Celebrating Australian volunteers around the world
On 5 December 2018, celebrations of International Volunteer Day were held throughout many of the 26 countries where the Australian Volunteers Program operates. Here are some of our favourite photos from events across the Indo-Pacific region.
Myanmar
In Myanmar, International Volunteer Day was celebrated at the Australian Embassy Staff Complex in Yangon. All 40 Australian volunteers currently in Myanmar, as well as their colleagues from partner organisations, representatives from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Australian Volunteer Program staff members came together for the special event.


Nepal
Australian volunteers in Nepal celebrated International Volunteer Day with a whistle-stop cultural tour of the Budhanilkantha Municipality. The tour was designed by Australian volunteer Stephen Clark in his role as Tourism Development Officer at the Budhanilkantha Municipality to demonstrate how a tourism promotion activity can be planned, designed and executed.


Fiji
In Fiji, there are 20 Australian volunteers sharing their skills and experience with 19 partner organisations across the country. To celebrate their contributions, Australia's Deputy High Commissioner to Fiji, Amy Crago, hosted a reception for the Fiji-based volunteers and their respective host organisations, thanking them for their unique contributions to their different organisations throughout the year.


Mongolia
To celebrate the 13 Australian volunteers currently living and working in Mongolia, the Australian Embassy and the Australian Volunteers Program hosted a luncheon to recognise their achievements.


Indonesia
Australian volunteers celebrated International Volunteer Day in Indonesia at the Ritz-Carlton Jakarta, along with Australian Volunteer Program staff and program partners.


Melbourne
In Melbourne we celebrated International Volunteer Day with returned volunteers, outgoing volunteers, program partners and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade representatives.
At the event, we announced the winners of the Returned Australian Volunteer Network (RAVN)’s Go Back<>Give Back Competition. Find out more and watch the winning entrants’ show reels.
Everywhere
Around the world, Australian volunteers sent us creative photos of themselves with the number of days they had been on assignment.

We shared the photos across our Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn pages. You can also take a look at all the wonderful photos on our website.
Our volunteers also featured in news articles around the world on International Volunteer Day, including articles in the Samoa Observer and Vietnamnet.