Refugee Realities - Oxfam Australia

Refugee Realities
2009 – 2010 Project Evaluation Oxfam Australia
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1 Executive summary
This report evaluates how effectively the Refugee Realities project in 2009 and 2010
achieved the project’s stated objectives and outcomes, as well as the overall quality
of the project implementation.
The evaluation finds that Refugee Realities successfully engaged with niche
segments of the community in the locations where it was held and effectively
targeted youth. The evidence is clear that at least in the immediate term, Refugee
Realities simulations did have a strong educational impact on the knowledge of
participants about the rights of refugees and others caught up in crisis. There was no
significant disparity between the educational impacts observed in the community-led
simulations and the Oxfam-led Canberra simulation in this respect. These findings
must be tempered with the recognition that it remains a challenge to ensure the
accuracy and consistency of information provided to participants given the varying
levels of knowledge of volunteers delivering the simulation. The Refugee Realities
education kits and multimedia resources produced during the project period may be
a useful tool for educating a broad cross-section of the Australian youth community,
given the distribution channels through state and territory schools and tertiary
networks offer a cost effective and efficient mechanism through which to reach a
large segment of the population.
It is clear that at least in the immediate term, Refugee Realities simulations did in the
main result in participants feeling greater empathy, understanding and support for
refugees in Australia, but stronger efforts should be made in future to enhance
engagement of former refugees in the project. Despite some internal challenges and
external barriers to securing high level media attention, the project did succeed in
raising the public profile of positive stories about refugees in local media where
events were implemented. Expanding the reach of the project in the media in future
may require a more coordinated internal approach within Oxfam, as well as securing
higher profile spokespeople of refugee background.
The data suggests that Refugee Realities events provided multiple avenues to
connect citizens and communities as well as organisations from a diversity of sectors
around refugee and humanitarian issues. Online platforms for engaging participants
of the Canberra simulation and members of the broader public in dialogue about
refugee rights and humanitarian issues were undoubtedly a positive development for
the project. These platforms succeeded in providing avenues for citizens to voice
their concerns and reflections about the issues and enter into dialogue with others.
The evaluation also finds that recruiting and supporting the participation of a large
number of local volunteers to be involved in Refugee Realities provided a direct way
for individuals to take action and inspired volunteers to be more effective advocates
around human rights and humanitarian issues into the future. Refugee Realities also
provided some opportunities for volunteers and Oxfam staff and, to a limited extent,
participants to engage in dialogue with parliamentarians and public servants about
the issues.
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It is not possible, however, to draw conclusions about the extent to which these
immediate impacts will translated into sustainable impact, without conducting follow
up study. This evaluation is also unable to draw conclusions on the long-term
educational or attitudinal outcomes of Refugee Realities simulations at this stage,
but over time these should be monitored and evaluated to test the sustainability of
the impacts observed.
Overall Refugee Realities was viewed by stakeholders as managed well, cost
efficient and supported by a plethora of dedicated and active partner organisations
and volunteers. Volunteers in the main felt well supported by Oxfam staff, and Oxfam
succeeded in delivering on its agreed commitments to partners. Nevertheless there
are lessons to be learned in future Refugee Realities programming about ensuring
that the project scale is consistent with available resources, ensuring roles and
responsibilities of partners and Oxfam staff are clear, and more sustainable funding
sources are identified.
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Table of Contents
CONTRIBUTORS ...................................................................................................... 6
2 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 7
2.1 EVALUATION SCOPE .................................................................................................................... 8
Phase 1: Simulation kit production ................................................................................................. 8
Phase 2: Community-led pilot simulations and education kits ...................................................... 8
Phase 3: Canberra simulation event ............................................................................................... 9
Quality of project implementation and execution ......................................................................... 9
3 SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................................... 10
4 METHODOLOGY .............................................................................................. 15
4.1 DATA COLLECTION .................................................................................................................... 15
COLLECTED DATA RELATING TO THE CANBERRA SIMULATION EVENT INCLUDED: ................................................ 15
4.2 DATA ANALYSIS ........................................................................................................................ 16
4.3 LIMITATIONS ........................................................................................................................... 16
5 OBJECTIVE 1: EDUCATION ........................................................................... 18
5.1 REACHING A BROAD CROSS-SECTION OF THE AUSTRALIAN PUBLIC ..................................................... 18
5.2 DEMOGRAPHICS OF PARTICIPANTS .............................................................................................. 19
5.3 CONSISTENCY AND ACCURACY OF INFORMATION PRESENTED ........................................................... 20
5.4 IMMEDIATE IMPACT ON PARTICIPANT KNOWLEDGE ........................................................................ 25
5.5 EDUCATIONAL IMPACTS ON CHILDREN AND STUDENTS .................................................................... 29
5.6 LONG-TERM KNOWLEDGE IMPACTS ............................................................................................. 31
5.7 CONCLUSIONS ON OBJECTIVE 1 .................................................................................................. 32
6 OBJECTIVE 2: EMPATHY AND UNDERSTANDING ...................................... 33
6.1 GENERATING GREATER EMPATHY, UNDERSTANDING AND SUPPORT ................................................... 33
Community-led simulations .......................................................................................................... 33
Canberra simulation ..................................................................................................................... 34
6.2 STRENGTHENING PUBLIC RECOGNITION AND RESPECT FOR REFUGEES ................................................ 37
Participation of former refugees in the Canberra event .............................................................. 38
Express Your Reality competition ................................................................................................. 40
Showcasing positive refugee stories through media and marketing ........................................... 41
6.3 CONCLUSIONS ON OBJECTIVE 2 .................................................................................................. 43
7 OBJECTIVE 3: ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP ............................................................ 45
7.1 CONNECTING CITIZENS AND COMMUNITIES ................................................................................... 45
Community-led pilots ................................................................................................................... 45
Community partners in the Canberra simulation ......................................................................... 47
Online platforms for dialogue about the issues ........................................................................... 48
7.2 INSPIRING ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP .................................................................................................... 51
Providing volunteering opportunities ........................................................................................... 51
Inspiring participants to take action ............................................................................................ 53
7.3 CONCLUSIONS ON OBJECTIVE 3 .................................................................................................. 55
8 OBJECTIVE 4: GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY ...................................... 57
8.1 CONCLUSIONS ON OBJECTIVE 4 .................................................................................................. 60
9 QUALITY OF PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION AND EXECUTION ................... 61
9.1 OVERALL EVENT MANAGEMENT AND ORGANISATION ...................................................................... 61
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9.2 VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT AND SUPPORT ................................................................................... 64
9.3 PARTNERSHIP MANAGEMENT ..................................................................................................... 66
AusAID .......................................................................................................................................... 66
Many Moons Group Inc. ............................................................................................................... 68
Canberra simulation partners ...................................................................................................... 69
10 CONCLUSION .............................................................................................. 71
Graphs and tables
Figure 1: Volunteer rating of training received in Canberra ...................................... 21
Figure 2: Participant perceptions about volunteer knowledge (Canberra + Mildura) 21
Figure 3: Change in level of knowledge about displacement issues (Canberra) ...... 26
Figure 4: Knowledge about human rights and refugee/asylum seeker (Canberra) .. 26
Figure 5: Knowledge about human rights generally (Mildura) .................................. 27
Figure 6: Level of understanding and knowledge of refugee issues (Horsham) ....... 28
Figure 7: Level of support for refugee resettlement to Australia (Mildura) ................ 33
Appendices
Appendix 1: Refugee Realities Website Content
Appendix 2: Refugee Realities Media – Summary
Appendix 3: Volunteer Survey
Appendix 4: Particpant Survey
Appendix 5: Training the Trainers feedback – Graham Pitts
Appendix 6: The Support Letter from the Hon Laurie Ferguson
Appendix 7: Refugee Realities Canberra partner organisations list
Appendix 8: Online Advertising List accumulated for Refugee Realities Canberra
.
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Contributors
Nghia Nguyen-Le
Nghia Nguyen-Le was the Project Coordinator for Refugee Realities from October
2009 until September 2010. Nghia was responsible for planning, coordinating,
implementing, administering and monitoring all activities for the Refugee Realities
project in Canberra including co-authoring this evaluation report.
Megan Chard
Megan Chard was the Volunteer and Logistics Coordinator for Refugee Realities
from January to July 2010. Megan was responsible for recruiting, training and
managing project volunteers as well as coordinating logistics for the event. She
composed a portion of this report and contributed to its recommendations in
partnership with the Project Coordinator.
Stephanie Cousins
Stephanie Cousins is the Humanitarian Advocacy Coordinator at Oxfam Australia
and was responsible for Oxfam’s planning, coordinating, implementing, administering
and monitoring all activities for the Refugee Realities Pilot Project in Melbourne in
2008 including co-writing the Refugee Realities script and compiling the Education
and Simulation Kits. Stephanie co-authored this evaluation report and contributed
substantial feedback and input to the overall outcome of the 2009-2010 project in
Canberra.
Ben Murphy
Ben Murphy is the Humanitarian Advocacy Officer at Oxfam Australia and was an
integral member of the Refugee Realities team leading up to and during the event in
Canberra. Ben contributed feedback to the final evaluation report and compiled
much of the 2009/2010 project expenditure.
Graham Pitts
Graham Pitts is a writer, researcher and playwright, who has created scores of artsbased
projects with marginalised groups from many cultures, particularly with non-
English speaking background and disadvantaged communities. Graham is the
person responsible for the original script of Refugee Realities and has since
collaborated with Stephanie Cousins of Oxfam on the rewritten script. He is also the
Artistic Director of the Many Moons Group, an arts production company and the
partner organisation in three Refugee Realities productions prior to the Canberra
production. Graham was the Trainer of the Trainers for the Canberra project and
provided substantial support to the project in a variety of ways. He has contributed
feedback on this evaluation.
Nila Sharma
Nila Sharma was a volunteer for Refugee Realities for the purposes of the evaluation
process. Her main duties included data entry of approximately 350 Refugee Realities
participation surveys and initial analysis of survey questions.
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2 Introduction
In Australia, as in many countries around the world, there is a generally lack of public
understanding about what refugees go through: why they are forced to flee their
homes; the kinds of journeys that they take, including seeking asylum and resettling
in Australia; the obligations of states including Australia to protect them; and the
positive impact they have on Australian life throughout history. In addition, there is
little knowledge of the role Australia has played in providing protection and
assistance to many people caught up in crises around the world.
The often limited understanding of these issues can fuel misconceptions and
negative stereotypes, which directly impact on the acceptance of refugees in
communities and the willingness of the broader public to support humanitarian action
overseas. Oxfam Australia has designed and run Refugee Realities in order to tackle
some of these misconceptions, and provide the Australian public with opportunities
to learn about how and why people are forced to become displaced and what sort of
experiences they go through on their journey for survival.
This report is an evaluation of the 2009 – 2010 Refugee Realities project run by
Oxfam Australia, in partnership with AusAID, arts production company Many Moons
Group Inc and a range of other international, national and local partners. Refugee
Realities is an interactive simulation that aims to creatively engage and inspire
Australians as active citizens on issues of refugee rights, conflict and humanitarian
action, by allowing them to personally experience some of the realities faced by
refugees. The project also aims to encourage strong Australian government
accountability towards protecting and assisting the wellbeing and rights of people in
humanitarian crises around the world, including refugees and asylum seekers in
Australia, and celebrates the valuable contributions Australia has made to the
protection of refugees.
As such, the objectives of Refugee Realities are to:
1. Educate a broad cross-section of the Australian public about the protection
and assistance rights that are owed to all people affected by humanitarian
crisis, conflict and persecution.
2. Encourage greater empathy, understanding and support for refugees in
Australia, and strengthen public recognition and respect for refugees.
3. Creatively engage and inspire active and connected citizens and communities
on key humanitarian issues such as conflict, displacement and delivery of
essential relief.
4. Encourage and celebrate strong Australian government accountability
towards protecting rights and assisting the wellbeing and rights of people in
humanitarian crises around the world, including resettled refugees and asylum
seekers in Australia.
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The purpose of this evaluation is to critically examine the extent to which the second
Refugee Realities project met these stated objectives, 1 as well as the quality of the
project implementation and its immediate impact on participants. Through analysis of
the data and feedback collected the evaluation aims to draw conclusions about the
actual and potential effectiveness of Refugee Realities as a tool for education and in
inspiring active citizenship and promoting government accountability towards
refugees and others caught up in crisis. To this end the evaluation makes a series of
recommendations about whether and on what basis Oxfam Australia should continue
to develop the Refugee Realities project.
2.1 Evaluation scope
The project included three phases incorporating a range of activities. The activities of
each of these phases are evaluated throughout this report against their impact in
meeting the project’s abovementioned objectives.
Phase 1: Simulation kit production
Phase 1 involved the production of a simulation toolkit to be distributed to and used
by community groups, schools and universities wishing to run their own Refugee
Realities simulations. Kits produced contained a manual on how to run the
simulation, a workbook or “script” for presenters of the various stages of the
simulation, a selection of props and materials for use throughout the simulation
(ration cards, buckets, t-shirts etc) and a series of 16 posters to mark each stage of
the refugee journey. Oxfam produced three kits in conjunction with Many Moons to
be tested in Phase 2 of the project period.
Phase 2: Community-led pilot simulations and education kits
The simulation kits were tested in three community-led Refugee Realities simulations
during this phase of the project. Many Moons provided training support, mentoring
and guidance to the community-led pilots and both Many Moons and Oxfam staff
monitored and supported the implementation of the events.
Senior students and teachers from Wesley College in Glen Waverley conducted the
simulation over three days in November 2009 for around 350 student participants
from Years 5-8.
A community-led simulation was also run in Mildura over two days in December
2010 by the Sunraysia Ethnic Communities Council in conjunction with a range of
government and non-government partners. The simulation was part of the town’s
inaugural Human Rights Week celebrations and dozens of volunteers and
approximately 430 people participated, including 270 students and teachers from
Irymple Secondary College and approximately 150 people from the general public.
1 The first Refugee Realities event was run in Melbourne in 2008. See evaluation of the pilot -
http://www.oxfam.org.au/refugee/public/resources/education/docs/RRP_Evaluation%20_Summary_%
20FINAL.pdf
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The third community-led simulation pilot was held in Horsham to coincide with
Harmony Day on March 21, 2010 and as part of the Arts is…elemental festival. The
host organisation was the Rural Australians for Refugees Group, with local artsworker
Abby Cooper as the event organiser. The simulation was run over three days
and attended by around 100 members of the general public and 250 school
students.
This phase of the project was managed by Many Moons with support from Oxfam.
Community groups were provided with the simulation kits, some additional props,
intensive training support and advice in establishing and running their own
simulation.
Phase 3: Canberra simulation event
A large Oxfam-led Refugee Realities simulation was held at Stage 88,
Commonwealth Park in Canberra from 7 – 20 June, 2010 in conjunction with a range
of partners. There were over 3,200 attendees, of whom approximately 2700 were
students from local schools and neighbouring NSW areas, including Young and
Goulbourn, while approximately 500 were members of the general public. Education
kits were developed and distributed by Oxfam in conjunction with Centre for
Teaching and Learning (CTL), a branch of the Department of Education and
Training. The kits were based on the ACT Every Chance to Learn Curriculum
Framework P-10 and were distributed to most Catholic, public and independent
schools in the ACT and neighbouring NSW areas. As a result, many of the students
who attended were given the opportunity to learn about refugee and humanitarian
issues prior to their visit.
The project utilised a variety of online social networking tools to boost audience
appeal, enhance the profile of current refugee issues and monitor impact of the
project on participants. Local former refugees also took part in the project via photo
and biography displays and short recordings of their personal stories which formed
part of the Express Your Reality exhibition. These recordings were also used at the
Time to Flee stage of the simulation.
Quality of project implementation and execution
In addition to evaluating the effectiveness of the project activities in meeting the
planned objectives, this evaluation will also examine the project’s overall quality.
Quality is assessed against three main criteria:
• Overall project management quality
• How well the project team supported and managed volunteers
• How well Oxfam met commitments to partner organisations
• Cost effectiveness of the project
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3 Summary of recommendations
Given the demonstrated impact of Refugee Realities and its success in meeting its
objectives, this evaluation proposes that the program be continued in accordance
with the following recommendations:
Recommendation 1: Any future project design should ensure that objectives
relating to the “reach” of the project are commensurable with the project’s
geographic scope
Recommendation 2: The monitoring and evaluation framework for any future
Refugee Realities programming should ensure gender disaggregated data is
collected and analysed to better understand and reasons for the apparent gender
disparity and to further explore the implications of this as part of a strategy to
increase the project’s outreach.
Recommendation 3: Any future project design be based on the tested assumption
that the primary participant groups of Refugee Realities will be youth aged 10-26,
unless there are specifically targeted initiatives to increase the participation of older
segments of the community.
Recommendation 4: A group of core Trainers with previous training in theatre
and/or drama coaching should be recruited to lead volunteer Presenter training.
Their rehearsals should be greater supplemented with information sessions led by
specialists in humanitarian aid/response and input from local former refugees.
Recommendation 5: An overall review of the accuracy and framing of content in the
simulation (and associated web and school curricula) should be made as part of any
future development of Refugee Realities. The revised workbook should reflect a
number of key messages that need to be developed for communication to
participants. Volunteer presenters should be trained specifically in relation to these
ideas, along with the script (rather than any expectation that they be across the
breadth of issues related to forced displacement). It would be useful to develop cue
cards for presenters and a regularly updated FAQ sheet for volunteers.
Recommendation 6: In future Refugee Realities events, well trained staff should be
charged with responsibility for monitoring and providing ad hoc one-to-one
constructive feedback and mentoring for volunteer presenters as part of a strategy to
continuously improve the accuracy and consistency of information shared with the
public. This should be done in addition to regular group debriefing.
Recommendation 7: Efforts to recruit and engage volunteers of refugee
background and volunteers with humanitarian response experience should be
enhanced in future Refugee Realities programming. Recruitment should take place 3
to 4 months prior to the event to ensure maximum input. Applicable costs for travel
and expenses should be included in the budget in order to maximise the participation
of these priority volunteers.
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Recommendation 8: In order to assess the impact of Refugee Realities on the
knowledge of participants over the medium-term, Oxfam should initiate a follow-up
survey in 2011 with those participants who have agreed to be contacted. This survey
should also request respondents’ consent to being contacted again in 2012 (and so
on). Findings from the analysis of survey data should inform any future project
design.
Recommendation 9: Oxfam consult with curriculum experts and educators to
expand and update the Refugee Realities Education Kits, aligning them to the
incoming National Curriculum in order to be able to distribute Refugee Realities
nationally. This needs to be done in conjunction with institutions similar to the CTL if
not with them. The effectiveness and utilisation of education materials should be
monitored and evaluated on an ongoing basis.
Recommendation 10: Oxfam Australia consider ways to revise and adapt the
Refugee Realities script so that it incorporates a variety of displacement conditions
(protracted, temporary, camp, urban etc) as well as experiences that can bring to life
the ways that refugees are able to access protection in Australia.
Recommendation 11: In future Refugee Realities productions, surveys should be
as consistent as possible so as to compare impacts on participant attitudes and
knowledge between different simulations. Surveys should provide opportunities for
respondents to rate the impact in qualitative terms but also to explain the reasons
why the simulation did or did not impact on their level of empathy for refugees.
Recommendation 12: Maximise greater ownership, access and participation of
former refugees over any future Refugee Realities projects by:
• Identifying and securing local refugee and migrant organisation partners early on
that can assist in facilitating linkages between local former refugee communities.
The trauma risk mitigation strategies in place should be clarified with these
groups to alleviate any concerns. The roles and responsibilities of Oxfam and
these partner organisations should also be clear from the outset.
• Identifying former refugee champions who can assist in advocating for the
involvement of their own communities.
• Budgeting for travel reimbursements for volunteers who have limited means.
• Translating promotional material into other languages in order to start addressing
some of the barriers to participation.
• Engaging potential former refugee spokespeople and simulation presenters early
on in the project planning and offering to provide training opportunities to help
build their public speaking and interview skills so they are confident to participate
in speaking roles.
• Targeting high profile former refugee artists, philanthropists, business people and
officials to be patrons or spokespeople of Refugee Realities, to raise public
attention to the positive contributions former refugees make to Australian life
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Recommendation 13: Any side activities and or events to Refugee Realities such
as the Express Your Reality exhibition and World Refugee Day celebration should be
adequately resourced, executed and promoted in order to maximise their potential to
strengthen public recognition and respect for refugees in Australia. Oxfam should
consider ways to maximise the geographic impact of these side-projects beyond
one-off Refugee Realities simulations, for example utilising online spaces to share
content.
Recommendation 14: Efforts should be made to thoroughly evaluate the impact of
Express Your Reality on viewers, the public and former refugee entrants themselves
in any future development of the competition exhibition.
Recommendation 15: Enhance opportunities for public exposure of the project and
positive stories of former refugees in Australia in future Refugee Realities events.
This could be achieved by:
• The Refugee Realities team, Oxfam Media Unit and Creative Marketing Unit
jointly developing a communications strategy to accompany the Refugee
Realities program and events, including strategies for engaging high profile
patrons of refugee background to endorse and participate in the event.
• Continuing to concentrate media pitching on strong stories of former refugees.
Oxfam should reach out to potential media spokespeople early in the project
and work with them throughout the project planning phase to build their
interview confidence.
• Clarifying the roles and responsibilities of the project team vis-à-vis the Media
Unit and balancing centralised professional coordination of national media
engagement at head office with the maximisation of local media engagement
opportunities that may be best managed by the project team.
• Including a promotions budget line in grant applications where this
expenditure is eligible for funding
• Engaging with the Marketing section of Oxfam for advice about marketing
priorities and how the project promotions can be better incorporated into
Oxfam’s broader promotional activities.
Recommendation 16: Oxfam follow up with Canberra simulation partners in 2011 to
assess the extent to which their engagement in Refugee Realities has enhanced
their ongoing connections with local communities around refugee and broader
humanitarian issues.
Recommendation 17: Oxfam enhance the effectiveness of online social networking
platforms to engage ongoing participation and dialogue about the issues
• Future Refugee Realities programming should be undertaken in collaboration
with Oxfam’s Youth Engagement Program, web team and communications
section to develop an overarching online communications plan for the project
that clearly delineates roles and responsibilities, adapts online platforms
accordingly and regularly monitors user engagement.
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• Bring the Refugee Realities website into a new publishing platform
(Wordpress), which would be easier to maintain and produce content for,
allowing project organisers access to update the site. This would also make it
easier to integrate with social media and to add blogs, which would make the
site current and dynamic.
• The Refugee Realities website should be hosted as an Oxfam site
Recommendation 18: Oxfam should endeavour to conduct a follow up survey with
Canberra simulation volunteers some time in 2011 in order to assess any ongoing
impacts of their participation in Refugee Realities. In particular, the survey should
examine the extent to which volunteers have been motivated to become active and
informed citizens on refugee rights and humanitarian crisis issues. The survey
should seek volunteers’ consent to be contacted again in future to enable Oxfam to
assess long term impact over time.
Recommendation 19: In any future Refugee Realities events the action oriented
“Ways Forward – For You” stage should be seen as a priority area of the simulation
as it focuses on promoting modes of active citizenship and should be staffed
accordingly. If community-led simulations are to continue, efforts should be made by
Oxfam to encourage host communities to incorporate local actions that participants
can take to assist and protect refugees in this stage.
Recommendation 20: As part of any follow-up survey with participants and
volunteers in 2011, Oxfam should incorporate questions about whether these
individuals have actually gone on to take concrete actions to promote refugee rights
and address humanitarian issues as a result of their visit to Refugee Realities.
Recommendation 21: As part of future project planning Oxfam should consider
ways to maintain contact and facilitate ongoing dialogue with and between
stakeholders, including past volunteers, participants and partner organisations. This
could include maintaining the Refugee Realities newsletter, engaging stakeholders in
online social networks and potentially facilitating follow-up activities between
stakeholders in locations where simulations have previously been held. These
investments would assist in facilitating longer-term connections between participants
and communities around the issues as well as provide greater opportunities for
follow-up study about the longer-term impacts of Refugee Realities.
Recommendation 22: In future it would be advisable for Oxfam to consider ways
that dialogue can be enhanced between policy makers and members of the public,
potentially through discussion forums or mixed tours.
Recommendation 23: A Government engagement plan is developed by the relevant
internal stakeholders and led by the Humanitarian Advocacy Team to accompany
any future Refugee Realities events. This plan should clearly delineate roles and
responsibilities for government liaison between the relevant staff. The Government
Relations Team should retain a strong role in coordination of government
engagement opportunities alongside events.
Recommendation 24: Choosing an appropriate and suitable venue for the Refugee
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Realities event is of utmost importance to the set-design of the event and therefore
the potential for an effective simulation experience. The dollar cost of the venue
should not necessarily be the top priority if all other criteria can be met.
Recommendation 25: The scale of any future Refugee Realities events should be
matched with the resources available for their implementation. Oxfam should ensure
that where events require Oxfam staff management, there are adequate paid human
resources, as well as, office facilities and IT support for interns and volunteers.
Recommendation 26: Timing of future events should take into consideration
university calendars, as university students comprise the bulk of volunteers. Efforts
should also be made to increase the diversity of volunteers so that there is not an
over-reliance on university students.
Recommendation 27: Ensure greater clarity around roles, responsibilities and rights
of Oxfam and each of the Refugee Realities project partners in future programming.
Where possible this should entail formalised agreements relating to contribution of
funds and materials in place as well as any branding and promotional benefits
provided to partners prior to finalising partnership arrangements.
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4 Methodology
A range of data was collected during and after the Canberra event and during
community-led pilot simulations. This data was analysed to reach the findings of this
evaluation.
4.1 Data collection
Collected data relating to the Canberra simulation event included:
• Approximately 482 participant surveys (out of a possible 3192 participants) -
15.1% response rate; 2
• 5 Oxfam staff surveys
• 62 volunteer surveys (35% of total volunteers involved in the Canberra
simulation)
• An evaluation report from Many Moons on lessons from the training process
and tools utilised in the Canberra production (see Appendix 5)
• Several vox pop recordings of staff, volunteers and participants at the Canberra
event
• Feedback emails from participants, volunteers and partner organisations;
• A media monitoring report was generated to identify articles and programs in
which Refugee Realities was highlighted (see Appendix 2)
• Internet statistics from the Refugee Realities website and my3things.org,
Refugee Realities Twitter and Facebook pages
• Formal and informal interviews and discussions with focus groups i.e. Oxfam
staff and The Street Theatre - a key partner organisation (Interviews were
transcribed and notes taken)
• Support letters from partner organisations (UNHCR, Centre for Teaching and
Learning, ACFID, RedR, Amnesty International Australia)
Data collected and analysed relating to the Community-led simulation events
includes:
• Participant surveys (Mildura and Horsham) 3
• Media clippings (Mildura)
• Teacher feedback and support letter (Mildura)
• Vox pop recordings of organisers, volunteers and participants at the Mildura
and Horsham event
• Community-led pilots report from Graham Pitts, Many Moons
2 There were two participants’ surveys for adults and children. See Appendix 3 and 4.
3 Surveys collected for the Glen Waverley pilot event were not analysed for this evaluation.
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4.2 Data analysis
The above listed data sets were analysed as follows:
1. Participation and volunteer survey data – all surveys were entered onto
surveymonkey.com which allowed for easy data entry, collation and
quantitative analysis.
2. Age variables were correlated against a range of indicators to assess the
extent to which age influenced immediate simulation impacts.
3. Qualitative feedback from interviews, blogs, feedback letters, discussions, vox
pops and monitoring reports from Many Moons was analysed to identify
common themes and opinions. Quotes have been used throughout the report
to illustrate common perspectives from different target groups and
stakeholders.
4. Web and media statistics were analysed to determine the exposure of
Refugee Realities to a wider target audience.
The evaluation study was peer reviewed by the following people in order to ensure
transparency, methodological rigour and accuracy of the report:
• Oxfam’s Youth Engagement Program Coordinator
• Oxfam’s Program Quality Advisor
• Oxfam’s Refugee Rights Advocacy Coordinator
• Oxfam’s Humanitarian Advocacy Officer
• Oxfam’s Humanitarian Advocacy Coordinator
• Artistic Director of Many Moons Group
Recommendations contained in this report have been made by the Project
Coordinator and evaluators based on lessons observed in the 2009-10 project and
input received in the peer review process. These recommendations are for the
consideration and guidance of Oxfam in scoping, assessing the feasibility and
potentially designing future Refugee Realities programs.
4.3 Limitations
This evaluation focuses predominantly on phase 3 of the project as most project data
was collected during this phase. However, the evaluation also reflects on the
community-led simulations led by Many Moons and supported by Oxfam where data
is available.
Data in the Canberra simulation was skewed by a disproportionately high response
rate among adult participants. While participants aged over 18 years of age made up
60% of survey respondents, bookings data demonstrates that only 18.5% of overall
participants were over 18.
Given the data was collected immediately during or following the events it is only
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enables an assessment of the immediate impact of Refugee Realities. Assessment
of the longer-term impacts would require follow up with the respondents. There are
opportunities for this as 52.9% of survey respondents who attended the Canberra
simulation indicated that they would be willing to be contacted by Oxfam in the future
to do a follow up survey concerning the ongoing impact of Refugee Realities.
Given data was analysed by the Refugee Realities Project Coordinator, who was
responsible for overall implementation of the project, findings may be subjectively
skewed. We have attempted to address any bias by ensuring rigorous peer review of
the evaluation report. However if Oxfam Australia decides to continue programming
Refugee Realities events and activities it is recommended that an independent and
impartial evaluator be engaged at the appropriate stage in the program cycle to
document lessons and assess impact.
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5 Objective 1: Education
Objective 1: Educate a broad cross-section of the Australian public about the
protection and assistance rights that are owed to all people affected by
humanitarian crisis, conflict and persecution.
In order to assess how well the Refugee Realities project met this objective we have
attempted to investigate four key questions:
• How effectively did Refugee Realities reach a broad cross-section of the
Australian public?
• Did the participant demographics indicate the project has cross-sectional
appeal?
• Was the information provided by volunteers through the Refugee Realities
simulations consistent and accurate?
• To what degree did the participants feel their knowledge had increased in
relation to the protection and assistance rights owed to people affected by
crisis?
Each of these questions are explored in detail in the following sections.
5.1 Reaching a broad cross-section of the Australian public
Refugee Realities activities conducted throughout 2009-2010 provided various
opportunities for reaching members of the general public either directly (through
“deep” engagement with volunteers, teachers, community groups and simulation
participants) or indirectly (“shallow” engagement through media and promotional
exposure).
Community-led simulations involved approximately 1,250 participants and volunteers
combined and the Oxfam-led Canberra simulation had over 3,250 participants and
volunteers. There were over 70 former refugee artists and writers engaged in the
Express Your Reality art exhibition and the project engaged the active support of
around 30 partner organisations and groups, including community-led simulation
partners. Through the distribution of education and multimedia kits to over 150
actively engaged teachers, the project may have reached around a further 4,500
students through classroom activities. 4 Given the educational materials produced for
the project and capacity building of teachers are of long-term benefit, it is likely that
many thousands more students will be “reached” through ongoing utilisation of these
materials and teaching methods, although this assumption would need to be further
tested in order to draw this conclusion. In sum, it is estimated that the project
enabled direct engagement with around 10,000 individuals around issues of refugee
rights and experiences.
4 Noting that some of these same students attended a Refugee Realities simulation event so there is
probably some double counting of these numbers.
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The project reached substantially more people through the media, marketing and
web exposure (see section 7). While this exposure no doubt amplified the project’s
messages to a wider audience, the likelihood of Oxfam Australia being able to
measurably “educate” these people with such fleeting engagement is limited.
It would be hard to judge the engagement of 10,000 people in a country of over 22
million as “reaching a broad cross-section of the Australian public” in the immediate
sense. But these numbers perhaps downplay the overall impact of Refugee Realities
given the potentially exponential flow on effects of the simulation.
When survey respondents from the Canberra event were asked whether they would
talk to friends and family about refugee experiences and rights as a consequence of
their visit to Refugee Realities, 82% were either certain, or very likely to do so. 80%
of respondents also indicated that they would encourage friends and family members
to attend a Refugee Realities event, a finding supported by the large number of
participants of the Canberra simulation who said they attended Refugee Realities at
the suggestion of a friend, colleague or family member (27%). For volunteers, these
flow on effects appeared to be particularly strong. 95% of volunteers responded that
they would talk to friends and family about refugee rights and experiences as a result
of their involvement in Refugee Realities. Given that knowledge and attitudes are
strongly shaped by the people we are close to, this finding suggests that the
simulation’s power to “reach” people may go well beyond the conclusion of discrete
events. However to effectively assess the extent of these indirect impacts it would be
necessary to conduct follow up surveys with participants.
We can conclude that while the project did engage meaningfully with a large group of
people it did not reach a broad cross-section of the Australian public with the depth
necessary to truly educate about refugee rights and experiences. This is not
necessarily a failing of the project, but perhaps simply an unrealistic articulation of
the objectives for a project of this size. If Refugee Realities were rolled-out
simultaneously in every state in Australia it would undoubtedly reach a broad crosssection
– but this was not the intended scale of this iteration of the project. In future
Oxfam Australia should ensure objectives are measurable and achievable within the
planned scope of the project.
Recommendation 1: Any future project design should ensure that objectives
relating to the “reach” of the project are commensurable with the project’s
geographic scope
5.2 Demographics of participants
While participants of the Canberra event spanned all ages, there was a clear bias
towards young people, with 10 to18 year olds constituting the largest age group and
making up around 84% of participants. Youth participation was also high in the
Mildura, Horsham and, unsurprisingly, Wesley College simulations. The reason for
the disproportionately high numbers of 10 to18 year old participants in the
simulations is clearly due to the educational appeal of the event for teachers and
schools.
The second highest age bracket in the Canberra simulation was 19 to 26 years.
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Given that adults responded disproportionately to the survey, it is difficult to ascertain
an accurate assessment of overall numbers – however this age bracket made up
20% of all respondents. This indicates that the project is most effectively targeting
youth segments of the community due both to the institutional support for the project
within the education sector, and the natural appeal of the event to young people.
Overall visitor statistics based on gender cannot be calculated as there was no
attempt to monitor the number of men and women, boys and girls in the booking
system and at time of walk-in. However the gender of survey respondents was
calculated and there were overwhelmingly more women respondents (72%) than
men (28%). Due to the methodology of the data collection it is not possible to assess
whether this discrepancy is reflective of overall gender bias in visitor numbers or just
a higher survey response rate of women.
In contrast, there was very little gender bias of survey respondents in the Mildura
simulation, with 53% women and 47% men attending. Unfortunately gender
disaggregated data is not available from the other simulations conducted. The
reasons why recorded gender disparity was greater in Canberra than in Mildura are
unknown, and Oxfam Australia should seek to better understand the reasons for this
finding in any future monitoring and evaluation of the simulations.
Recommendation 2: The monitoring and evaluation framework for any future
Refugee Realities programming should ensure gender disaggregated data is
collected and analysed to better understand and reasons for the apparent
gender disparity and to further explore the implications of this as part of a
strategy to increase the project’s outreach.
Recommendation 3: Any future project design be based on the tested
assumption that the primary participant groups of Refugee Realities will be
youth aged 10-26, unless there are specifically targeted initiatives to increase
the participation of older segments of the community.
5.3 Consistency and accuracy of information presented
Given that Refugee Realities simulations are predominantly delivered by trained
volunteers with varying levels of knowledge and diverse attitudes and beliefs,
maintaining consistent delivery of accurate information to the public was undoubtedly
a challenge. While the simulation has a comprehensive script, volunteer presenters
are required to answer ad hoc questions from participants and recall the script and
relevant facts largely by heart.
To manage this challenge, the Refugee Realities team and Many Moons ensured
that volunteers undertaking the role of a ‘Presenter’ required significant training prior
to the event (a minimum attendance of four three-hour training sessions). For both
the community-led and Canberra simulations a train-the-trainer strategy was
employed by Many Moons and Oxfam staff to provide intense training for individuals,
many of whom had theatre experience, who went on to train the bulk of volunteers.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that this approach was efficient and largely effective:
… the Training of The Trainers was, I think, successful. Feedback from the
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Trainers when they were themselves training community trainees was that
they found themselves well prepared. ...the Training of the Trainers and
subsequent training of community members was very well supported by both
[project co-ordinators].”
Graham Pitts, Artistic Director, Many Moons Group
Co-writer of the Refugee Realities script
Other volunteers who had small event roles (e.g. reception officers, traffic marshals)
received a pre-event briefing pack inclusive of event, venue, travel and current
refugee issues information as well as a position description outlining duties. On site,
a short briefing was provided to these volunteers on their day of work.
Rating the level of training they received, volunteer survey respondents chose
scores of 1 to 10 where 1 represented ‘not much’ and 10 ‘very much’ (see figure 1
below).
Figure 1: Volunteer rating of training received in Canberra
Encouragingly, 70% of respondents rated their training at 7 or above. Out of those
few who rated their preparation as inadequate, most noted that the reason for this
was their lack of availability to attend training sessions. However, the figures above
perhaps indicate the need for more in-depth briefings for volunteers who have
smaller, less ‘acting’ event roles.
Participant survey data from Mildura and Canberra suggests that the training was on
the whole sufficient enough for participants to feel volunteers were well informed and
that they were able to learn from the presenters. Survey respondents in Mildura were
asked to rate how well the volunteers were informed on a scale of 1-5, whereas
Canberra respondents were ask to rate the extent to which they learned from
volunteers on a scale from 1-5. While the questions asked were worded slightly
differently, they are similar enough to compare. Results show that 87% and 82% of
Canberra and Mildura respondents respectively rated volunteer knowledge and
capacity to educate participants as a 4 or 5 (see figure 2).
Figure 2: Comparison of participant perceptions about quality of volunteer presenter
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knowledge between Canberra and Mildura
Despite volunteer and participant perceptions that in the main presenters were well
briefed and trained, these results are still quite subjective. Staff monitoring both the
Canberra and community-led simulations did from time to time notice gaps in the
consistency of information provided to participants and instances where volunteers
imparted inaccurate information. For example, it was observed that sometimes
volunteers confused the number of people displaced around the world by various
causes, including conflicts and natural disasters (around 67 million), with the number
of refugees 5 in the world (around 16 million).
“Some people were very curious about the facts, where they came from etc,
and I believe that presenters in the action tent really needed a grasp of the
figures and the history in order to answer the question. For example, people
were asking me 'where did you get 67 million refugees from? I read there
were only 17 million in this paper etc...'Having a firm understanding of the
issue and the hard facts was very important to doing the job right. I also had
several people who were lawyers or department of immigration workers, who
were...keen to try to make it a factual conversation, so the one thing I could
say for the future would be for presenters to be very clued into the facts and
figures, where they come from and what they mean.”
Volunteer, feedback emailed on 03.08.10
A particular challenge with the community-led events may be that Oxfam retains less
direct control over the informational content delivered by volunteers during the
simulation. While this factor is positively associated with greater community control
and ownership over the project, it may increase the difficulties around maintaining
.
5 Article 1 of the Convention as amended by the 1967 Protocol provides the definition of a refugee as:
"A person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion,
nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his
nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that
country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual
residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it.”
22

accuracy and consistency of information. For example, during the debriefing section
of the Mildura simulation one volunteer presenter asked participants the question:
“How can you tell if someone is a refugee?” When a participant responded by saying
that they “dress differently and look differently” the presenter agreed, and continued
facilitating the discussion on the basis that refugees inherently look and dress
differently to other Australians. In this instance the presence of Oxfam and Many
Moons staff monitoring the simulation meant that this situation could be resolved by
taking the presenter aside after the participants had left, and explaining that refugees
do not inherently dress or look differently to other Australians, and that the
presentation of this attitude as a fact could reinforce negative and inaccurate
stereotypes. The presenter agreed and adapted their debriefing questions and
dialogue accordingly. The lesson in this is that monitoring and constructive feedback
for presenters is necessary and beneficial, in conjunction with pre-event training.
Given that effective education about these issues is highly contingent upon the
provision of consistent and accurate information to participants, project organisers
for future events will need to ensure continuous improvement of the training and
materials provided to volunteers and ongoing monitoring of information provided to
participants.
Many volunteers, staff and partners also recommended that the Presenters
Workbook developed by Oxfam and Many Moons, also referred to as “the script”,
should be reviewed in order to facilitate better preparedness of volunteers. Graham
Pitts from the Many Moons Group recommended:
“Manuals need to be re-created and many of the images [throughout the
script] removed as they make the books too digitally cumbersome as well as
prolix. The text needs to be extensively shortened. What is required is a
greater focus on key facts and key items of information. We do not wish to
drown the important “signals” --- memes of information --- with the “noise’ of
too much information. This entails a disciplined cutting of all extraneous
information. The “Rule of Three” is a salutary guiding principle.
A series of key-cards containing the key facts to be communicated and the
core objectives of each stage of the journey should be included with the
Manuals. These are to be carried by the Presenters, if they choose to do so.”
Graham Pitts, Artistic Director, Many Moons Group
Co-writer of the Refugee Realities script
The “Rule of Three” in this context is a reference to the conceptual principle that
attempting to impart more than three central pieces of information at any one time
usually results in information overload. This does not mean an event like Refugee
Realties cannot impart more than three major clusters of information throughout the
simulation; it simply means that during the different stages of the event, information
and facts should be organised around no more than three major clusters of central
information. Otherwise the most important items of information get lost among less
important items of information. The provision of cue cards could also make is easier
for presenters to refer to the facts throughout the simulation rather than having to
remember them by heart. In fact some of the presenters in the Canberra simulation
23

took it upon themselves to develop cue cards themselves, and anecdotal evidence
suggests that this substantially enhanced their accurate recall of factual information.
In line with a recommendation made after the Melbourne pilot project, the Refugee
Realities team attempted to recruit experienced humanitarian workers to conduct
periodic training sessions with volunteer presenters, focusing particularly on the
more specific areas of the camp (i.e. water and sanitation, food and fuel, shelter,
medical and tracing). This was designed to aid volunteers’ confidence and their
ability to credibly answer questions asked by participants, and was well appreciated:
“I think that the inclusion of volunteers who have field experience or
professional experience in some capacity makes quite a positive impact on
the participants experience as it effectively enriches the participants
knowledge deeper should they ask specific questions and so on.”
Volunteer survey respondent
Similar sentiments were expressed about the role of volunteers with their own
personal refugee stories to draw from. Whilst some humanitarian workers and former
refugees volunteered at the Canberra event, they were a minority group. In any
future programs, the commitment and involvement of former refugees and
humanitarian workers should be secured early in the project cycle. However, it is
acknowledged that this will continue to be a challenge, given that the Australian
humanitarian sector is small and humanitarian workers are often on deployment and
unable to make advance commitments. In order to address these barriers in
recruiting expert volunteers, more engagement with partner organisations from other
NGOs in the humanitarian sector may be needed and travel and expense costs will
need to be budgeted for. As outlined in section 7.2 below, there are also barriers to
the participation of former refugees that could be better addressed by the project
team in future programming.
Recommendation 4: A group of core Trainers with previous training in theatre
and/or drama coaching should be recruited to lead volunteer Presenter
training. Their rehearsals should be greater supplemented with information
sessions led by specialists in humanitarian aid/response and input from local
former refugees.
Recommendation 5: An overall review of the accuracy and framing of content
in the simulation (and associated web and school curricula) should be made
as part of any future development of Refugee Realities. The revised workbook
should reflect a number of key messages that need to be developed for
communication to participants. Volunteer presenters should be trained
specifically in relation to these ideas along with the script (rather than any
expectation that they be across the breadth of issues related to forced
displacement). It would be useful to develop cue cards for presenters and a
regularly updated FAQ sheet for volunteers.
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Recommendation 6: In future Refugee Realities events, well trained staff
should be charged with responsibility for monitoring and providing ad hoc
one-to-one constructive feedback and mentoring for volunteer presenters as
part of a strategy to continuously improve the accuracy and consistency of
information shared with the public. This should be done in addition to regular
group debriefing.
Recommendation 7: Efforts to recruit and engage volunteers of refugee
background and volunteers with humanitarian response experience should be
enhanced in future Refugee Realities programming. Recruitment should take
place 3 to 4 months prior to the event to ensure maximum input. Applicable
costs for travel and expenses should be included in the budget in order to
maximise the participation of these priority volunteers.
5.4 Immediate impact on participant knowledge
A range of indicators demonstrate that the Refugee Realities simulation had a
measurable impact on the knowledge of participants who experienced it, regardless
of whether the event was run by Oxfam or through a community-led simulation
supported by Many Moons and Oxfam.
In the Canberra event, survey respondents were asked to rate their knowledge
before and after the simulation about a range of refugee issues from 1 to 3, where 1
was “not at all” and 3 was “very high”. These issues included the reasons why
people become displaced, knowledge of the conditions in displaced peoples camps,
the role of non-government organisations in humanitarian crises and how climate
change relates to displacement. Before the simulation, an average of 32% and 51%
of respondents rated their knowledge as “not at all” or “some” respectively, and only
16% of respondents felt their knowledge was “very high” across the various
questions. In contrast, after experiencing the simulation, only 3% of respondents felt
they had no knowledge and nearly 60% rated their knowledge as “very high”. This
impact is represented in figure 3.
25

Figure 3: Average change in level of knowledge about range of issues regarding displacement
before and after the simulation, in Canberra
Two specific questions were asked of respondents relating to their knowledge of
rights. They were: “what is your knowledge of human rights in general?” and “what is
your knowledge of refugee and asylum seeker rights under international law?”
Results show that Refugee Realities had a very strong impact on both general
human rights knowledge and knowledge of refugee and asylum seeker rights (see
figure 4 below). After the simulation, 63% of respondents rated their general human
rights knowledge as “very high”, while just over 40% rated their refugee/asylum
seeker rights knowledge as “very high”. Knowledge of refugee and asylum seeker
rights before the simulation was much lower than general human rights knowledge
(nearly 50% compared to 13% answering “not at all”), thus the percentage change
was higher for refugee/asylum seeker rights knowledge.
Figure 4: Before and after knowledge about human rights and refugee/asylum seeker rights in
Canberra
26

The impact of the simulation on participant’s understanding of human rights and
refugee and asylum seeker rights was also observed in the community-led pilot
simulations. For example, in the Mildura pilot event in December 2009, 14% of
participants felt they had no knowledge of human rights prior to the simulation, but
afterwards 77% rated their knowledge as either “high” or “very high” (see figure 5).
Figure 5: Knowledge about human rights generally before and after the Mildura simulation
Before the Mildura simulation when asked to rate their knowledge about refugee and
asylum seeker rights under international law between 1 and 5 (where 1 is lowest),
the average response prior to the simulation was 2, whilst the average response
afterwards was 4 (an increase of 40%).
The same surveys were conducted with participants in the Horsham simulation in
March 2010. Results show that average knowledge about human rights jumped from
a 3 before the simulation to 4 after the simulation (20% increase), and knowledge
about refugee and asylum seeker rights went from 2.6 to 3.75 after the simulation,
an increase of 23% (see figure 6). It is unclear from the data why immediately
observed impacts were greater in Mildura than Horsham, but nonetheless there is a
clear increase in knowledge from both simulations.
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Figure 6: Level of understanding and knowledge of refugee issues before and after the
Horsham simulation
Notably, while all simulations analysed had a positive impact of participant
knowledge about rights, the greatest impacts appeared to relate to knowledge of why
people are displaced from their homes and the conditions in refugee and internally
displaced peoples (IDP) camps. As figure 6 above demonstrates, on average
participant ratings of their knowledge about the causes of displacement increased by
26% and knowledge of the conditions in refugee camps increased by 32%.
In the Canberra event, there was a 75% and 76% increase respectively in the
number of people who felt they had ‘very high’ level of knowledge about these issues
after the simulation compared to before. Qualitative data also supports this and
indicates that Refugee Realities had a positive impact on the personal connection of
participants with the issues, even when they already felt they had a high level of
knowledge before attending the event:
“As the person at the end of the production line 6 I can tell you that EVERYONE
from the primary school kids to the CARE staff said they learnt new things and
personally connected with the issues deeper than they had before”.
Peter Grzic – Oxfam’s Youth Engagement Program Officer: Formal Education and
Leadership, staff feedback emailed on 26.07.10
“Previously had quite extensive knowledge of refugees and associated issues
and was/am supportive. However, simulation gives a much more tangible idea
of the reality.”
Public Servant, 46-55 year old participant
“I feel that everybody has the right to a safe living condition which I did
previously think prior to the visit but I feel more strongly after my visit”.
Year 10 student participant
6 This is reference to the “Ways Forward – For You” – final stage of the Refugee Realities simulation.
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Volunteers, particularly those who went through intense training to be able to answer
questions from the public about a range of issues, also noted that the knowledge
they gained empowered them to be able to challenge misconceptions about
refugees in the community:
“The training was exceptional. I believe that it really did have the potential to
change people's views on refugees, encourage sympathy and increase
education across the community about the plight of refugees. I also have
noticed that I am much more knowledgeable about refugee facts which makes
me more capable of challenging negative views in the community”.
Volunteer survey respondent
5.5 Educational impacts on children and students
Students from a range of study disciplines, including social justice and human rights,
food technology, religious education, sociology, global studies and early childhood
education, attended the Canberra simulation. Young people from a variety of clubs,
including the Girl Guides and Martial Arts Academy also participated in group tours.
Feedback from teachers and mentors was overwhelmingly positive and, as a
consequence, Oxfam has received a string of requests from schools around the
country to assist with educational materials about refugee issues, or to help them run
their own simulations.
“Throughout the course of the event I only heard positive feedback from those
who had gone through the experience and it was encouraging that a number of
young people who visited during the week returned on the weekend with their
parents and family members in tow.”
Bede Carmody, Amnesty International Community Campaigner ACT/Southern NSW
“My daughter’s school group learnt a lot and so did the rest of us when we went
on the weekend. We appreciated all the thought and effort that went into
highlighting the range of issues in an interactive way. It is worth chipping away at
the misunderstanding people have, even if it isn’t immediately reflected in the
political sphere.”
Chris Hallett, Communications, National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health
Organisation Secretariat and parent, email sent to Oxfam 16.07.10
The data indicates that school students and children who visited Refugee Realities
outside of school groups were highly receptive to these impacts on knowledge and
understanding. 147 child participant surveys for children aged 10 to14 were collected
after the Canberra event. Children rated their knowledge prior to attending the
simulation lower compared to the average knowledge of respondents over 14 years.
28% of children felt they had no knowledge of human rights and 44% stated they
had no knowledge of refugee/asylum seeker rights prior to the simulation. After the
simulation, 63% of children felt their knowledge of human rights was “very high” and
only slightly less, 58%, felt the same about their knowledge of asylum seeker and
refugee rights under international law.
Several children used rights-based language to describe how they felt about
refugees after the simulation:
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“I think that they have the right to come in because it is very hard for them to
even live”
12 year old girl, child survey respondent
Interestingly, 41% of children who responded felt that the 90 minute simulation was
too short compared to only 7% of respondents over 14 years of age (with most
respondents in both camps feeling the length was “just right”). This is a startling find,
given that the length of the simulation was based on organisers’ assumptions about
the maximum amount of time the simulation would be able to hold the attention of
younger participants. Most children wanted more time to explore the refugee camp
section of the simulation in particular, illustrating that this section of the simulation
could potentially be extended to enhance the experiential learning opportunities for
children in future Refugee Realities productions.
Part of the reason for the success of the simulation in building the knowledge of
children may have been the significant investment Oxfam Australia made in
developing the Refugee Realities Education Kit, a flexible resource supporting the
Every Chance to Learn ACT Curriculum framework P-10 for early adolescence, later
adolescence and later childhood levels. The kits contain a range of lesson plans and
resources to help teachers educate about refugee and humanitarian crisis issues in
ways that encourage students to have empathy for others, self respect, global
concern, environmental concern, open mindedness, vision and social responsibility.
The Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL), a branch of the Department of the
Education and Training (DET) and key partner institution, assisted in distributing 116
Education and Multimedia kits to ACT public schools. A further 88 education kits
were distributed to the ACT Catholic Education schools which subsequently made 13
group bookings for the Refugee Realities event, including for staff and board
members as part of a team building and professional development day. Two training
workshops on the education kits were delivered by the CTL in November 2009.
These included presentations by Oxfam for approximately 35 ACT teachers and 20
principals from public schools, with the objective of familiarising with the content and
the Refugee Realities simulation. The success of these two days was due to the
willingness and commitment of the Curriculum Support Unit, the Curriculum Support
Manager and Executive Officer of the CTL to promote the project. An additional 24
kits have been distributed to teachers around Australia upon request.
Feedback about the quality of the education kits has been strong.
“The activities in them are fantastic and [I] think my students will enjoy [them]
thoroughly.”
Raymond Donohue, Grade 5 Teacher at Capella State High School, Capella, QLD
“...it’s one of the best examples of human rights education that I have seen for
a while”.
Tatiana Lozano, Manager, Education Equity and Diversity, University of Western Sydney,
emailed to Oxfam on 14.07.10
The limitation of the education kits in their current form is that they are aligned with
the ACT and Victorian curriculum (rather than national standards) and, given the
30

apidly changing information regarding humanitarian crises and displacement
statistics and issues, the kits will soon require a revision to ensure accuracy.
Feedback from teachers and students suggests that the kits are a useful public
engagement and educational tool in and of themselves, and should not necessarily
be seen only as an accompaniment to the Refugee Realities simulation. With the
Australian Government soon to implement a National Curriculum, 7 there may be
opportunities for Oxfam Australia to roll this resource out across the country, either in
conjunction with a national roll-out of Refugee Realities simulations or as a standalone
project. In considering ways that Oxfam can generate long-term change, these
kits should be seen as an integral part of future project design.
5.6 Long-term knowledge impacts
While immediate impact data indicates that Refugee Realities simulations and the
accompanying education kits are effective in promoting rights based education
relating to crisis and displacement, the long-term impacts on knowledge cannot be
assessed at this time. Given the potentially ephemeral nature of the knowledge
gained at Refugee Realities, it is likely that participants will only maintain and build
their knowledge on these issues in the longer term if they continue to seek out more
information.
Around 73% of adult survey respondents from the Canberra simulation responded
that they would like to learn more about refugee issues after visiting Refugee
Realities, where as only 46% of respondents under 14 felt this way. This may
suggest that while the simulation is highly impacting on children in the immediate
sense, it may have greater lasting impact on participants who are over 14.
To better understand these dynamics it would be useful for any future Refugee
Realities surveys to disaggregate age and knowledge indicators so that correlations
between age and knowledge impact can be further understood. That said, the true
long-term knowledge impact will only be understood by following up with
respondents periodically over a number of years. Given 55% of survey respondents
consented to being contacted again by Oxfam Australia for a follow-up survey, there
are opportunities to pursue a longer-term evaluation.
Recommendation 8: In order to assess the impact of Refugee Realities on the
knowledge of participants over the medium-term Oxfam should initiate a
follow-up survey in 2011 with those participants who have agreed to be
contacted. This survey should also request respondent’s consent to being
contacted again in 2012 (and so on). Findings from the analysis of survey data
should inform any future project design.
7 National Curriculum (Phase One) scheduled for late 2010 and for implementation in the triennium
2011 to 2013. See website; http://www.curriculum.edu.au/ccsite/the_australian_curriculum,28824.html
31

Recommendation 9: Oxfam consult with curriculum experts and educators to
expand and update the Refugee Realities Education Kits, aligning them to the
incoming National Curriculum in order to be able to distribute Refugee
Realities nationally. This needs to be done in conjunction with institutions
similar to the CTL if not with them. The effectiveness and utilisation of
education materials should be monitored and evaluated on an ongoing basis.
5.7 Conclusions on Objective 1
These finding demonstrate that, while Refugee Realities may not have reached a
broad cross-section of the entire Australian population, it did engage deeply with
particular segments of the community in the locations where it was held. Given that
the project hinges on locally driven, geographically dispersed events, the simulations
would need to either run consecutively or simultaneously in multiple locations to
reach a broad cross-section of the Australian public. This would require a long-term
and substantially resourced investment from Oxfam Australia.
The evidence is clear that, at least in the immediate term, Refugee Realities
simulations did have a strong educational impact on the knowledge of participants
about the rights of refugees and others caught up in crisis. There was no significant
disparity between the educational impacts observed in the community-led
simulations and the Oxfam-led Canberra simulation, although the Canberra
simulation engaged a greater number of participants. These findings must be
tempered with the recognition that it remains a challenge to ensure the accuracy and
consistency of information provided to participants, given the varying levels of
knowledge among volunteers delivering the simulation. This challenge was to a large
degree addressed through a solid training program for Refugee Realities volunteers,
but information accuracy and consistency could still be improved through the revision
of the simulation script and ongoing improvement of volunteer training and materials.
This evaluation cannot draw conclusions on the long-term educational outcomes of
Refugee Realities simulations at this stage but, over time, these should be monitored
and evaluated to test the sustainability of the impacts observed. The Refugee
Realities education kits and multimedia resources provide another potential avenue
for reaching a broad cross-section of the Australian youth population. This is
particularly so given the opportunities for distribution through state and territory
schools and tertiary networks. The impact of the education kits has not, however,
been fully tested and any future project design should seek to assess the
effectiveness of the kits from both the student and teachers’ perspectives. In
considering future project design models, Oxfam Australia should investigate options
for linking the education kits and resources to national curricula. It should also
continue to explore options for community-led simulation approaches that have the
potential to expand the geographic reach of Refugee Realities, with similar
educational impacts to the Oxfam-led simulations.
It appears that the project in its current form is somewhat more accessible to
younger people and women compared to older people and men. While the
educational focus of the project partly explains the strong engagement of young
people, any future project design planning should seek to further understand these
demographic dimensions.
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6 Objective 2: Empathy and understanding
Objective 2: Encourage greater empathy, understanding and support for
refugees in Australia, and the strengthening of public recognition and respect
for refugees.
In order to assess how well the Refugee Realities project met this objective we have
attempted to investigate two key questions:
• To what extent did Refugee Realities result in participants feeling greater
empathy, understanding and support for refugees in Australia?
• How well did Refugee Realities strengthen public recognition and respect for
refugees?
These questions will be assessed in the following sections.
6.1 Generating greater empathy, understanding and support
The data from survey responses suggests that Refugee Realities simulations have a
strong positive impact on participants’ attitudes towards refugees in Australia. This
finding is consistent across the simulations, including community-led simulation
events.
Community-led simulations
Participants in the Mildura simulation held in December 2009 were asked whether,
as a result of their experience at Refugee Realities, they were more empathetic
towards refugees in Australia and overseas. 86% of respondents agreed that they
were, while 14% felt that despite their experience they were still not empathetic. The
surveys did not provide data relating to why 14% were unmoved by the simulation in
this way. This information should be sought in future surveys. Mildura participants
were also asked to rate their support for the resettlement of refugees to Australia
before and after the simulation (see figure 7).
Figure 7: Level of support for refugee resettlement to Australia, (Mildura participants)
33

Results clearly demonstrate that the simulation substantially enhanced respondents’
support for refugee resettlement, with only 1% of respondents disagreeing with
resettlement after the simulation (down from 16% prior to the simulation) and 69% of
respondents rating their support for refugee resettlement as “high” or “very high” (up
from 19% before).
Canberra simulation
After attending the Canberra simulation, 90.5% of children under 14 and 99% over
14 agreed that they supported the resettlement of refugees in Australia. As the
participant surveys did not ask respondent’s views on these questions before they
went through the simulation, it is difficult to ascertain to what extent these results are
reflective of the simulation. It is, however, possible to compare these results with
national statistics on Australian’s attitudes towards refugees and asylum seekers.
For example, the Australian Red Cross conducted a survey of 1,000 people over the
age of 18 across Australia in June 2010 and found that 83% of respondents agreed
people fleeing persecution should be able to seek protection in another country. 8
This crude comparison would suggest that those who have experienced Refugee
Realities are more statistically likely to support the right to asylum in Australia than
the general Australian public.
Qualitative data collected paints a clearer picture of the immediate attitudinal and
empathetic impacts of the simulation. Survey respondents were asked to respond to
the question: “How do you feel about refugees in Australia and overseas now - after
your visit?” Responses indicated that several participants had initially felt a sense of
ambivalence towards refugees prior to participating in the simulation but after the
simulation experienced a sense of understanding and empathy towards refugees,
and even respect at the resilience of people who endure such hardship. These
feelings translated into taking a strong stand in support of assisting and protecting
refugees. Testimonials that support this conclusion are outlined below:
“I was a bit ambivalent about them, but after seeing what they have to endure, I
say bring them in. We have the resources to help”.
Richard Swann, 55-66 year old participant
“I feel much more sympathetic to them and amazed at their patience and
resilience. I have a feeling that we MUST do more and NOW.”
Tertiary Teacher, 66 year old participant
“I think there are too many myths and fear about 'queue Jumpers' and very little
understanding of lives and human conditions. If we thought about them as
people who have endured hardship and struggle, maybe the attitudes would
start to change”.
Dorothy Seidel Hooker, Research Coordinator, 19-26 year old participant
“When you put yourself in their shoes, you finally begin to see through their
eyes”.
Message posted on the “Ways Forward – For You” footprint wall
8 Australian Red Cross, National Refugee Week 2010. http://www.redcross.org.au/NRWsurvey.htm
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Several volunteers who participated in Refugee Realities responded that they were
encouraged by the positive impact of the simulation on the attitudes of participants:
“...see(ing) the changes in attitude of difficult participants during the simulation
was really rewarding and impressive. Many people who had not wanted to get
involved at the beginning or were even resistant to the point of being
disrespectful seemed to have a “moment of realisation” at different points of the
journey and changed their minds.”
Hanna Cormick, Actor presenter interviewed on 06.07.10
“I finished feeling so uplifted and my attitude towards and knowledge of the
refugee issue had totally changed. Without sounding clichéd, I felt like I had
really made a difference. Afterwards, I went and spoke to all my friends and
family about the issues.”
Cathy Hagarty, Actor presenter interviewed on 06.07.10
Some responses indicated that the Refugee Realities experience also caused
participants to develop greater empathy for former asylum seekers and refugees
now settled in Australia, and a desire to see greater resettlement support assistance
and welcoming of refugees into the Australian community:
“... I learnt from the experience how difficult it can be for refugees to settle in a
new country, and the long process that comes with moving to a new country.
Australia is an extremely multicultural society and so refugees who seek
asylum in Australia are making the right decision. There are however, ways that
Australia can make it easier for refugees to live here, and with growing support
from social justice campaigns and organisations, hopefully Australia can
welcome more refugees into the country”.
Music Teacher, Survey Participant
On the other hand, a small minority of responses indicated that perhaps by focusing
the simulation on refugees experiencing long-term encampment Oxfam may run the
risk of unintentionally re-enforcing divisive misconceptions, such as the view that
asylum seekers all arrive by boat; refugees in camp environments are inherently
more vulnerable than others; asylum seekers have not experienced protracted
displacement; and asylum seekers are unfairly taking resettlement places that
should be reserved for more “deserving” refugees. For example, in response to the
question one participant stated:
“Australia should support a refugee intake as a moral imperative, but should
also be able to impose strong border security policies as a sovereign right. The
vast majority of refugees admitted should continue to be from refugee camps:
boat arrivals should continue to be strongly discouraged by tough policies to
prevent queue jumping (as Australia’s refugee quota remains a zero-sum
game). Onshore refugees should be processed to international standards. The
simulation has reaffirmed my belief that the experiences of long-term “camp”
refugees should entitle them to a higher priority in Australia’s refugee system.
Advocates should take a position on ensuring resettlement do not suffer as a
result of boat arrivals and to ensure certain groups (like women) are not
35

disadvantaged in accessing places.”
Public Servant, 19-26 year old participant
“I welcome refugees as long as they seek asylum the correct way and are not
illegal migrants”
Adult survey respondent
“I feel compassion for them and their suffering but they should not take over my
country.”
Adult survey respondent
The Refugee Realities simulation does not cover in any detail the process by which
refugees and asylum seekers can access protection and resettlement places in
Australia. It also does not contain information or experiential components that
address the plight of people displaced in urban environments (who make up roughly
two-thirds of the world’s refugees). A consequence of this may be that participants fill
in the blanks themselves, drawing conclusions that some refugees are inherently
more deserving and should be consequently entitled to greater protection and
assistance from the Australian Government than others. If Refugee Realities covered
in more detail Australia’s approach to refugee protection and alternative situations of
displacement it could help to dispel myths and better promote attitudes that see all
refugees as having the individual right to protection, regardless of circumstance or
their mode of seeking asylum.
When children were asked the same question, “how do you feel about refugees after
your visit”, their responses were also usually empathetic, but focussed more on their
own subjective personal feelings than adults did – with the most commonly cited
adjective being the feeling of “sadness”. Other respondents cited being “upset” and
“sorry”. We examined correlations between a random sample (10%) of children’s
sad/sorry/upset responses to see whether these unhappy emotions impacted
negatively on children’s enjoyment of the simulation. Given that most of the children
who felt sad also felt that the simulation was too short, and answered positively to
the question “did the simulation keep your interest”, we can infer that these emotions
did not undermine the ability of children to enjoy the experience. Some children’s
responses to this question also indicated that they felt empowered by the
experience:
“I feel good because now I understand how asylum works”
12 year old child survey respondent
“I want to make a career in helping displaced persons and refugees because
Oxfam made me realised they are just as important as me.”
12 year old child survey respondent
Following the simulation, at least 98% of participants expressed either a strong
sense of empathy and compassion towards refugees or that they had formed a
stronger view that refugees and others caught up in crisis deserve protection and
assistance. Comparing this qualitative result with the quantitative results in the
Mildura simulation, in which 14% of respondents indicated a lack of empathy towards
refugees after the experience, is revealing. Still, the fact that the surveys in Mildura
36

and Canberra utilised different data collection methodologies (quantitative in Mildura,
qualitative in Canberra) means that we cannot be sure whether these results indicate
the Canberra simulation was more effective or whether participants of that simulation
were on average more empathetic towards refugees prior to their visit than those in
Mildura. In future, it would be useful for surveys used in all Refugee Realities
simulations to be as consistent as possible so that the reasons for discrepancies like
this can be better understood.
When considering why the simulation generated such a strong empathetic response,
it was useful to analyse data relating to participants’ experiences of the different
sections of the simulation. When asked to share their favourite part of the simulation,
many respondents noted that the most impacting parts were the experiential aspects
of the simulation where their ‘survival’ was contingent upon their ability to
successfully negotiate with officials or navigate tough terrain. Imagining this reality
generated empathy and respect for the resilience of refugees among participants:
“The blindfolded part, it gives you a sense of the fear and of the unknown”
Siobhan Moran, College Student
“The walk in the dark through the jungle was realistic and having to make big
decisions as a child”.
Shanon Babyack, Research Officer, 27-35 year old
“The food demonstration brought home to me the harsh realities of arbitrary
life”.
Retiree, 55-65 year old participant
“...The border guards were highly realistic and drove home a strong point
about contravening international law”.
AusAID staff member, 19-26 year old participant
Recommendation 10: In future Refugee Realities productions surveys should
be as consistent as possible so as to compare impacts on participant attitudes
and knowledge between different simulations. Surveys should provide
opportunities for respondents to rate the impact in qualitative terms but also
to explain the reasons why the simulation did or did not impact on their level
of empathy for refugees.
Recommendation 11: In future Refugee Realities productions, surveys should
be as consistent as possible so as to compare impacts on participant attitudes
and knowledge between different simulations. Surveys should provide
opportunities for respondents to rate the impact in qualitative terms but also
to explain the reasons why the simulation did or did not impact on their level
of empathy for refugees.
6.2 Strengthening public recognition and respect for refugees
The above sections indicate that the simulation promoted feelings of empathy and
respect towards refugees. Yet, in considering how effectively Refugee Realities
strengthened public recognition and respect for the resilience of refugees, we must
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also look at the public communications around the project and initiatives intended to
showcase positive contributions refugees have made to Australia.
To this end, the project organisers attempted to:
1. Encourage strong participation from former refugees in the events;
2. Showcase artwork and writing produced by former refugees as part of the
Express Your Reality competition; and
3. Pitch positive stories about former refugees now living in Australia to local and
national media and promote the project’s messages through marketing
Each of these efforts is examined in the following section.
Participation of former refugees in the Canberra event
The participation of former refugees in Refugee Realities was a priority for the
organisers. Oxfam Australia established links early on in the project with local
refugee support services, including Migrant and Refugee Settlement Services
(MARSS), UNHCR, Woden Community Services, the Office of Multicultural Affairs,
Companion House, the Canberra Multicultural Community Forum, the University of
Canberra with their Refugee Mentoring Group and the Canberra Refugee Support
Group, with the aim of engaging former refugees in the Canberra event. Despite
these efforts, only 13 of the 229 registered volunteers were former refugees - roughly
the same level as in the Melbourne pilot in 2008. The Horsham community-led pilot
had no former refugees directly involved but in Mildura there were four young former
refugees involved in the simulation, playing the role of the Government officials and
assisting with the soundscape through parts of the journey.
In the lead-up to the Canberra event, a higher proportion of former refugees initially
registered their interest on the volunteer registration system but, over time, dropped
out. Feedback from former refugees who did participate, as well as staff and partner
organisations, suggest that there may be several barriers to the participation of
former refugees and asylum seekers in Refugee Realities. These include:
1. A lack of proficiency in English limited some former refugees’ options for
involvement. This may also have lead to communication breakdowns, which
resulted in some former refugees not fully understanding what they had
volunteered to do or the level of commitment required for certain roles, such
as becoming a presenter. Consequently, some pulled out of the project.
2. Economic concerns dominated some former refugees’ considerations of
whether to become involved or not. For example, some groups contacted
wanted to be reimbursed for contributions such as travel, which was not
provided for in the project budget.
3. Time constraints (family, study and work-related) overwhelmed some former
refugees and caused many to drop out of their volunteer roles.
4. The confidence of refugees to share their stories on video diminished after
filming began. This may have been a reaction to an increasingly hostile
political climate regarding refugee issues during the lead up to the Canberra
38

event. Notwithstanding, often reasons were not given by participants as to
why they had changed their mind.
5. Links to refugee communities were at times difficult to make, perhaps due to
the objectives of Refugee Realities not being identified by community leaders
as compatible with theirs.
6. The team possibly relied too heavily on partner organisations with links to
refugee communities, which originally committed to promote the event
amongst their networks, but ultimately did not fully deliver on these
commitments.
7. Some local refugee resettlement support groups initially expressed concern
about their clients’ involvement with the project given potential trauma
implications. These organisations ultimately supported the project once they
realised how dedicated the planning team was to managing risks and
ensuring proper incident procedures were in place.
These issues must be considered and addressed if former refugee participation is to
be a genuine priority for the development of future Refugee Realities projects.
The former refugees who did participate in the Canberra event took on a range of
roles as presenters, trainers, information officers, actors and media spokespeople. A
few, who did not wish to take on event roles, shared their stories and experiences via
video, tape, blogging, photography and written biography. The contribution made by
these participants was significant, valued and beneficial to participants, fellow
volunteers and staff. Former refugees who responded to the volunteer survey rated
their experience highly:
“My experience as a former refugee motivated me to teach or share it with
other people. It is very excellent program to involve in.”
Volunteer survey respondent
“Even though it might have been exhausting I just had a lot of fun doing it,
especially because of the amazing people I got to meet during Refugee
Realities.”
Volunteer survey respondent
However, one respondent suggested that the project would be improved through:
“more consultation and participation of people from refugee background. It
would be much better if people from refugee background involved and share
their story with participants”.
Volunteer survey respondent
This perhaps demonstrates that the approach to engaging former refugees should
be expanded from a focus on “volunteering” towards a more consultative and
collaborative engagement process.
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Recommendation 12: Maximise greater ownership, access and participation of
former refugees over any future Refugee Realities projects by:
• Identifying and securing local refugee and migrant organisation partners
early on that can assist in facilitating linkages between local former refugee
communities. The trauma risk mitigation strategies in place should be
clarified with these groups to alleviate any concerns. The roles and
responsibilities of Oxfam and these partner organisations should also be
clear from the outset.
• Identifying former refugee champions who can assist in advocating for the
involvement of their own communities.
• Budgeting for travel reimbursements for volunteers who have limited
means.
• Translating promotional material into other languages in order to start
addressing some of the barriers to participation.
• Engaging potential former refugee spokespeople and simulation presenters
early on in the project planning and offering to provide training
opportunities to help build their public speaking and interview skills so they
are confident to participate in speaking roles.
• Targeting high profile former refugee artists, philanthropists, business
people and officials to be patrons or spokespeople of Refugee Realities, to
raise public attention to the positive contributions former refugees make to
Australian life
Express Your Reality competition
One aspect of the project that did generate strong participation from former refugees
in Canberra and around the country was the Express Your Reality visual arts and
writing competition. 65 former refugees entered the competition, with a selection of
their work being exhibited alongside Refugee Realities in Canberra. Express Your
Reality was initiated in partnership with online magazine Culturalista, who helped
promote the competition and secure entrants.
The resulting exhibition was well attended, and school groups who arrived early for
their simulation tour often explored the exhibition while they waited. Volunteer and
staff feedback suggests that the exhibition was a valuable way of promoting positive
messages about former refugees in Australia and enhancing the participation of
former refugees in the project. However, given the multitude of other activities and
stages in the Refugee Realities simulation, the exhibition was possibly a bit
overshadowed.
The winner of the writing component of the project shared his story as part of a
celebration of refugee contributions to Australia at a side-event on World Refugee
Day. Most of the finalists and some other entrants also came along to this event.
While the World Refugee Day event had the potential to be a remarkable opportunity
to promote positive refugee stories, it was poorly attended by the general public and
feedback received from partner organisations suggests that it was insufficiently
40

promoted. Any future celebratory events like this should be sufficiently resourced to
ensure they maximise the opportunities to raise the profile of refugee contributions to
Australia.
Given the powerful artistic content received, Express Your Reality could be
transformed into a touring or online exhibition, expanding the geographic reach of
the project’s objective of building empathy and respect. Data relating to the impact of
the exhibition on visitors’ attitudes and beliefs was not, however, comprehensive
enough to determine its actual impact. Therefore any future plans for incorporating
Express Your Reality into Refugee Realities, or expanding it independently, should
seek to monitor and evaluate its impact on the viewing public more systematically.
Recommendation 13: Any side activities to Refugee Realities such as the
Express Your Reality exhibition and World Refugee Day celebration should be
adequately resourced, executed and promoted in order to maximise their
potential to strengthen public recognition and respect for refugees in
Australia. Oxfam should consider ways to maximise the geographic impact of
these side-projects beyond one-off Refugee Realities simulations, for example
utilising online spaces to share content.
Recommendation 14: Efforts should be made to thoroughly evaluate the
impact of Express Your Reality on viewers, the public and former refugee
entrants themselves in any future development of the competition exhibition.
Showcasing positive refugee stories through media and marketing
The main strategy employed by the Oxfam media unit in communicating Refugee
Realities to the public was to showcase former refugee stories and personal
accounts of their involvement in the project. The Refugee Realities Project
Coordinator, being a former refugee from Vietnam herself, was a powerful
spokesperson for the project. A selection of former refugees, including people
involved in the initial Melbourne pilot event, also acted as spokespeople and
conveyed the achievements of former refugees in Australia and their resilience and
strength.
“We thought it was great that Nghia was involved and was the spokesperson
given her background as it really provided some realism to the event”.
Oxfam’s National Events and Melbourne Trailwalker Team, staff feedback emailed on
20.07.10
“The project coordinator’s personal story and the powerful story of other
volunteers really worked...media-wise”
Kate Thwaites, Oxfam’s Media Coordinator: International Projects and Emergencies,
staff feedback emailed on 04.08.10
There was some good coverage of these stories on ABC TV, ABC 666 radio, AAP
and in local and regional papers. The Canberra Times ran a full-page article and
photo of the project on the opening day, linking it to the personal refugee story of the
Project Coordinator. Stateline ACT also covered the Canberra event. Reporters for
Stateline, which claims to provide the best analysis of politics and insight into issues
41

that affect people and places in the ACT, ended up staying beyond the 2 hour media
launch and took the time to capture the interactive simulation and conduct several
interviews. The resulting five minute program aired on the Friday of the first week of
the event, and included personal accounts from several of the project’s former
refugee spokespeople.
Several other local radio and print outlets covered the media launch that was
attended by around 50 attendees including notable guests: Ms Mary Porter from the
Office of the Chief Minister; Yasmine Khan, Claire Doube, Director of Companion
House; Chris Elstoft, Assistant Director General, Communications & Research
branch, AusAID; and Mr Andrew Harper, acting Director of the Museum of Australian
Democracy at Old Parliament House.
Local media was successful at amplifying the stories of former refugees in Australia,
including some who travelled from as far as Coffs Harbour to be part of the event.
Both the community-led pilot events in Mildura and Horsham also received good
local coverage (Mildura WIN TV, Horsham local paper and radio).
However, when comparing the Melbourne pilot in 2008 with the Canberra event in
2010 it is clear that the second iteration of the project generated far less national and
international attention. This may be because the second instalment of the project
had less novelty value than the Melbourne event and was held in locations with less
media access. A number of internal media challenges may also have contributed.
There was some confusion between the Oxfam Media Unit and project staff about
who was responsible for coordinating various aspects of the media engagement
surrounding the project. While the team in Canberra was willing to lead on engaging
local media to cover the event, the Media Unit in Melbourne preferred to retain
control over this aspect in order to ensure professional coordination and
management of Oxfam’s reputation with journalists and media outlets. Consequently,
there were constraints on the ability of the Refugee Realities team to directly
capitalise on the media opportunities that emerged from their local presence and
daily engagement with local partner organisations and volunteers, with their own
connections to local media outlets.
Project staff and volunteers also felt that the marketing of the project was not
adequate to sufficiently promote large-scale attendance or amplify the project’s
messages to a wider audience. Given the financial constraints, the project team
focussed on free and inexpensive promotional avenues including the distribution of
posters and brochures by volunteers and partners, email alerts throughout Canberra
and a fortnightly Refugee Realities e-newsletter to all stakeholders. The team also
negotiated a sponsorship arrangement with the Canberra Times to advertise
regularly in the newspaper leading up to the event. However, advertisements were
placed in the Classifieds section of the paper and therefore not highly visible.
“Lack of profile of the event was a problem; I felt the placement of
advertisements was incorrect. Oxfam needs to think about taking multiple
publicity approaches, pushing the different facets of the project: refugee
issues, event nature, community arts focus, theatre, educational opportunity
42

etc.”
Caroline Stacey, Artistic Director/CEO, The Street Theatre, interviewed on 06.07.10
In future it would be beneficial for the Media Unit and event staff to develop a joint
media and communications strategy for Refugee Realities that aims to amplify
refugee stories and the project’s core messages, as well as enhance public
attendance at simulation events. The roles and responsibilities of each individual and
unit in implementing the strategy should be clearly defined in the strategy. The Media
Unit should maintain coordination of the plan but this must also be balanced with an
approach that maximises opportunities for Oxfam to benefit from local partnerships
and networks, which may require some decentralisation. Oxfam should also explore
the possibility of securing high profile or celebrity patrons of refugee background, as
a way of both demonstrating the achievements of former refugees in Australia and
building the public profile of the event.
Recommendation 15: Enhance opportunities for public exposure of the project
and positive stories of former refugees in Australia in future Refugee Realities
events. This could be achieved by:
• The Refugee Realities team, Oxfam Media Unit and Creative Marketing
Unit jointly developing a communications strategy to accompany the
Refugee Realities program and events, including strategies for engaging
high profile patrons of refugee background to endorse and participate in
the event.
• Continuing to concentrate media pitching on strong stories of former
refugees. Oxfam should reach out to potential media spokespeople early
in the project and work with them throughout the project planning phase
to build their interview confidence.
• Clarifying the roles and responsibilities of the project team vis-à-vis the
Media Unit and balancing centralised professional coordination of
national media engagement at head office with the maximisation of local
media engagement opportunities that may be best managed by the
project team.
• Including a promotions budget line in grant applications where this
expenditure is eligible for funding
• Engaging with the Marketing section of Oxfam for advice about
marketing priorities and how the project promotions can be better
incorporated into Oxfam’s broader promotional activities.
6.3 Conclusions on Objective 2
It is clear that at least in the immediate term, Refugee Realities simulations resulted
in most participants feeling greater empathy, understanding and support for refugees
in Australia. These impacts could be enhanced in future if Refugee Realities were
able to secure the participation of more former refugees in project planning and
implementation. Achieving this will require the organisers to be sensitised and
committed to addressing existing barriers to the participation of former refugees in
the project.
43

While the Express Your Reality competition was successful in engaging strong
former refugee participation and highlighting to visitors the positive creative
contributions former refugees are making to Australian cultural life, the exhibition did
not generate sufficient public exposure to broadly influence perceptions about
refugees. Nevertheless there are strong opportunities to expand this aspect of the
project in conjunction with genuine efforts to monitor and evaluate its impacts.
The evaluation does not provide a clear picture of the impact of Refugee Realities on
the broader public’s recognition and respect for refugees. This is because there have
been no attempts to survey members of the public who became aware of Refugee
Realities through the media. Despite some internal challenges and external barriers
to securing high level media attention, the project did succeed in raising the profile of
positive stories about refugees in local media where events were implemented.
Media coverage of future Refugee Realities projects could be increased by a more
coordinated internal approach within Oxfam and securing high profile former
refugees as spokespeople.
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7 Objective 3: Active citizenship
Objective 3: Creatively engage and inspire active and connected citizens and
communities on key humanitarian issues such as conflict, displacement and
delivery of essential relief.
In seeking to assess Refugee Realities against this objective we have considered
two key questions:
• To what extent did the project connect citizens and communities on
refugee/humanitarian issues?
• Is there evidence to suggest that Refugee Realities has inspired active
citizenship on these issues?
7.1 Connecting citizens and communities
The project team aimed to connect citizens and communities on refugee and
humanitarian issues in a variety of ways, including by:
• Partnering with arts production organisation Many Moons to initiate a
decentralised and community cultural development focussed strategy to
empower community groups to run their own Refugee Realities simulations
• Cultivating strong local community ownership of the Canberra simulation by
engaging several partners across business, arts, government and nongovernment
sectors
• Providing online platforms for participants of the Canberra simulation and any
members of the public to engage in dialogue about the issues raised by
Refugee Realities
Each of these aspects of the project will be examined in the following section to
determine their impact in connecting citizens and communities around key
humanitarian issues such as conflict, displacement and emergency relief.
Community-led pilots
Oxfam partnered with arts production company Many Moons Group and worked
intensively with Artistic Director Graham Pitts on the design and implementation of
the community-led pilot simulations. With Oxfam’s support, Many Moons Group led
on securing pilot locations and working with and mentoring host community
groups/schools in the design and implementation of their events.
This somewhat decentralised approach enabled strong community ownership over
the project in each of the pilot locations. For example, in the Mildura simulation,
Sunraysia Ethnic Communities Council led the event with support and involvement of
the Mallee Family Care Centre. The simulation became a core part of Human Rights
Week celebrations and was also supported by the Victorian Department of Justice,
the Department of Human Services, the Mallee Accommodation and Support
Program, the Mildura Regional City Council, the Murray Mallee Community Legal
45

Service, the Mildura Aboriginal Corporation, Sunraysia Community Health Services
and La Trobe University. Students from local schools were also engaged as both
participants and volunteers in the simulation:
“What they got out of it was, in fact, much more than we could have hoped for.
Janet Pietsch, Principal, attended the program and felt that it was the most
worthwhile activity that our students participated in throughout the year...The
teachers who attended, appreciated the opportunity to learn alongside their
students and were certainly pleasantly surprised with how engaged the
students were. It was also great that some of our students were able to be
involved behind the scenes i.e. making the landmines.”
Nina Pascoe, Assistant Principal, Irymple Secondary College, letter sent to the Mildura
Event Organisers on the 11.12.09
“The school’s feedback was very positive, I was happy to hear that some kids
were talking to their parents about it for weeks after.”
Dean Wickham, Director of the Sunraysia Ethnic Communities, emailed feedback on
11.01.10
The whole-of-community collaboration indicates the simulation succeeded in
connecting citizens and communities around the promotion of refugee rights and
dialogue about broader humanitarian issues.
Similarly, in the Glen Waverly Wesley simulation, teachers handed over control of
the project to senior school students, who engaged the broader school community in
implementing the project and provided younger students with the opportunity to
experience the simulation. Students subsequently created a film about the project to
share with the broader school community.
“The lives of refugees are really hard and we understood why today.”
Student, Wesley College, Glen Waverley
“We had overwhelming interest from kids wanting to be involved - now it is
just a matter of trying to manage them!”
Megan Kelly, Head of Senior School, Wesley College, Glen Waverley
In Horsham, the organisers of the simulation reported that the simulation enabled
them to engage with communities about an issue that previously had little exposure
in Horsham:
“Recently a number of refugees and families from a refugee background have
moved into Horsham and several other smaller Wimmera towns. Since this
has traditionally been an area with little or no contact with people from diverse
cultures, it seems to our membership that this program will assist us
admirably in our education program.”
Dr Jan Schmidt-Loeliger, Chairperson, Wimmera Rural Australians for Refugees,
Horsham
“This seems to me a very timely and worthwhile project.”
MP Hugh Delahunty, Member for Lowan
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It is clear from the community-led pilots that Refugee Realities can act as a catalyst
for considerable community building, as organisations and individuals come together
in a powerful production that highlights the rights and experiences of refugees.
Community partners in the Canberra simulation
The Refugee Realities team aimed to cultivate strong local community ownership of
the Canberra simulation as a way of both enhancing volunteer participation in the
simulation and connecting citizens and communities around refugee and
humanitarian issues.
As part of this strategy, the Refugee Realities team officially launched the intention to
run a Canberra simulation at a “Welcome to Refugee Realities” event co-hosted by
Many Moons and the Street Theatre on 3 rd February 2010, with over 100 guests in
attendance. The event generated an enthusiastic response from local business, the
tertiary sector and community organisations, leading to partnerships with these
entities, and helping to secure volunteers.
Early in the project planning, the team established partnerships with locally-based
organisations such MARSS, the ACT Centre for Teaching and Learning, the Street
Theatre, the ACT branches of the Australian Red Cross and Amnesty International
Australia, the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID), the UNHCR
Regional Office and Woden Community Service. Each partner organisation played a
valuable role in generating public interest in the simulation and contributed integrally
to the successful implementation of the project. For example, the Street Theatre paid
the salaries of four actors to become Refugee Realities Trainers and a chief setdesigner
to work on the project as part of the Theatre’s professional development
strand. The Director of the Street Theatre expressed that the combination of an
important issue like refugee rights together with good community arts practice was
appealing to the Theatre and aligned with its long-term goals. The arrangement also
provided a unique professional development opportunity for Canberra’s arts
community:
“Being in such close proximity to the audience was the most significant
experience; it’s not something you usually have in performances. Meeting the
humanitarian workers and learning from them was also amazing.”
Cathy Hagarty, Actor presenter interviewed on 06.07.10
“What drew The Street Theatre to the project both financially and creatively
was the important issue and the form of which the project was modelled
against – good community arts practice.”
Caroline Stacey, Artistic Director/CEO, The Street Theatre, interviewed on 06.07.10
This contribution led to a substantial cost saving but also great opportunities to
maximise the support of other organisations. Notably, UNHCR contributed
substantial resources to the project in terms of humanitarian supplies and materials
that were utilised in the refugee camp exhibit; and the Australian Red Cross
contributed props and volunteers to assist in the tracing and medical stages of the
simulation.
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While the long-term impact of this engagement cannot be fully assessed at this
stage, feedback from partner organisations suggests that it substantially enhanced
the project’s capacity to connect citizens and communities around the issues in ways
that have a life beyond the project:
“Having been the community campaigner in the ACT/Southern NSW region
for six of the seven years I can easily say Refugee Realities was the most
successful and rewarding community engagement activity I was involved in.”
Bede Carmody, Amnesty International Community Campaigner ACT/Southern NSW,
support letter sent to Oxfam on 05.08.10
“I was very pleased to be able to be there yesterday and listen to the music
and speakers who capped a very eventful two weeks... the team are now
considering ways to integrate the work of Refugee Realties into units of work
for ACT school students together with the incoming Australian Curriculum.”
Dr Michael Kindler, Manager, Curriculum Support P-12, ACT Department of Education
and Training, emailed on 21.06.10
To assess the extent to which this substantial partner involvement in the project will
translate into ongoing engagement between partner organisations and the broader
community in Canberra around the refugee and humanitarian issues, it would be
worthwhile to periodically follow-up with these partners.
Recommendation 16: Oxfam follow up with Canberra simulation partners in
2011 to assess the extent to which their engagement in Refugee Realities has
enhanced their ongoing connections with local communities around refugee
and broader humanitarian issues.
Online platforms for dialogue about the issues
Oxfam used a variety of online communication platforms and networks to both
promote Refugee Realities attendance and encourage social dialogue and active
citizenship about refugee issues online. These included the Oxfam Australia
Refugee Realities website, a Refugee Realities Facebook page, a Refugee Realities
weblog on My3Things.org (Oxfam’s youth engagement website) and Twitter.
Refugee Realities has modest but growing exposure to followers and frequent users
of our various online platforms with the potential for this to be further developed for
future projects.
Refugee Realities website
The main source of in-depth online information about Refugee Realities is contained
in the Refugee Realities website (www.oxfam.org/refugee) which had 7,889 visits
(5,261 unique visitors) between February and July in 2010 with most originating from
Australia. The average time that each visitor spent on the Refugee Realities website
in 2010 was 2:57 minutes, with an average of 3.5 pages preview on every visit. It is
not, however, possible to establish the overall effectiveness of the website without
surveying the website users, which was not possible in the scope of this evaluation.
Anecdotal evidence gathered from staff and partners of the project suggest that this
site is seen as a visually compelling and content rich platform. However it is also
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perceived to be too static (with little opportunity for social networking and infrequent
content updates) and not sufficiently linked with other Refugee Realities online
platforms (Facebook, Twitter and 3things.org.au) to really maximise ongoing
participation and dialogue about the issues. These perceptions are supported by the
substantial drop off in visits to the site since the conclusion of the Canberra event.
From 1 July to 31 August (2 months post event) there have only been 2,211 visits
(1,685 unique visitors) to the site, compared to 4,197 visits from 1 May to 30 June (1
month pre-event including month of event), which equates to a decrease of 47.3%.
Still, there are substantial opportunities to develop the site. These include using a
content publishing system like WordPress to facilitate easy updating, and better
integrating the site into a holistic online communications strategy that includes other
Oxfam and Refugee Realities social networking platforms designed to maintain
regular online dialogue about refugee issues in future.
3things.org.au
One such platform is 3things.org.au. 3things is an Oxfam Australia Youth
Engagement Program (YEP) initiative designed to connect young people to popular
culture and social justice issues through live news updates, project blogs and
Facebook and Twitter feeds. 3things.org enables people to speak to a wider
constituency and reframe how young Australians get involved in work to end poverty
and injustice. It is one platform that connects young people to the issues they care
about and enables them to take action.
YEP assisted the Refugee Realities team to establish a my3things weblog for
Refugee Realities as a tool for reaching out to the wider Australian youth community,
facilitating feedback and discussion, and enabling the exploration of themes and
issues raised by Refugee Realities. Overall there were 15 individual blogs posted,
including blogs by volunteers, Oxfam staff and participants on a range of topics such
as myth busting, behind-the-scenes at the event, book reviews and what it is like
working in a refugee camp.
In the “Ways Forward – For You” stage at the end of the Canberra simulation,
participants were encouraged to use online computer stations to upload thoughts,
experiences and feedback onto the my3things weblog. A total of 153 comments
were made on this website from 4 to 22 June. This feedback provided rich data for
the evaluation as well as an opportunity for participants to verbalise publicly what
they thought about the experience. One volunteer observed:
“...the blog was a great fact checking resource, as well as a connection tool
between the volunteers, the event and the public; many were able to view the
blog before and after the event, and associate their experiences with the facts
and the staff on the ground. It was highly-interactive, adding the overall
experience..., acting as a central online hub for the event. What I felt was
good about the blog was that it wasn’t just information- it was a personal
account of the event, as well as factual look behind the broader themes that
told the story of refugees”.
Social online network Volunteer
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Other notable comments posted on the weblog included:
“I didn’t know much about refugees/ refugee camps before this experience.
What I did learn made me sad, shocked and disgusted. The system all needs
to change. As I am much more aware now I will try to help as much as I can.”
April, 3things.org.au participant blogger
“It was a real eye opener to experience just some parts of the lives of these
refugees. I understand now why it was such an issue globally. I hope that we
can make a difference”.
Katherine, 3things.org.au participant blogger
While the my3things weblog was far more participatory than the Refugee Realities
website, overall it had less user exposure, with 982 visits in the lead-up to and during
the event. This is partially due to the blog only being ready to go live in the first few
days of the event, as well as no clear pathway for users to link between the Oxfam
Australia blogs page, Refugee Realities website or 3things main website and the
weblog. Thus the site was not sufficiently accessible to generate high user numbers.
This could be simply addressed by ensuring prominent links between the various
Refugee Realities and Oxfam sites.
Unlike the Refugee Realities website, users are continuing to engage with the
weblog and comments continue to be posted even after the conclusion of the
Canberra event. Posts are also been made by people who haven’t actually been to
the Refugee Realities simulation, demonstrating the potential to engage in dynamic
online dialogue about refugee issues when you have a social networking (as
opposed to static website) platform.
Other online platforms
Participants in the action-oriented “Ways Forward” stage in Canberra were able to
use a suite of online platforms to engage in dialogue about the issues raised. In
addition to 3things, teenagers were most likely to use the online hub to post
comments about the experience on Facebook. An example of one of the status
updates posted:
“Group of us went today. This was a great experience, thought provoking and
I am really glad that I went”.
Riitta Palasrinne, comment posted on 11.06.10
The events page on Facebook was also a source of information and updates about
the project for the 200 “friends” of Refugee Realities. This was useful for attracting
local volunteers to key events such as working bees and fundraising events in the
lead up to the Canberra simulation. Had it been set up much earlier, the promotion
and therefore attendance could have been wider reaching.
Finally, Twitter also provided opportunities for real-time posting about the simulation
and during the preparation phase. Currently with 217 followers, Refugee Realities
Twitter has been ‘listed’ 22 times (including by several refugee advocacy groups and
persons interested in refugees and forced migration). This indicates that users have
added the feeds to a specific ‘watch list,’ in order to monitor Refugee Realities
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Tweets. There were a total of 65 tweets made by Refugee Realities during the event
and a significant number of re-tweets. Like Facebook, Twitter would be great tool for
facilitating online dialogue about the issues raised by Refugee Realities to a
geographically dispersed audience.
While these experiences demonstrate the great potential of social networking sites to
promote Refugee Realities and provide an ongoing platform for discussion about
refugee issues, it is important to note that the Refugee Realities online following is
still modest. Part of the reason for this is that there is no overarching online
communications strategy for the event, and most online engagement has been ad
hoc and not sufficiently resourced. Addressing this should be a priority for any
sustained Refugee Realities programming in future.
Recommendation 17: Enhance the effectiveness of online social networking
platforms to engage ongoing participation and dialogue about the issues
• Future Refugee Realities programming should be undertaken in
collaboration with Oxfam’s Youth Engagement Program, web team and
communications section to develop an overarching online
communications plan for the project that clearly delineates roles and
responsibilities, adapts online platforms accordingly and regularly
monitors user engagement.
• Bring the Refugee Realities website into a new publishing platform
(Wordpress), which would be easier to maintain and produce content
for, allowing project organisers access to update the site. This would
also make it easier to integrate with social media and to add blogs,
which would make the site current and dynamic.
• The Refugee Realities website should be hosted as an Oxfam site
7.2 Inspiring active citizenship
The project aimed to promote active citizenship in a number of ways:
• Recruiting and supporting a large number of local volunteers to be involved in
the simulations
• Inspiring participants to consider ways to transform the knowledge and
empathy they gained during the simulations into action in their own lives to
promote the rights of people affected by crisis
Providing volunteering opportunities
In total there were almost 400 volunteers involved in Refugee Realities simulations
and activities between 2009 and 2010. The event organisers in Mildura were all
volunteers, whereas in Horsham the event organiser was remunerated by a third
party organisation, as part of a larger local Arts festival, whilst the rest of the
organising team, including the volunteer and logistics coordinators, were local
volunteers. Supporting the Canberra simulation were around 200 volunteers fulfilling
a variety of roles, which built on their own strengths and capacities. Of this number,
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147 volunteers staffed the simulation, along with the four actors employed by The
Street Theatre. Approximately 40 others were actively engaged in Refugee Realities
in the pre-event phase.
In addition to the practical need for adequate human resources to run the
simulations, the recruitment and training of volunteers was seen by the Refugee
Realities team as an end in itself – inspiring active citizens to be long term advocates
of human rights and on humanitarian issues.
Volunteers had varied reasons for getting involved with Refugee Realities. Below are
some examples:
“I believe the refugee debate in Australia would change dramatically if
Australians had more information about the plight of refugees and this was a
perfect chance to further disseminate information on the issue.”
Volunteer survey respondent
“I want to work in humanitarian aid and it was a good education opportunity”
Volunteer survey respondent
“My experience as a former refugee motivate(d) me to teach or share it with
other people. I also work for the organisation working with refugees and its
[sic] experience was valuable to compare with your program.”
Volunteer survey respondent
“I myself felt that I was quite misinformed about the plight of refugees and
their rapidly growing number world over. When this opportunity presented
itself, I was instantly drawn to it, both for my passion to do volunteer work and
to raise awareness about such a critical issue.”
Volunteer survey respondent
When asked to rate their overall experience volunteering at the Canberra simulation
on a scale of 1-10 most survey respondents scored their experience as a 9 or 10.
Commonly, volunteers who rated their experience highly noted that they enjoyed the
collegiate atmosphere of the volunteer team and were grateful for the opportunity to
learn new things. Additionally, many reported a feeling of empowerment and selfsatisfaction
as a result of the impact the project on participants. Examples of these
responses are below:
“I feel very strongly and very passionately about such issues. Plus the
opportunity to work with such wonderful and pleasant people and the most
fabulous volunteers made it one of my most enjoyable experiences ever.”
Volunteer survey respondent
“I learnt far more than I could have imagined, met many interesting people
from all over the shop, made connections, grew in myself and have come
away wanting to do it all again.”
Intern survey respondent
“I really felt like I had made a difference in the world, even if it was small.”
Volunteer survey respondent
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“The most significant experience for me was seeing changes in the attitudes
of many participants during the simulation, we seemed to change people’s
minds; there’d be these moments of realisation.”
Hanna Cormick, Actor presenter interviewed on 06.07.10
There were also clear signals that volunteers were keen to continue to advocate for
refugee rights as a result of their involvement with the project. Asked what actions
they intend to take to support the rights of refugee and others caught up in crisis now
that they have been involved with Refugee Realities, volunteers most commonly
indicated that they would do the following:
• Build their knowledge about refugee issues (89.5%)
• Talk to their family and friends about refugee experiences and rights (94.7%)
• Volunteer with a refugee support or humanitarian agency (73.7%) and;
• Take action to welcome refugees into their local community (66.7%)
Again, to assess the extent to which these intentions translate into action it would be
necessary to conduct follow-up surveys with volunteers.
Recommendation 18: Oxfam should endeavour to conduct a follow up survey
with Canberra simulation volunteers some time in 2011 in order to assess any
ongoing impacts of their participation in Refugee Realities. In particular, the
survey should examine the extent to which volunteers have been motivated to
become active and informed citizens on refugee rights and humanitarian crisis
issues. The survey should seek volunteers’ consent to be contacted again in
future to enable Oxfam to assess long term impact over time.
Inspiring participants to take action
Based on the learning’s of the Melbourne pilot in 2008, the organisers of the
Canberra event designed the simulation so that participants concluded their tour at
the action oriented “Ways Forward – For You” stage. At this point participants had a
chance to discuss and express their thoughts about what they had just experienced
on the simulation in a non-confronting way, and consider what they could do, as
individuals and in their communities, to assist people affected by crisis.
The Action Stage displayed a tangible path along one wall symbolising ‘Ways
Forward’ for participants and was the overall message of the Refugee Realities
experience. The question was posed - “What can you do now that you have had a
glimpse at what it is like to be a refugee?” Participants were encouraged to post
messages on footprints along the wall indicating what they would do or how they
thought differently as a consequence of their experience. Most of the messages
were posted by younger participants. They included:
• Start respecting refugees
• Welcome refugees to your community
• If people know what refugees are going through they should help
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• We can do a lot as an individual
• Help others. Help people. No war.
• GET INVOLVED. By not helping and not caring you are only like who they run
from in the first place.
• At school we should organize a fundraiser and donate.
• Help refugees in your community and donate
The Ways Forward stage thus provided opportunities for participants to verbalise
their ideas about potential actions they could take in a variety of ways.
Thanks to the engagement of partner organisations - particularly the active
participation of Amnesty International Australia - the space also provided practical
examples of actions that participants could take, including ways to donate to
organisations supporting the rights and wellbeing of displaced people, petitions they
could sign, and online actions they could take at a special laptop station.
One such online action was arranged by Oxfam Australia enabling participants to
send an email to their local Member of Parliament asking them to come down to
Stage 88, Commonwealth Park and visit Refugee Realities for whatever reason they
felt was compelling. Over the course of the two weeks 1,400 emails were sent to
Members of Parliament.
On balance, the “Ways Forward – For You” stage was seen by the organisers as a
highly effective tool for promoting active citizenship and the impact of this space, as
a result of its inclusion in the simulation script, was measurably improved compared
to the Melbourne pilot event. However, on a couple of days there was only one
person staffing the Ways Forward Stage and this proved insufficient to properly
engage and inform participants about what they could do in the space. As the Ways
Forward stage was extremely busy and crowded during the weekdays with many
school groups going through, a simple ‘what to do’ sign could have been displayed
nearby in order to help regulate the laptops and there should have been at least
three staff/volunteers staffing this stage of the simulation at all times. Weekends did
not pose a problem as there were enough staff and volunteers working at the Action
Stage which helped control the flow and limit the confusion at this final stage.
It appears from the survey data collected that the simulation was successful in
presenting participants with context-based information and an experience that
effectively inspired and encouraged them to take action. Approximately 80% of the
respondents thought is was ‘most likely’ or were confident that they would take one
or more of the following actions as a consequence of their visit to Refugee Realities:
• Find out more about refugee issues
• Talk to friends and family about refugee issues
• Actively welcome refugees into their community
• Donate to Oxfam Australia
A total of 17.5% of survey respondents also indicated they would raise issues of
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efugee rights with their local Member of Parliament. Qualitative responses also
indicated that volunteers and participants were likely to raise the issues highlighted
by Refugee Realities with political leaders:
“I felt it is unfair how refuges are treated. It is inhumane that they are forced to
live like this when a large number of others in the world are rich. When their
country is in war we should be supporting them and not treat them like
criminals! I am going to have a very serious chat with Kevin Rudd about that”.
Sally, 3things.org.au participant blogger
A further 11.4% of survey respondents indicated they would run a fundraising or
awareness raising event or activity and 15.2% were likely to volunteer with a refugee
or humanitarian support group. It is difficult at this stage, and without further followup
with participants, to determine the extent to which these planned actions will
materialise. However, according to ACFID’s Manager of Advocacy and Development
Practice, there are some signals that participants are following through with such
actions:
‘Given the current political debate on refugees and asylum seekers, it has
been very timely to undertake this project because of its strong emphasis on
advocacy and informing young people. It has also benefitted the Canberra
community. Following the project, we are aware that the number of volunteers
attending refugee resettlement information sessions (through the Migrant
Resource Centre) has doubled in some areas of Canberra, which clearly
demonstrates the strong impact the project has made in the community.’
Susan Harris Rimmer, ACFID Manager of Advocacy & Development Practice, support
letter sent to Oxfam on 08.07.10
Recommendation 19: In any future Refugee Realities events the action
oriented “Ways Forward – For You” stage should be seen as a priority area of
the simulation and staffed accordingly. If community-led simulations are to
continue, efforts should be made by Oxfam to encourage host communities to
incorporate local actions that participants can take to assist and protect
refugees in this stage.
Recommendation 20: As part of any follow-up survey with participants and
volunteers in 2011, Oxfam should incorporate questions about whether these
individuals have actually gone on to take concrete actions to promote refugee
rights and address humanitarian issues as a result of their visit to Refugee
Realities.
7.3 Conclusions on Objective 3
The data suggests that Refugee Realities projects did provide multiple avenues to
connect citizens, communities and organisations from a diversity of sectors around
refugee and humanitarian issues. These impacts were observed at the local level in
areas where Refugee Realities simulations took place. It is not possible, however, to
draw conclusions about the extent to which the dialogue and community connections
sparked through Refugee Realities will be ongoing without conducting follow up
studies. It may therefore be necessary for Oxfam to maintain contact with
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participants, volunteers and partner organisations in order to facilitate ongoing
monitoring and evaluation of impacts. To facilitate ongoing dialogue about these
issues and maximise response rates for any follow-up surveys, Oxfam should ideally
continue to share information with these stakeholders, ensuring that they are kept
abreast of any project developments and broader refugee and humanitarian issues
relevant to Australians. This would ensure that any follow-up engagement and
information sharing is a genuine two-way process.
Online platforms for engaging participants of the Canberra simulation, as well as
members of the broader public, in dialogue about refugee rights and humanitarian
issues were undoubtedly a positive development for the project. These platforms
succeeded in providing avenues for citizens to voice their concerns and reflections
about the issues and enter into dialogue with others. In order to ensure that these
avenues for dialogue remain open post-Canberra event Oxfam will need to hone its
online communications strategy and address barriers to access and participation.
The evaluation also finds that recruiting and supporting the participation of a large
number of local volunteers to be involved in Refugee Realities provided a direct and
unique way for individuals to take action and inspired volunteers to be more effective
advocates around human rights and humanitarian issues into the future. The
simulations also provided multiple avenues for participants to take immediate action
– through emails to their local MP, signing a petition or donating money. Moreover,
the simulations provided participants with a space to generate ideas about how to
transform their new-found knowledge about refugee rights and empathy for those
affected by crisis into more substantial, ongoing action. Again, follow-up testing
would be required to determine longer-term impacts on volunteers and participants.
Recommendation 21: As part of future project planning Oxfam should
consider ways to maintain contact and facilitate ongoing dialogue with and
between stakeholders, including past volunteers, participants and partner
organisations. This could include maintaining the Refugee Realities
newsletter, engaging stakeholders in online social networks and potentially
facilitating follow-up activities between stakeholders in locations where
simulations have previously been held. These investments would assist in
facilitating longer-term connections between participants and communities
around the issues as well as provide greater opportunities for follow-up study
about the longer-term impacts of Refugee Realities.
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8 Objective 4: Government accountability
Objective 4: Encourage and celebrate strong Australian government
accountability towards protecting rights and assisting the wellbeing and rights
of people in humanitarian crises around the world, including resettled
refugees and asylum seekers in Australia.
The organisers defined “government accountability” in the context of this project as
providing opportunities to increase government exposure to the views of informed
and active citizens about the issues that affect people in crisis and Australia’s role in
addressing them. This is, it has to be said, quite a narrow definition of government
accountability. To further clarify the project’s model of change it may be useful for the
organisers to consider incorporating this government accountability objective into
objective 3. This would help the organisers to focus the project outputs on the main
objective (education and active citizenship) with the rationale that enhanced
knowledge about refugee rights and experience and greater active citizenship
around these issues will drive stronger government accountability towards
international refugee protection obligations and the views of informed citizens.
In line with the organisers’ conception of government accountability in this context,
the following section assesses the extent to which Refugee Realities provided
opportunities to enhance dialogue between citizens and government
representatives.
In order to facilitate the active participation of policymakers and public servants, the
Refugee Realities team made contact with various federal government departments
agencies, including the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC), the
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, AusAID, the Department of Defence and
the Asia Pacific Civil-Military Centre of Excellence inviting them to bring groups of
staff to the event. Upon completion of the event Oxfam, staff hosted groups from the:
• Australian Defence Force (ADF)
• AusAID (Communications Section)
• DIAC (Humanitarian Program Analysis and Reporting Section
Humanitarian Branch Border Security, Refugee and International Policy
Division)
• Attorney-General's Department (2010 Graduates)
• Commonwealth Ombudsman
• ACT Department of Education (Curriculum Support Section)
These targeted group tours provided some unique opportunities for Oxfam staff and
volunteers to engage in dialogue about the issues of humanitarian crisis and forced
displacement with government staff.
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‘...it allowed more in-depth engagement with the content and to explore WHY
we run an event like this. My one disappointment with the experience was that
there were not more groups like these coming through.”
Ben Murphy, Oxfam’s Humanitarian Advocacy Officer
However, given the tours were run exclusively rather than in conjunction with general
public participants they provided little opportunity for members of the general public
to engage with and ask questions of government staff about the issues. In future it
would be advisable for Oxfam to consider ways that dialogue can be enhanced,
potentially through discussion forums or mixed tours of public servants and members
of the public.
Individualised invitations were also sent to all MPs and Senators to attend the
simulation, offering personalised tours for those who wished to attend. As highlighted
above, participants in the simulation together with Oxfam supporters were provided
with an online platform enabling them to email their local MP and encourage them to
come along to the simulation. Around 200 emails were sent to parliamentarians,
although Oxfam was unable to obtain data about any resulting correspondence
between MPs and their constituents.
The following parliamentarians attended the simulation in Canberra and participated
in individualised tours:
• Federal Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs and
Settlement Services, the Hon Laurie Ferguson MP
• The Hon Julie Owens MP
• The Hon Kelvin Thompson MP
• Senator Gary Humphries; and
• ACT Minister for Multicultural Affairs Joy Burch MLA
The attendance of these political leaders was seen as a unique and worthwhile
opportunity to discuss the human impact of crisis and discuss ways the Australian
Government is meeting its agreed international protection obligations and supporting
the resettlement of refugees. The experience was seen as mutually beneficial, as
demonstrated by the support letter written by the Hon Laurie Ferguson about the
project (see Appendix 6).
“I emphatically endorse the effectiveness of the work in overcoming
misinformation and ignorance”
The Honourable Laurie Ferguson, Federal Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural
Affairs and Settlement Services
The participation of parliamentarians at the event in Canberra did provide valuable
opportunities for volunteers and staff to enter into dialogue with these leaders about
the range of issues raised by Refugee Realities. There were also signs that Refugee
Realities generated political interest in Parliament:
“The House...recognises and welcomes the generous and compassionate
contributions made by many Australians, and by Australian-based Non-
Government Organisations and charities to the welfare of refugees and
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asylum seekers, and in particular commends the awareness-raising Refugees
Realities project undertaken by Oxfam Australia and supported by many other
organisations...”
Ms Melissa Parke MP’s motion in the House of Representatives on 15.06.10
Despite the simulation being deliberately held during a sitting period when the
organisers knew most political leaders would be in Canberra, there were obviously
still barriers to MPs attending the event. These include:
• Politicians were not given enough lead in time to accept our invitation (as
recommended in the evaluation of the pilot project). Invitations were sent
just one week prior to the event launch. In future, at least a month, with
plenty of time for follow-up reminders, will be essential.
• The event was open daily from 10-4pm but as sitting time was on during
this time, and as most parliamentarians had little prior warning of the
event and had therefore not planned ahead to attend, it was only possible
for them to attend during their lunchtimes or brief periods of availability.
While we did offer out of hours tours for political leaders and priority
groups to attend, weather was not really suitable for this and we perhaps
did not draw enough attention to this option in our communications.
• Internally there was some confusion around who was responsible for
outreaching to and liaising with government departments and
parliamentarians. As a consequence we may not have been proactive
enough in our approach to achieve the outcomes we wanted. For
example, we did not allocate a person responsible for following up on our
invitations to ensure they had been received and encourage
parliamentarians to attend the simulation.
• The sensitivity of the refugee and asylum seeker debate leading up to the
election could have impacted on political leaders’ decision about whether
or not to attend.
Most of these issues could be resolved to achieve greater government and
parliamentarian participation in future. This would require ensuring the Government
Relations team maintains strategic and operational input in future Refugee Realities
events and initiatives, we invest more in planning our government engagement
strategy, and there is a clear delineation in roles and responsibilities for
implementing the strategy.
Recommendation 22: In future it would be advisable for Oxfam to consider
ways that dialogue can be enhanced between policy makers and members of
the public, potentially through discussion forums or mixed tours.
Recommendation 23: A Government engagement plan is developed by the
relevant internal stakeholders and led by the Humanitarian Advocacy Team to
accompany any future Refugee Realities events. This plan should clearly
delineate roles and responsibilities for government liaison between the
relevant staff. The Government Relations team should retain a strong role in
coordination of government engagement opportunities alongside events.
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8.1 Conclusions on Objective 4
Refugee Realities did provide some opportunities for volunteers and Oxfam staff
and, to a limited extent, participants to engage in dialogue with parliamentarians and
public servants about the issues. The immediate impacts observed while not
insignificant, were small in comparison to the project’s performance against the three
other objectives. This is because the simulations provided few opportunities for
citizens to enter into dialogue or raise concerns directly with their elected
representatives and Australian public servants about the issues. Engagement was
largely filtered through Oxfam staff and volunteers.
The conceptualisation of government accountability in the project design of Refugee
Realities was also very narrow. Government accountability is clearly about more
than dialogue between citizens and government. It is also about transparency, active
participation of citizens in the policy-making process, having effective grievance
mechanisms and, in the context of enhancing accountability towards refugees and
others caught up in crisis, the participation of affected populations is also important.
These facets of accountability were not considered by the Refugee Realities team
when they were conceptualising objective 4. This is not necessarily a failing of the
project, but perhaps an indication that the project objectives require some reconceptualisation.
Given there is a direct relationship between the level of government accountability
and the level of active citizenship on refugee rights and humanitarian issues in
Australia, perhaps it would be more appropriate for Objective 3 – relating to active
citizenship – to also encapsulate government accountability.
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9 Quality of project implementation and execution
This section aims to briefly assess the quality of the execution of Refugee Realities.
This is not intended to be a detailed examination of every facet of the project, but
rather a focussed assessment of the project implementation based on four main
criteria:
• Overall event management
• Volunteer management
• Partnership management
• Cost effectiveness of the project
9.1 Overall event management and organisation
Survey data provides an insight into participant and volunteer perceptions regarding
the organisation of Refugee Realities simulations. In both the Mildura and Canberra
simulations, survey respondents were asked to rank their perception of the
organisation of the event from 1 (extremely poor) to 5 (very high). Results
demonstrate that on the whole both simulations were very well organised, with 93%
and 77% of respondents from Canberra and Mildura respectively scoring the events
as a 4 or 5 for organisation (see figure 8).
Figure 8: Comparison of event organisation between Canberra and Mildura
Given the Mildura community-led simulation was entirely driven by volunteers this is
a real achievement, and the strong participant endorsement of the Canberra
simulation’s organisation is also a testament to sound project management.
Volunteer perceptions of the overall event organisation of the Canberra simulation
were also high. On a scale of 1-10, 87.5% of respondents scored the event
organisation at 8 or above.
Internal feedback from Oxfam event staff who attended the Canberra simulation to
support the Refugee Realities team was also strong:
.
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“Overall, the event as a whole was organised exceptionally well... Refugee
Realities is a huge undertaking in every aspect (content, volunteers, logistics,
marketing etc) and it’s a huge ask of two people that are situated in an
isolated office away from National support.”
Oxfam’s National Events and Melbourne Trailwalker Team, staff feedback emailed on
20.07.10
It is clear that despite the strong event management performance of project staff,
coordinating Refugee Realities in Canberra presented a host of challenges not
experienced in the Melbourne pilot, given Oxfam’s national head office and the bulk
of its staff are based in Melbourne. Managing the project remotely out of a very small
and comparatively ill-equipped office in Canberra was difficult. This was in part due
to IT problems and lack of physical space in the Canberra Oxfam office:
“No support given, had to take my own computer into work …”
Intern, survey respondent
“I was surprised by the amount of IT issues and lack of desk-space”
Georgina Glanfield, Volunteer Event Assistant, interviewed on 07.07.10
Efficiency of the two project staff members was hampered by issues with internet
and computer processing speeds, printer and faxing problems and difficulties
accessing IT support. Whilst these issues may not have arisen if Refugee Realities
was run from a larger, well stationed office, it is worth noting a strong
recommendation that adequate IT and office resources be available to interns and
volunteers in the future, regardless of location.
Other challenges were due to the intrinsic difficulties of working with staff from a
remote location. The Refugee Realities project team had to consult and collaborate
with a range of Melbourne-based Oxfam sections including the Advocacy Unit,
Media, Creative Resources, Database support, IT, Corporate Relations, Events
Team and others. The physical distance of the Refugee Realities team from the
relevant staff across these units made obtaining timely input, advice and approval on
tasks slower than it would have been if the project had been managed out of
Melbourne.
Some volunteers also expressed the sentiment that their work was made difficult
because the project team of two staff (and a small selection of part-time and
contracted human resources for peak period) was insufficient to manage the
workload. For example, one volunteer suggested that improving the project
management for future events would require:
“More people organising it, two people doing it is ridiculous.”
Intern, survey respondent
As a consequence of the workload and inadequate human resources for the
Canberra event both full-time staff worked significant overtime and opportunities for
time off were not factored into the project planning. These issues will need to be
taken into consideration in scoping and assessing the feasibility of future events.
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Additional human resources are likely to be required for future Refugee Realities
events coordinated out of remote offices in order to maintain staff and volunteer
wellbeing. In addition, given the intense, time-bound nature of this project, special
consideration should be given to how and when project staff can be given time off
during the project period.
Several volunteers and partners also commented that the decision to run the
Canberra event from 7-20 June, in Canberra winter, was ill advised.
“Absolutely, totally the wrong time of the year”
Caroline Stacey, Artistic Director/CEO, The Street Theatre, interviewed on 06.07.10
There were many factors that led to this decision including the availability of partner
organisations; alignment with the school timetable and NAPLAN exams; timing to
coincide with World Refugee Day (20 th June); parliamentary sitting calendar;
availability of the venue and deadline for expenditure of the funds provided by
AusAID. Nevertheless, the cold weather was a challenge for volunteers and staff:
“Conditions for volunteers/workers re: the weather made things really hard,
especially at the end of the day, it was hard to get motivated for the last
groups that came through as the sun had gone down and it was freezing”.
Hanna Cormick, Actor presenter interviewed on 06.07.10
Anecdotal evidence suggests that the unconducive weather conditions may have
limited the participation rate in Canberra. The simulation also had to be closed for a
whole day due to poor weather, forcing organisers to overbook the final weekday of
the simulation to accommodate cancelled school groups who still wished to attend.
For future Refugee Realities events, weather should be prioritised as a critical factor
underwriting the success of the simulation and therefore considered carefully when
deciding on dates and locations.
The location of the Canberra simulation was Stage 88, Commonwealth Park and
was chosen for a number of reasons – centrality, physical space, access to car and
bus parking, availability within Canberra’s events calendar, minimal cost, available
natural resources, and access to basic utilities. The venue was highly regarded by
volunteers and participants. Nevertheless the organisers experienced some
difficulties maintaining regular communications with the National Capital Authority
(NCA), who administer the venue, around hire provisions and guidelines. This was
due mainly to staff turnover in the Authority. Just one month out from the event
launch date the NCA informed Oxfam of concerns about the hire agreement that had
been negotiated and agreed months earlier. Ultimately this issue was resolved
without undermining the project implementation plans, but was an unanticipated and
time consuming distraction for staff at a critical time. In future, the organisers would
be well advised to prepare a venue cancellation contingency plan as part of the risk
management process.
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Recommendation 24: Choosing an appropriate and suitable venue for the
Refugee Realities event is of utmost importance to the set-design of the event
and therefore the potential for an effective simulation experience. The dollar
cost of the venue should not necessarily be the top priority if all other criteria
can be met.
Recommendation 25: The scale of any future Refugee Realities events should
be matched with the resources available for their implementation. Oxfam
should ensure that where events require Oxfam staff management, there are
adequate paid human resources, as well as, office facilities and IT support for
interns and volunteers.
9.2 Volunteer management and support
Volunteers, in the main, rated their experience volunteering on the Refugee Realities
simulation very positively. On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 represented ‘terrible’ and
10 ‘amazing’, only 3% of respondents gave a score under 5, whilst 82% of
respondents answered 8 or above (see figure 9 below).
Figure 9: Overall experience of Refugee Realities as a volunteer in Canberra
There were, however, important points raised by volunteers who had mixed feelings
about their experience at Refugee Realities. Some volunteers noted the tiring nature
of the event and the timing of the event with regard to the Canberra winter weather.
“It was good to have the chance to take action. It was great engaging with
people and sharing knowledge with them…I am really into the issues and
enjoyed meeting other people who were interested, I was really happy to meet
the people who had worked in the humanitarian sector. The -2 points was due
to the physical tiring out. It was tiring, but all good.”
Volunteer survey respondent
Overwhelmingly comments made by volunteers and interns indicated that the
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majority felt supported by Oxfam staff. Some examples are below:
“…there was also a dedicated care…that you did feel safe to work with them
even if you made a ‘silly’ mistake…”
Volunteer survey respondent
“I felt well prepared for my role, which was exciting, challenging and very
satisfying. The project was successful and very well managed. Co-ordinators
were flexible, caring, enthusiastic, responsive and grateful”
Volunteer survey respondent
Further, 98.3% of survey respondents felt the level of communication from the
Oxfam team to volunteers and staff were adequate in the lead up to and during the
event.
“The weekly emails in the lead up to the event were informative, easy to read
and always written in such a friendly, positive way!”
Volunteer survey respondent
“Well timed, quick responses when queried, enthusiasm and patience
displayed by staff were appreciated.”
Volunteers survey respondent
“Communication was excellent. Nghia and Meg were available, responsive,
generous, flexible and personable both in the lead up to and during the event.
Training was very well targeted; number and location of sessions made
attendance easy. Staff communicated training and shifts in a timely manner.”
Volunteer survey respondent
Demographically, the majority of volunteers in the Canberra simulation were
between the ages of 19 and 26 (56.1%), as shown in figure 10 below.
Figure 10: Age and gender of volunteers in Canberra
.
University students in this age bracket were a rich resource for the Refugee Realities
events and were able to contribute immensely to and subsequently gain a lot from
being involved. However, study obligations during the event phase of Refugee
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Realities Canberra in which both major local universities underwent an exam period,
made for a high “pull-out” rate by those who had perhaps over committed
themselves. This led to some staffing challenges in the second week of the
simulation.
To ensure diversity and inclusion and to avoid an over-reliance on university
students, older and non-student volunteers could perhaps be better targeted for
future projects. Some volunteers commented that their experience volunteering with
Refugee Realities was negatively impacted by lack of age diversity amongst the
volunteers:
“As I’m over 50, it was also apparent with some of the younger ones that their
ownership of the project was tighter than glue. While their dedication to the
project was delightful, the exclusive manner by a few meant it wasn’t easy to
feel welcome. I don’t think they meant this - it is just how it occurred.”
Volunteer survey respondent
“More diverse age group - not sure if older groups were contacted? If they
were I am very ashamed of my generation for their lack of
interest/commitment.”
Volunteer survey respondent
Recommendation 26: Timing of future events should take into consideration
university calendars, as university students comprise the bulk of volunteers.
Efforts should also be made to increase the diversity of volunteers so that
there is not an over-reliance on university students.
9.3 Partnership management
Oxfam engaged two primary partners on the 2009-2010 Refugee Realities project:
implementing partner Many Moons Group Inc and major funder and presenting
partner AusAID. There were also a plethora of other national and local partners
involved in various aspects of the Canberra simulation. An assessment of the
Refugee Realities team’s performance in meeting commitments to partners and
partner expectations follows.
AusAID
AusAID was the major funding partner for Refugee Realities. AusAID’s support for
Refugee Realities was based on the project’s potential to build public awareness of
facets of the Australian aid program relating to the protection and assistance of
refugees and others caught up in crisis. To the extent that the project raised
awareness of the international humanitarian system, effectively encouraged support
for humanitarian response activity and raised awareness about the Australian aid
program, this potential was at least to some extent realised.
Oxfam’s funding agreement with AusAID included a range of commitments relating
to project reporting, brand association and the provision of various opportunities for
AusAID participation in the project’s governance and implementation. Oxfam’s
performance against these commitments is examined below.
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Reporting and progress updates
Oxfam committed to submit a narrative and financial reports to AusAID upon
conclusion of each phase of the project. Originally, reports were expected to be
submitted on the date of the conclusion of each phase. However, this proved
impossible given the time taken to collate data about project implementation and
expenditure. The project staff therefore successfully negotiated with AusAID to
extend the deadlines for reports enabling the team to pull together and analyse the
outcomes of each phase to produce comprehensive reports. Phase 1 and 2 reports
were satisfactorily accepted by AusAID, and the phase 3 report is pending at the
time of writing this evaluation.
The Refugee Realities team provided timely updates to AusAID about progress of
the project when requested and via a fortnightly e-newsletter. The project coordinator
also made efforts to meet with and brief AusAID representatives periodically.
Branding and media exposure
Oxfam fulfilled its commitment to list ‘Presenting Partner’ of Refugee Realities on
most promotional material and all event signage associated with the project. AusAID
branding was incorporated into all promotional materials and the Refugee Realities
website.
The Honorable Bob McMullan MP was invited to speak at the Canberra event’s
press launch but was unable to attend. Oxfam’s Executive Director, Andrew Hewett,
acknowledged AusAID at the press launch and AusAID was also acknowledged as
the presenting partner on the Canberra event press release. AusAID was given an
opportunity to review this release prior to dissemination. However, journalists
reporting on the simulation did not draw attention to AusAID’s support for the project
so it is unclear how much public exposure AusAID gained from their substantial
support to the project. In future, if AusAID continues to support the Refugee Realities
project, Oxfam and AusAID communications teams should work more closely
together in order to ensure there is high-level AusAID engagement in events that are
likely to attract press coverage as this could substantially enhance AusAID’s media
exposure alongside the project.
Participation of AusAID in project implementation
The Refugee Realities team invited AusAID staff to participate in a special tour of the
Canberra event and a small number of staff from the Communications Section
accepted this invitation.
AusAID materials, including a flyer on the Millennium Development Goals and
AusAID magazines, were handed out in an information bag to participants at the
conclusion of the simulation. AusAID also had a physical presence in the “Ways
Forward – For You” section of the simulation, where participants could review
materials about the Australian aid program. However, as there were no dedicated
AusAID representatives allocated to staff this section, there were probably missed
opportunities to engage participants in a meaningful way. Organisations that did
dedicate staff and volunteers to represent them at their stalls in the “Ways Forward”
stage were extremely satisfied with the level of exposure their participation provided
67

to their organisation. If AusAID continues to support future Refugee Realities
projects and its staff are unable to directly participate in the simulation, it may be
useful for AusAID to provide Oxfam volunteers with key talking points about the
Australian aid program.
Many Moons Group Inc.
Oxfam’s partnership with the Many Moons Group was formalised in a Memorandum
of Understanding, commencing in September 2008 through to June 2010. The MOU
focussed specifically on the partnership between Oxfam and Many Moons in
supporting community groups to run their own Refugee Realities simulation events
and activities. In addition to this arrangement, Oxfam also contracted Many Moons
Artistic Director Graham Pitts to:
• further develop the Refugee Realities script into the Presenter’s Workbook
and Manual for inclusion in the simulation kits
• directly deliver training and capacity building support to groups running the
three pilot simulations, and
• run the train-the-trainer program for the Canberra simulation.
Graham also provided substantial support to the Canberra simulation by linking the
project team with a range of local organisations and groups affiliated with the
Canberra arts community. Many Moons also acquired funding from the Australian
Council for the Arts in May 2010 to support the Refugee Realities project. It reports
that around $13,000 has been contributed to costs relating to the Canberra
simulation and community-led pilots.
The partnership with Many Moons has provided substantial opportunities and
benefits to Oxfam and the Refugee Realities project. The community-led simulations
were, as outlined in the above section, extremely successful in engaging broad
community engagement and support. Furthermore the partnership enabled strong
and productive connections with the arts sector that may not have been possible for
an international aid agency without the support of an arts production company to act
as facilitator. Notable examples of this included Many Moons’ support in facilitating
Oxfam’s partnership with The Street Theatre and engaging the support of local
musicians Moya Simpson and John Shortis who sang their song, “The Same Boat
Now” at both the “Welcome to Refugee Realities” event and the World Refugee Day
celebration, at no cost to Oxfam.
Feedback from Many Moons about its engagement in the project and Oxfam’s
performance at meeting partnership commitments demonstrates, however, that at
times there were breakdowns of communication and a lack of clarity around the roles
and responsibilities of Oxfam and Many Moons staff. Having both an overarching
MOU and individual contract agreements with Graham Pitts also created confusion
around the rights and obligations of each party with respect to the project
implementation. While on the whole the partnership has been successful at
delivering positive impacts, going forward, Oxfam and Many Moons will need to
further clarify the exact nature of their partnership and the roles, responsibilities and
rights of each organisation.
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Canberra simulation partners
Refugee Realities Canberra had a range of national and local partner organisations
that supported the project in various ways at different levels. Partners included The
Street Theatre, the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL), UNHCR, Australian
Red Cross, Amnesty International, Red R Australia and others. An expansive list of
partner organisations and their contributions to the project are contained in Appendix
7.
Feedback indicates on the whole that project partners were satisfied with the
Refugee Realities team’s performance in consulting and collaborating with them:
“RedR Australia welcomed the opportunity to be involved with Refugee
Realities through the supply of water and sanitation materials for field
simulations. As a partnering organisation we appreciated the frequent
information bulletins 9 . It was clear OXFAM staff worked hard to ensure the
success of this important community education event”.
Belinda Johnston, Communications Coordinator, RedR Australia, emailed on 12.07.10
“I was very pleased to be able to be there yesterday and listen to the music
and speakers who capped a very eventful two weeks... the team are now
considering ways to integrate the work of Refugee Realties into units of work
for ACT school students together with the incoming Australian Curriculum.”
Dr Michael Kindler, Manager, Curriculum Support P-12, ACT Department of Education
and Training, emailed on 21.06.10
“Oxfam has taken a consultative approach with stakeholders in the
development of this project, and UNHCR has welcomed the opportunity to
provide input into the materials and content produced for the project, as well
as the physical set-up and presence at the two major Refugee Realities
events in Melbourne and Canberra.
From our participation in the recent Canberra event...and the positive
feedback we have received from some of the people who participated, we
remain convinced that this is a valuable project deserving of continued
support.”
Richard Towle, UNHCR Regional Representative
Support letter sent to Oxfam on 29.07.10
“As it is the only large-scale project of its kind, the project can ensure that
more Australians’ are better informed about these issues. ACFID would be
happy to continue promoting and supporting the project in the future.”
Susan Harris Rimmer, ACFID Manager of Advocacy & Development Practice
Support letter sent to Oxfam on 08.07.10
“We saw it as an opportunity to support a great initiative which fit within our
organisational objectives of supporting migrant and refugee populations. The
9 Information bulletins is in reference to the fortnightly partner and volunteer Refugee Realities e-
newsletter
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event also provided the opportunity to learn more about the work of our
partner organisations and to strengthen the relationship between the
Australian Red Cross and Oxfam. Refugee Realities also provided us with an
invaluable opportunity to interact directly with the public and educate them
about Red Cross activities. We were very pleased with the large numbers
that attended the event.”
Rebecca Jane Irwin, Australian Red Cross International Humanitarian Law Officer for
the ACT, emailed feedback on 06.08.10
These positive endorsements suggest it likely that, should Refugee Realities
programming continue, the project would be in a strong position to re-engage with
these partners. In doing so, the project team should seek to clarify the roles,
responsibilities and rights of Oxfam and each of these organisations to maximise the
mutual benefits of partnership.
Recommendation 27: Ensure greater clarity around roles responsibilities and
rights of Oxfam and each of the Refugee Realities project partners in future
programming. Where possible this should entail formalised agreements
relating to contribution of funds and materials in place as well as any branding
and promotional benefits provided to partners prior to finalising partnership
arrangements.
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10 Conclusion
An assessment of the immediate impacts of Refugee Realities suggests that the
project provides a foundation for stronger connections between citizens,
communities and former refugees who have resettled in Australia to engage around
refugee and humanitarian issues. It also contributes to greater knowledge and
understanding amongst the Australian population of the experiences and rights of
people caught up in crisis around the world. In addition, Refugee Realities
simulations have a positive and immediate impact on the level of compassion and
empathy participants feel towards people affected by humanitarian crisis and
displacement.
These immediate impacts have great potential over the longer term to: promote
greater community cohesion and understanding between different groups; change
the nature of public debate in Australia about refugee and humanitarian issues; and
increase the capacity and commitment of Australians to hold governments and
international organisations accountable for meeting their protection and assistance
obligations towards people uprooted by crisis.
However, given the focus of Refugee Realities to date has been on discrete events
with little post-event follow-up with participants, and given the events have only
occurred over the course of the last eight months, it is not possible to assess the
long-term impact of Refugee Realities at this stage. There may therefore be a
disjuncture in the project’s stated objectives, which are directed towards long-term
change, and the project’s scope, which was short-term.
The findings suggest that, while the Refugee Realities simulation events had
substantial positive effects on the knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of participants, as
well as their propensity to take action on refugee rights issues, these impacts are
unlikely to be fully realised unless Oxfam Australia continues to engage with the
participants and foster their active citizenship development over time.
We conclude that if the project moved towards a more sustained engagement model,
in which volunteers and participants were encouraged to have ongoing involvement
with refugee and humanitarian issues, the program would have enormous potential
to change the way Australians think and act on these issues. To realise this
potential, Oxfam Australia will need to shift its approach towards an ongoing program
model, underpinned by a monitoring and evaluation framework that assesses social
impact and change over time. This will require significant cross-agency commitment
and investment, as well as ongoing external funding. It would also require
investments to improve the methodology used to assess the social impact of the
project so that it can assess medium and longer term impact.
The evaluation also finds that, on the whole, the Refugee Realities project met the
expectations of volunteers, participants, Oxfam staff, partners and sponsors and was
considered in the main to be a high quality, well organised and effectively
implemented project. Nevertheless there are lessons to be learned about ways the
project’s quality could be enhanced through improved stakeholder management,
clearer delineation of roles and responsibilities of staff and partners, greater internal
and external coordination around marketing and communications, and increased
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human resources. We recommend that Oxfam Australia incorporate these lessons
learned into any future design of Refugee Realities.
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Appendix 1: Refugee Realities Website Content Feb 1, 2010 - Jul 10, 2010
Comparing to: Feb 1, 2008 - Jul 10, 2008 as deciphered on Google Analytics
Feb 1, 2010 - Jul 10, 2010 FEB 1, 2008 - JUL 10, 2008 %
7,889 Visits 3,766 (109.48%)
27,763 Pageviews 17,289 (60.58%)
3.52 Pages/Visit 4.59 (-23.34%)
36.68% Bounce Rate 36.91% (-0.61%)
00:02:57 Avg. Time on Site 00:04:11 (-29.68%)
62.69% % New Visits 74.69% (-16.07%)
5,261 Absolute Unique Visitors 2,911 (80.73%)
00:02:57 Time on Site 00:04:11 (-29.68%)
Content Overview
Pages
/refugee/public/inde
x.php
/refugee/public/rrp/i
ndex.php
/refugee/public/rrp/
volunteerregistration.php
/refugee/public/rrp/
booking.php
/refugee/public/issu
es/globaltrends/stat
istics.php
Pageviews
Feb 1, 2010 - Jul
10, 2010
Pageviews
Feb 1, 2008 - Jul
10, 2008
5,438 4,971 9.39%
3,312 3,560 -6.97%
1,574 0 0.0 100%
1,319 171 671.35%
%
Change
1,299 97 1,239.18%
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Appendix 2. Refugee Realities Media – Summary
BROADCAST
ABC 666 Canberra (Canberra)
Breakfast - 17/04/2010 - 10:13 AM
Greg Bayliss
Duration: 5.12
ABC1 (Canberra)
Stateline - 11/06/2010 - 07:51 PM
http://www.abc.net.au/news/video/2010/06/13/2925927.htm
ABC1 (Canberra)
Stateline - 11/06/2010 - 07:51 PM
Asylum seekers and refugees will feature heavily in the Fed Election campaign once again.
Former refugees have spoken at a mock refugee camp set up in Commonwealth Park in
Canberra expressing their frustration about seeing the matters used for political gain. Interview
with NyadolNyuon, Former Refugee, Nghia Nguyen-Le, Refugee Realities Co-ordinator, Ben
Murphy, Humanitarian Aid Worker and Andrew Hewett, Oxfam Executive Director. Nyuon says
she is involved in the Refugee Realities project aimed at sharing her experiences with young
people. Vision is shown of Canberra school children taking part in the program. Nguyen-Le says
she is privileged to be leading such a program as she was a refugee in 1981 with her parents
when she was 14 months old. Nguyen-Le says Refugee Realities is not always about
victimisation of the refugee experience. Murphy says the program allows people to experience the
situations refugees might experience for 10 to 20 years. Nyuon says refugees are portrayed in the
media as a group of people who are going to "suck the money out of the tax payer system".
Hewett says he thought Australia had moved on but the debate is moving back to where it was at
the start of the century.
Interviewees: Andrew Hewett, Oxfam Executive Director; Ben Murphy, Humanitarian Aid
Worker; Nghia Nguyen-Le, Refugee Realities Co-ordinator; Nyadol Nyuon, Former Refugee; Vox
pops, school children
Vision: Oxfam
Duration: 5:31
WIN News 08/06
Oxfam Aust's refugee reality camp gives Australians the opportunity to learn more about
refugees and their experiences.
Interviewees: David Vincent, former refugee; Nghia Nguyen-Le, Refugee Reality Coordinator
Duration: 1:41
ABC 666 Canberra (Canberra)
Breakfast - 08/06/2010 - 08:53 AM
Ross Solly
Adam Shirley, reporter, is at the edge of stage 88 in Commonwealth Park today for a unique
exhibition called the Refugee Realities Exhibition. He states that the exhibition was set up by
volunteers under the auspices of Oxfam Australia. Nia Long Nee(*), Refugee Realities
Exhibition, talks about the exhibition, which tries to show the struggles that refugees face when
they flee.
Interviewees: Adam Shirley, reporter; Nia Long Nee(*), Refugee Realities Exhibition
Duration: 5:28
2CC (Canberra)
06:00 News - 08/06/2010 - 06:01 AM
Newsreader
A mock refugee camp will officially open today at Commonwealth Park. It has been set up by
74

Oxfam and is modelled on real refugee camps. Andrew Hewitt, Executive Director, Oxfam Aus,
says that they are aiming to demonstrate the hardship that refugees endure before migrating to
Aus.
Interviewees: Andrew Hewitt, Executive Director, Oxfam Aus
Duration: 0:41
FM104.7 (Canberra)
07:00 News - 09/06/2010 - 07:04 AM
Newsreader
Canberrans are being urged to experience life as a refugee at a mock refugee camp in the capital
set up by Oxfam Australia.
Interviewees: Andrew Hewett, Oxfam
Duration: 0:40
PRINT
Sunday Canberra Times
Sunday, 6 June 2010
Page: 45
Section: Sunday Focus
Photo: No
Article size: 620.48 sq. cm.
Ref: 00071413829
Bringing home refugee realities
IT IS eerie and chilling. A park in Canberra s heart has been transformed into a refn-gee camp, complete with cramped
tents, makeshift shelters, a mock international border topped with barbed wire and, perhaps most poignantly, a
graveyard filled with small wooden crosses.
Includes: Refugee(3); realities(1); Realities(3); Oxfam(1); oxfam(1); refugee(6)
THE CHRONICLE
Tuesday, 15 June 2010
Page: 7
Photo
Empathy gained at Refugee Camp
COFFS COAST INDEPENDENT
Thursday, 10 June 2010
Page: 3
Section: Education
Photo
Ambition runs high for Zakieh
AAP Newswire
Tuesday, 8 June 2010
Page: 0
Section: National
Photo: No
75

Article size: 0 sq. cm.
Ref: 00071562355
FED: Canberra camp shows life as a refugee
CANBERRA, June 8 AAP - For most Australians, a mock refugee camp in Canberra is the closest they'll ever get to the
grim realities of life as an asylum seeker. Oxfam Australia has set up the camp on the banks of Lake Burley Griffin in an
effort to educate the public - and politicians in nearby Parliament House - about the refugee experience.
Includes: Oxfam(4); Refugee(2); realities(1); Realities(1); refugee(3)
Sunraysia Daily
Wednesday, 9 June 2010
Page: 17
Section: General News
Photo: No
Article size: 195.75 sq. cm.
Ref: 00071585457
Fairfield City Champion
Wednesday, 9 June 2010
Page: 3
Section: General News
Photo: No
Article size: 278 sq. cm.
Ref: 00071602794
Suffering is beyond words
IT'Sdifficuitto draw your eyes away from one of "I painted big pictures of him and some HaiderAbass's paintings,
designs for the ceilings," he said. The haunted faces, the bodies twisted in pain "It was a very bad experience for me
and he and the hollow eyes are mesmerising, was a very, very bad man.
Includes: Oxfam(1)
76

Appendix 3: Refugee Realities Volunteer Survey
Thank you for your valuable contributions to Refugee Realities! We value your time,
effort and commitment to the project and hope you have found volunteering with us to be
a rewarding experience!
Please fill out this survey and return it to:
Megan Chard
Oxfam Australia
meganc@oxfam.org.au
Date: ____/_____/_____
1. Where was the Refugee Realities production you volunteered on?
__________________
2. What organisation or group organised the production?
____________________________
3. What was your role at Refugee Realities?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
4. Why did you decide to volunteer?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
5. How much time did you contribute to volunteering for Refugee Realities?
_________ hours in lead-up to the production + _________ hours at the
production
6. On a scale of 1-10, where 1 is terrible, and 10 is amazing, how would you rate
your experience volunteering at Refugee Realities overall?
7. Why do you rate your experience like this?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
8. On a scale of 1 to 10, PRIOR to attending this Refugee Realities event how
much did you…
1 = not at all and 10 = very much
Know about human rights and specific refugee and asylum seeker rights under
international law?
Know about what humanitarian agencies like Oxfam do in emergencies?
Know about the conditions in refugee and internal displacement camps?
Know about the role of the Australian Government in responding to emergencies?
77

Think climate change could be a factor increasing disasters and conflict?
Support the resettlement of refugees into Australia and the right of refugees to seek
asylum here?
Think the Australian Government should do more to help people in crisis situations?
Think the Australian Government should do more to tackle climate change?
Plan to increase your activity to support the rights of people caught up in crisis (i.e.
through volunteering, raising awareness etc)
9. As a result of volunteering at this Refugee Realities event, how much do you
know NOW:
1 = not at all and 10 = very much
Know about human rights and specific refugee and asylum seeker rights under
international law?
Know about what humanitarian agencies like Oxfam do in emergencies?
Know about the conditions in refugee and internal displacement camps?
Know about the role of the Australian Government in responding to emergencies?
Think climate change could be a factor increasing disasters and conflict?
Support the resettlement of refugees into Australia and the right of refugees to seek
asylum here?
Think the Australian Government should do more to help people in crisis situations?
Think the Australian Government should do more to tackle climate change?
Plan to increase your activity to support the rights of people caught up in crisis (ie.
through volunteering, raising awareness etc)
10. Now that you have volunteered with Refugee Realities, what actions (if any)
do you plan to take to support the rights of refugees and others caught up in crisis?
(Tick where appropriate)
Build your knowledge about refugee issues
Talk to friends and family about refugee experiences and rights
Take action to welcome refugees into your local community (through a festival or
school program/activity etc)
Get involved in Refugee Week in June?
Make a donation to Oxfam Australia
Make a donation to another charitable organisation supporting refugees
Run a fundraising/ awareness raising event or activity
Write a letter to the editor of a newspaper about refugee/humanitarian issues
Volunteer with a refugee support or humanitarian agency
Become more politically active and/or write to your local MP about refugee issues
78

No further action! Just continue what I’m already doing!
Other
(Please specify)
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
11. On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate...?
1 = not at all and 10 = very much
How well the event was organised?
How realistic the simulation was?
12. Given the information you needed to receive to fulfil your volunteer
responsibilities, did you feel the level of communication from the Oxfam team was
adequate in the lead up and during the event?
Y N
(Why? Please elaborate)
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
13. From your experience as a volunteer, what would you say was the most
effective component of the simulation and why?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
14. Are there any other items you feel Oxfam Australia should include in the
simulation kit to assist other community groups to run Refugee Realities
productions?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
15. How could the event be better organised in future?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
16. How do you think your volunteering experience could be improved for next
time?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
17. Do you have any other suggestions or comments for Oxfam Australia about
this project?
79

___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
18. Do you consent to this survey being contacted by Oxfam Australia and asked
about your experience as part of the evaluation of the Refugee Realities project?
Y N
19. If yes, please fill in your contact details:
Name: __________________________________________________________
Email address: ___________________________________________________
Phone: _______________________
Postal address: ____________________________________________________
Post code: ________
I consent to being contacted by Oxfam Australia on the contact details provided
above:
__________________________________
Your signature
Demographic information
Note – The following questions are optional, but they will help us understand the
impact of this project for different groups of people.
20. What is your age bracket?
0-10 11-18 19-26 27-35 36-45 46-55 56-65 66+
21. What is your sex? Male Female
22. What is your postcode __________
23. Do you have a refugee background? Y N
If so, which country did you flee from? __________________________
How long have you lived in Australia? ______________________ Years
24. Do you know someone from a refugee background? ____________________
25. What is your occupation? ______________________
26. Do you speak a language other than English at home? Y N
If so, which language? _______________________
80

Appendix 4: Refugee Realities Participant Survey
Thank you for participating in this Refugee Realities event! Please take the
time to fill in this survey as it will help us learn from this event and improve for
future participants.
1. Where did you visit Refugee Realities:
2. Did you feel that you had the right length of time? Too long Too short
Ideal
If not, how long did you feel that the simulation should have gone for?
________________________________________________________________
3. Please circle the number (using the scale below) for each statement that best
describes your answer before and after the Refugee Realities Simulation:
1 = Not at all 2 = Some 3 = Very High
Before
After
Understanding of why
people are displaced? 1 2 3 1 2 3
Your knowledge about the
conditions in refugee and
internal displacement
1 2 3 1 2 3
camps?
Your knowledge about
human rights in general? 1 2 3 1 2 3
Your knowledge about
refugee and asylum seeker
rights under international
law?
Your knowledge about how
humanitarian agencies like
Oxfam respond in
emergencies?
1 2 3 1 2 3
1 2 3 1 2 3
How climate change may
lead to disasters and
conflict and so impact on
refugees?
1 2 3 1 2 3
4. Do you agree that refugees should settle in Australia? Y/N
5. Do you agree that refugees have the right to seek asylum in Australia? Y/N
6. How do you feel about refugees in Australia and overseas now - after your visit?
Why?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
81

7. Please circle the number (using the scale below) for each statement that best
describes what you might do after your visit to Refugee Realities:
1 = No, I will not 2 = least likely 3 = I might 4 = most likely 5 = Yes, I will
Will you...
...want to know more about refugee
issues? 1 2 3 4 5
...talk to friends and family about refugee
issues? 1 2 3 4 5
...actively welcome refugees into your local
community (e.g. through a festival, school
program/activity)?
...get involved in Refugee Week in June?
...donate to Oxfam Australia or another
charitable organisation supporting
refugees?
...run a fundraising/ awareness raising
event or activity?
...volunteer with a refugee support or
humanitarian agency?
... act on refugee humanitarian issues (e.g.
write to your local MP or newspaper about
refugee & humanitarian issues)
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
Suggestions welcome:
___________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
8. Please circle the number (using the scale below) for each statement that best
describes your overall Refugee Realities experience:
1 = Not at all 2 = Low 3 = Moderately 4 = High 5 = Very
High
Did you learn from the
volunteers at the
simulation?
1 2 3 4 5
Did the simulation hold
your attention? 1 2 3 4 5
Was the event well 1 2 3 4 5
82

organised?
How realistic did it feel?
1 2 3 4 5
9. What did you like best, and why?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
10. What didn’t you like? What could be better and how?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
11. Is there anything else you would like to say?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Demographic information
(These questions are optional but are useful for us to determine the impact of this
project on different groups)
Your age?
10-18 19-26 27-35 36-45 46-55 56-65
66+
Male /
Female
Postcode?
Highest level of education obtained?
Occupation?
How did you find out about Refugee Realities?
Do you come from a refugee background? Y / N
If so, which country did you come from?
If so, which language?
How long have you lived in Australia?
Do you speak a language other than English at home? Y / N
Are you likely to invite a friend/relative to come and visit Refugee Realities? Y /
N
83

Would you like to receive further information about how you can be involved with
activities that support the rights of people in crisis? Y / N
Would you be willing to do a follow-up survey in a few months concerning the
ongoing impact of Refugee Realities on your involvement with refugee issues?
/ N
Y
If you answered yes to either of the last two questions please fill in your contact
details:
Name: __________________________________________________________
Email address: ____________________________________________________
Phone: _______________________
Postal address: ____________________________________________________
Post code: ________
I consent to being contacted by Oxfam Australia on the contact details provided
above:
__________________________________
Your signature
Thankyou for taking the time to complete this survey. We hope Refugee
Realities was a rewarding experience!
Please return to Oxfam Canberra, L2, 161 London Circuit, Canberra ACT 2601
84

Appendix 5: Training the Trainers Feedback – Graham Pitts
REFUGEE REALITIES, CANBERRA PRODUCTION, JUNE 2010.
TRAINING THE TRAINERS OF VOLUNTEER PRESENTERS, AND EVAULATION
OF THE ACCOMPANYING MANUALS, WITH RECOMMENDATIONS.
By Graham Pitts.
I am the writer responsible for the original Refugee Realities script, created in close
collaboration with Oxfam personnel, especially Stephanie Cousins. As well, I cotrained
the Presenters on the original production. I was also responsible for the
writing of the “Presenters Manual” and “Trainers Manual”, again working closely
with Stephanie Cousins. These Manuals were used in 3 pilot projects (Mildura,
Horsham and Wesley College In Melbourne) as well as being used for the
Canberra production.
These pilot projects, funded by AusAid, were facilitated though a partnership
between The Many Moons Group and Oxfam. Many Moons is an arts production
company of which I am the Artistic Director and the company was one of the
partners in the Canberra production. Many Moons provided the funds for me to
work as a “Trainer of Trainers” for the Canberra production. This, as the phrase
suggests, meant that I trained the people who trained the volunteers who worked
as Presenters in Canberra production. I also attended the production on the
majority of presentation days, watched the Presenters at work, and interviewed the
people I trained plus several of the volunteer Presenters.
The training of volunteers for Refugee Realties consists of training people for
administrative, production, technical or stage-management roles (which in
Canberra was outside my brief) or training people to be Presenters (Guides and/or
Border Guards, etc.) which was my brief. This report/evaluation focuses on the
training of Trainers of Presenters. I will also evaluate the Manuals, and, as with
Training, make recommendations.
--
TRAINERS.
The practice of “training the trainers” began with the original Refugee Realities
because on many training nights --- prior to the production --- there were between
12 and 25 people volunteers present. Rather than always work as one large group,
with limited opportunities for individuals to practice their roles, it was more efficient
to break into smaller groups and place an “assistant trainer” in charge of each
group. These “assistant trainers” were selected by myself due to their experience
and/or leadership skills.
The concept evolved into a more formal “training the Trainers” mode which was
elaborated in the “Trainers Manuals” written after the original production. This
seemed advisable (and has shown itself to be a sensible approach) as future
85

productions were to take place outside of Melbourne, and/or to take place with only
limited training available from those with prior experience of Refugee Realties.
In Canberra, the original core group of 4 Trainers was provided by The Street
Theatre (a partner in the production) after auditions by Nghia Nguyen-Le, Megan
Chard, Caroline Stacey (The Manager of The Street Theatre) and myself. I had
ultimate responsibility for the selection.
Importantly, the 3 actors who succeeded had previous training as drama teachers,
and several practising drama teachers who volunteered to be Trainers also joined
the “Training The Trainers” sessions. The selection of actors was always
deliberate (for actors are trained in public presentation and can thus, usually, train
others) but the importance of a background in drama coaching became clear in
Canberra and is something I shall address in “Recommendations”.
The Training of the Training included 3 consecutive half-days of intensive sessions
followed by 3 other occasions when I traveled from Melbourne to Canberra to work
with The Trainers and to observe their training of community members prior to the
production. Much of the first sessions were taken up by my explaining the project
and running through the various stages in detail. The necessity for the Trainers to
have a very clear overview of the entire production was seen as paramount.
The time taken up in analyzing and reviewing the stages of the journey in Refugee
Realities means that the Trainers do not “jump into” practicing the journey
immediately. However this approach was validated by the Trainers who later
reported that “taking on the first group of trainees was daunting but we rapidly
realise that we did in fact know all that we needed to know.” On the other hand,
when training community members, it became clear that the best approach in initial
training sessions was to present an oversight of the project but also toensure that
trainees were “on their feet” and practicing their roles comparatively quickly.
A very effective way of providing an oversight to the entire project and its stages
was to show trainees (and Trainers) the 20 minute film made after the Melbourne
production.
In training, it also became clear that a short film could be made that showed
trainees the previous ways in which Presenters and people plating characters
could fulfill their roles. There is an inherent danger in that trainees could too closely
model themselves on the people who have been filmed, whereas they are urged
throughout the training to “be themselves” (as Presenters).
However this danger could be overcome if they were given various examples of
ways in which the roles had been played, with continuing (voice-over) reminders of
the value of “being yourself”.
Indeed a CD or possibly a DVD could be created and produced, specifically for the
use of Trainers and trainees.
Other than the above points, the Training of The Trainers was, I think, successful.
Feedback from the Trainers when they were themselves training community
trainees was that they found themselves well prepared. I must say, also, that the
Training of the Trainers and subsequent training of community members was very
well supported by both Megan Chard and Nghia Nguyen-Le. Both of these Oxfam
staff members seemed tireless and were very hard-working.
86

MANUALS.
There are two Manuals used in Refugee Realities; “The Trainers Manual” (39
pages) and “The Presenters Manual” (135 pages). They contain a great deal of
information about every aspect of Refugee Realities plus information regarding
refugees and/or displaced persons in general. They also cover a wide range of
possibilities as productions of Refugee Realties might range from relatively small
presentations in schools and regional towns to large scale productions as in
Canberra. Furthermore, a textual word-by-word script for Presenters was
provided in case a Presenters had insufficient training and thus she or he could
simply “stick with the script” rather than deliver their own adaptation. Overall, then,
for the above and other reasons, the Manuals essentially attempt to be all things
to all times to all people.
The obvious problem in trying to so deal with every possibility is the ensuing
prolixity and possible confusion of options, no matter how well-designed the
Manuals. Counter-balanced against this were reminders in the Manuals that
Presenters should remove all extraneous material and and/or copy out the pages
especially relevant to themselves and/or transpose relevant parts of the script to
cards, to be carried by themselves. Nonetheless only some of the Presenters
didas advised. In practice this meant that the others were at constant risk of
becoming “lost” as they flicked through the 135 pages of the complete Presenters’
Manual.
The best (in my opinion) Presenters did indeed transpose key facts and the
objectives of each stage of the journey to cards which they carried. However the
majority did not. It would seem advisable to prepare and print “key cards” to
accompany the Manual. (And this is suggested in the evaluations by participants.)
The above is not to say that the Manuals are irreparably confusing. Basically, the
same problem emerged in Canberra as in earlier pilot projects in Horsham,
Mildura and at Wesley College (see my earlier reports on these projects).
Essentially, the Manuals are “too long” and contain “too much.” Indeed some
trainees found the very size of the Presenters’ Manual to be daunting. This
Manual is also image-laden and, even if digitally zipped, sending it via email to, for
example, community trainees, is difficult without very high-speed broadband. This
difficulty was overcome to some extent in Canberra by placing it in a “Dropbox” on
the internet, but this represents coping with a problem rather than solving the
problem.
The core problem with the Manuals (and for that matter the posters used in the
simulation) is a manifestation of the dilemma at the centre of every informationgiving
simulation or, for that matter, any cultural product that also has an
educational and/or advocacy function. It as, as Actor-Trainer Hanna Cormick put
it, “the question of whether one wants to provide a lecture, or an experience.”
It is possible to have a journey through both a “lecture” and “an experience” but it
is a fine line to tread. The difficulty is exacerbated by the fact that every group
(indeed every individual) is different with differing concentration spans, interests
and ways of processing information. But across all groups too much information
can result in information or indeed compassion “fatigue”. Yet one can readily
understand the desire of Oxfam to communicate as much information as possible.
87

My own conclusion, after the 3 pilot projects and the Canberra production, is that
“the Rule of Three” comes into play. There should be no more than 3 facts given
at most stages of the journey. Even where this is clearly unsuitable, as in the
presentations within the camp, the information should be built around, and
focused on, 3 major memes of information.
The Manuals need to be rewritten, with this in mind, along with the other points
that have emerged in the pilots and in Canberra.
RECOMMENDATIONS.
TRAINING.
1. Wherever possible, people with previous training in theatre and/or drama
coaching should be used as Trainers. In a large scale production, this could
mean a partnership with a theatre company (cf. the involvement of the Street
Theatre in Canberra). In either large scale or smaller-scale productions, highschool
drama teachers should be enlisted as Trainers. This recommendation
does not exclude the use of people with a “natural talent” for public presentation.
2. The evolved practice of ensuring Trainers have a detailed knowledge of
the overall project and every stage of the simulation journey should remain but it
is important that community trainees get “on their feet” and practice presenting at
a comparatively early stage.
3. A CD or DVD specifically designed for Trainers and trainees should be
created, with copies for all those concerned. This CD or DVD would contain a
short film back-grounding the project and the stages of the simulation. It would
also contain a range of examples of how previous Presenters have worked,
along with an emphasis on the need for every Presenter to “be themselves” in
order to find their own individually authentic way of proving information and/or
guiding the simulant “refugees”.
MANUALS.
1. Both Manuals need to be re-created and many of the images removed as
they make the books too digitally cumbersome as well as prolix.
2. The text needs to be extensively shortened. What is required is a greater
focus on key facts and key items of information. (We do not wish to drown
theimportant “signals” --- memes of information --- with the “noise’ of too much
information.) This entails a disciplined cutting of all extraneous information. The
“Rule of Three” is a salutary guiding principle.
3. A series of key-cards containing the key facts to be communicated and
the core objectives of each stage of the journey should be included with the
Manuals. These are to be carried by the Presenters, if they choose to do so.
Appendix 6: The Support Letter from the Federal Parliamentary Secretary for
Multicultural Affairs and Settlement Services, the Hon Laurie Ferguson
88

APPENDIX 6: SUPPORT LETTER FROM LAURIE FERGUSON MP
89

Appendix 7: Refugee Realities Canberra partner organisations list
Organisation/Institution
AusAID
Many Moons Group
The Street Theatre
The Centre for Teaching
and Learning (CTL)
United Nations High
Commission for
Refugees (UNHCR)
Australian Red Cross
Amnesty International
RedR Australia
Australian Council for
International
Development (ACFID)
Refugee Council of
Australia (RCOA)
Woden Community
Service Inc.
Canberra Refugee
Support Group
Minatour Security Group
The German Australian
Pfadfinder Scout Group
Office of Multicultural
Affairs
Support and promotion
Presenting partner and major project funder.
Implementing partner. Lead on community-led simulation
pilots, the train the trainer program for Canberra
simulation and facilitated links to local community groups
and organisations.
Recruited and renumerated the Trainers, provided settype
props, venue for training sessions and assisted in
promoting the event online and at the theatre.
A branch of the Department of Education and Training
(DET) assisted in disseminating and distributing the
Education kits to the ACT public schools via educational
workshops and their central mailing system. The institute
also provided a much needed storage space to store
Refugee Realities props and outdoor space to run the
working bees leading up to the event. This contribution
provided a savings of over $10,000; And attended the
event as a team building exercise.
As had for the pilot project contributed emergency
shelters to the mock refugee camp; information resources
to participants and volunteers.
Contributed expert staff, volunteers, resources and
materials everyday during the event and a training venue
leading up to the event.
Contributed dedicated staff who were present at the event
on a daily basis in order to boost the project’s advocacy
component via information dissemination.
Contributed humanitarian equipment and humanitarian
workers from their register as volunteers for the event.
Provided expert humanitarian staff, resources and
information on most event days; and online event
notification.
Provided expert refugee information and resources; and
online event notification.
Provided a venue for meetings and training sessions;
Held community information sessions as part of promoting
the project to its refugee and migrant clients. Attended the
event as a team building exercise.
Promoted the project to all its members and refugee
client; Invited local people of influence to the event.
Provided in-kind security service for 3 weeks for the
event.
Provided equipment for the Refugee Camp display.
Advertising and project updates in weekly newsletter
90

Chair, Canberra
Multicultural Community
Forum (CMCF) Inc.
Tiny Green’s Shed
Advertising and project updates in weekly newsletter
Provided an extensive amount of in-kind props for the setup
of the event
91

Appendix 8. Refugee Realities online advertising presence - Canberra
Canberra Online
http://www.canberraonline.com.au/events
/item.php?pid=6394
The Northside Chronicle
Queanbeyan Age
http://northsidechronicle.whereilive.com.au/events/story/
oxfams-refugee-realities/
http://www.queanbeyanage.com.au/event
details/oxfams-refugeerealities/39760.aspx
ABC local
http://www2b.abc.net.au/EventCentral/Vi
ew/event.aspx?p=28&e=2940359
Brindabella Baby
Global Health Gateway
http://www.globalhealthgateway.org.au/in
dex.php?option=com_jcalpro&Itemid=4&
extmode=view&extid=86
My Weekend
http://www.myweekend.net.au/act
Australian Council for International
Development (ACFID)
http://www.brindabellababy.com.au/conte
nt/walk-their-shoes-get-differentperspective
http://www.acfid.asn.au/getinvolved/events
Federation of Ethnic Communities
Councils of Australia (FECCA)
http://www.fecca.org.au/Media/2010/eNe
ws_201003.htm
City Search
http://canberra.citysearch.com.au/arts/11
37766065482/Refugee+Realities
ACT Refugee
http://www.actrefugee.org.au/Refugee%2
0Realities%20Brochure.pdf
92

Multicultural Canberra
http://multiculturalcanberra.com/content/n
ews/
Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA)
http://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/current/
international.html
The Street Theatre
http://www.thestreet.org.au/
Oxfam Australia Activist Alert
http://enews.oxfam.org.au/rp//821/proces
s.clsp?EmailId=1000010263&Token=273
EE18447D1BF9815F7658A33CA6A77D
93