
number of self-funded participants on projects and this was a key
factor behind AVI's decision to look at other initiatives.
"I would especially like to thank the Youth Program's current
and past staff for their commitment. Their dedication to managing
hundreds of volunteers and developing strong relationships with
international partners has led to significant impacts across
communities and on the lives of many individuals."
- Ends -
Contact:
Christine Crosby
Publicity and Media Liaison
Australian Volunteers International,
Phone: +61 (0)3 9279 1763
Email: ccrosby@australianvolunteers.com
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