Call for Skilled Volunteers on International Volunteer Day

Volunteers are being sought for projects in developing countries. Picture: ausaidvolunteers.gov.au

Not for Profit organisations around the country are calling on skilled volunteers to consider volunteering overseas to coincide with International Volunteer Day (IVD).

Celebrated worldwide on December 5 each year, International Volunteer Day recognises the work of volunteers and includes a number of IVD initiatives to highlight the role of volunteers in their communities.

The Australian Red Cross is calling on skilled Aussies to support developing communities across the globe.

“Volunteers work hard in under-resourced and challenging environments: when you do that, the rewards come from the relationships you forge with your colleagues, and the small steps of progress you make together," Australian Red Cross spokesperson Aarathi Krishnan said.

“As a volunteer you get to know a place like an outsider never could – you get inside its culture and its lifestyle by working alongside local people, helping them to achieve things that they want.”

Meanwhile, an initiative designed to raise awareness of the AusAID initiative, Australian Volunteers for International Development program is encouraging volunteers in Adelaide to consider volunteering in developing countries.

A photo booth has been erected in Rundle Mall will allow passers-by to have their picture taken with a backdrop of a Bangladeshi village, which they can then share with their networks to generate discussion about overseas volunteering.

The Australian Volunteers for International Development program, in conjunction with Austraining, deploys skilled volunteers to live and work in developing countries as part of the overseas aid program

Austraining Director of Volunteering, Anthony Rologas says many Adelaideans have the skills and experience necessary to help reduce poverty, but don’t realise it.

“From engineers to physiotherapists and education professionals, a wide range of professional skills are needed to address development needs across the globe,” Anthony says.

“These volunteers become a valuable part of the communities in which they work, enacting positive change from the ground up by working closely with local people and sharing skills and knowledge.

“International Volunteer Day is an important occasion to stop and reflect on their impact, and provides a call to action for other skilled Australians to consider volunteering overseas.”

This year’s International Volunteer Day (IVD) theme is ‘Celebrate volunteering’, encouraging the global community to celebrate the commitment and impact that volunteers bring to making the world a better place.

“Volunteerism plays a significant role in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. It plays a healing role by rebuilding trust in a post-conflict society. And its values -of solidarity and engagement – inspire us to live sustainably, so that our human actions do not jeopardise the needs, or the existence, of future generations, ” Executive Coordinator for the United Nations Volunteers Flavia Pansieri said. 

Find out how your state is celebrating International Volunteer Day by visiting the Volunteering Australia website.