Download - Australian Volunteers International

In brief
04
A commitment to
Indigenous Australians
On 18 November 2011, Reconciliation
Australia Co-Chair Dr Tom Calma launched
AVI’s Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). Dr
Calma said reconciliation was all about
understanding, respecting cultures and
learning about each others situations and
AVI’s RAP embraced these elements.
“Reconciliation Action Plans currently cover
20 percent of the Australian workforce, which
is a major achievement,” he said. “An
objective of the RAP plan is to change
attitudes and the more people become
informed, the more they can put pressure on
political and social systems to drive change.
That is why Reconciliation Action Plans are so
important.” AVI CEO Dimity Fifer said, “AVI
has had a long history of working with
Indigenous communities, however launching
a plan of action to work with communities
now and long into the future is a major and
significant milestone for the organisation.
Indigenous volunteering
initiative launched
AusAID’s Deputy Director General –
Corporate, Humanitarian and International
Group Ewen McDonald with AVI CEO Dimity
Fifer, launched the International Indigenous
Volunteer Network (IIVN). This new initiative,
to be Co-Chaired by Dr Tom Calma and Prof
Larrisa Behrendt, will strengthen the
linkages, dialogue and networks between
Indigenous Australians working in the aid
and development sector, and those who
have participated in international
volunteering. “The International Indigenous
Volunteer Network will provide a great
opportunity to promote the mutual benefits
international volunteering brings to overseas
communities and those back in Australia,”
Mr McDonald said. “This is a wonderful
initiative that AusAID look forward to
providing ongoing support to in the future.”
The network is in its development phase, but
to indicate your interest in the IIVN email
info@australianvolunteers.com.
Volunteer effort recognised
AVI returned volunteer physiotherapist
Glenys Davies is a state finalist in the WA
Senior Australian of the Year 2011 in
recognition of her work with Palestinian
communities in the Middle East and at the
Handicapped Children’s Clinic in Port
Moresby, PNG. At 70, Glenys is still
committed to providing physiotherapy
support to children in Palestinian refugee
camps in Lebanon.
Ethiopia’s midwifery
graduates celebrate
Thirteen Ethiopian midwifery students
recently celebrated the completion of their
three year degree program in midwifery at
the Hamlin College of Midwives graduation
ceremony in September. AVI CEO Dimity
Fifer and current Australian volunteer English
Language Tutor - Maternal Health, Sandra
Johannessen, attended the ceremony with
college staff, supporters and families and
friends of the graduates. Working in
conjunction with the Ethiopian Government
Ministry of Health, will see Hamlin College
midwives placed in 11 different rural health
centres across four different regions of
Ethiopia.
AVI’s new offices
Over the past six months AVI has celebrated
the opening of new offices in Arusha in
Tanzania, Amman in Jordan and Pohnpei in
the Federated States of Micronesia. The new
offices are in response to the increasing
commitment to vulnerable and displaced
communities in the Middle East and the
growth of AVI’s programs in Africa and the
North Pacific. The move is also responding
to the Australian Government’s increasing
commitment to international volunteering
with the launch of the Australian Volunteers
for International Development (AVID)
program and the expansion of programs
such as the Pacific Technical Assistance
Mechanism (PACTAM) which is dedicated to
responding to the needs of more Pacific
communities. <
Top > (l-r) AVI Chair Justice Richard Refshauge, AVI
President Margaret Jackson, Reconciliation Australia
Co-Chair Dr Tom Calma, AVI CEO Dimity Fifer and
AusAID’s Deputy Director General – Corporate,
Humanitarian and International Group Ewen
McDonald at the launch of AVI’s Reconciliation Action
Plan and the International Indigenous Volunteer
Network.
Photo > Bree Manley/AVI
Left > Australian volunteer Physiotherapist Glenys
Davies (front) taking an exercise and laughing class in
the Dbayeh Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon.
Photo > Courtesy Glenys Davies