Returned Australian Volunteer Network Storytelling Toolkit

Contents 3 Welcome message from the Minister for International Development and the Pacific 4 An introduction to storytelling 5 Where to tell your story 6 Choosing your topic for making an impact 7 Planning your story 8 Stories from the field – ways to engage 10 Using social media to tell your story 11 Social media examples 12 Key points about the AVID program to help with questions at events 13 Further reading 14 Stay in touch

Background of the Australian Government volunteer program

Since the 1960s, the Australian Government has funded skilled Australian volunteers to travel overseas to assist the capacity of host organisations, develop people-to-people links and generate goodwill for Australia. Australian volunteers have served in Africa, the Pacific, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe and the Middle East.

Welcome message from the Minister for International Development and the Pacific “I am pleased to introduce the Returned Australian Volunteer Network Storytelling Toolkit. This toolkit is designed to help returned volunteers, like you, share your experiences through the art of storytelling.

I was fortunate to meet some of our Australian volunteers during my recent visit to Indonesia. These impressive Australians, like all of our volunteers, are making an invaluable contribution to assisting the development of our partner countries, and to making Australia’s region more stable, secure and prosperous. I thank you for your dedication and hard work.

I encourage you to use this kit to share your story and to promote the good work that Australian volunteers are doing around the world.”

- Senator the Hon Concetta Fierravanti-Wells

Scope Global and AVI contributed to the production of this Storytelling Toolkit.

An introduction to storytelling Now that you are a returned volunteer from the Australian Volunteers for International Development (AVID) program, you are part of a very special group of alumni. Your amazing experiences in-country will have inspired you, challenged you, opened up new opportunities and left you with a wealth of life experience and some pretty fantastic stories to tell! This Storytelling Toolkit is designed to help you navigate the storytelling experience. Go out there and tell your story…

Above: Returned volunteer Lawrence McLiver worked as an English teacher with the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development in Honiara, Solomon Islands. Since finishing his assignment, Lawrence has written an academic thesis about the cross-cultural adjustment of Pacific Islander students in Australia and continues to work as an education specialist. Photo > Lawrence McLiver/AVI

Where to tell your story There are countless ways to share your AVID program stories with your community. Check out the ideas below for inspiration: • Volunteer to participate in media opportunities and events as advertised through the Returned Australian Volunteer Network

(RAVN) such as AVID information sessions and RAVN alumni events.

• Information sessions are held in all states and territories across the country for the public. Returned volunteers are needed to present and help answer questions alongside a representative from the marketing or recruitment team.

• Career fairs are held each year at most Australian universities in March and August. Returned volunteers are needed to assist in

promoting the AVID program by acting as spokespersons at events. The audience is predominately youth-based and in the final stages of their degrees, or recent graduates keen to find out about the experiences of volunteering.

• International Volunteers Day (IVD), held on 5 December each year, provides an opportunity to celebrate and acknowledge the work of Australian volunteers and promote the AVID program to the Australian public. Returned volunteers may help with media requests or speak at events held across Australia.

• Host a storytelling night on the importance of volunteerism. You could collaborate with community organisations such as Rotary

International or Lions Club International who often look for returned volunteers for storytelling evenings. Share the event and your story with local media outlets to get more of an event buzz and increase attendance.

• Participate in promotional activities held sporadically throughout the year such as university talks, attending networking events,

helping out at conferences or festivals such as WOMAD.

Choosing your topic for making an impact As a result of your experience with the AVID program, you probably have many subject areas you can speak about knowledgably. However, a story/speech with a cohesive topic or theme is infinitely more interesting than a speech that rambles from one anecdote to the next.

Some hot tips: • Pick a platform that works for you, for example a newspaper article, public

speaking event, social media or radio interview • Introduce yourself and your assignment (who, what, where, when, why) • Speak/write plainly – avoid jargon and acronyms to prevent audience confusion • A picture is worth a thousand words – use suitable images to help convey

your message • Spelling and grammar is important – carefully read any correspondence before

sending it off into the world • Personalise your story – sharing your personal tale will help you to connect with

the audience no matter which medium you choose • Retell stories which encapsulate the experience of your AVID assignment. • Keep to one or two themes to fit into a timeframe (5 to 10 minutes)

Some possible examples: • An enduring relationship forged during your assignment • Self realisation from your assignment and beyond • Overcoming a difficult situation during your assignment • A rewarding moment during your assignment.

Above > Returned volunteer Jan Allen worked as a veterinarian with the Animal Protection Society in Samoa. Jan is now a Program Manager for Animal Management in Rural and Remote Indigenous Communities which aims to improve services to remote communities and enable local people to be able to manage the health of their dogs and dog populations in rural communities. Photo > Jan Allen

Planning your story

Research If you’ve been back in Australia for quite a while, you may wish to do some research on how the country you volunteered in may have changed since you left. This can be informative and gives background to your story.

Outline Start with introductory remarks about yourself and your volunteer assignment and then move to the topic of your story. Introduce the topic with a statement or fact and then support that statement with the main points in your story.

Enhancing the content of your speech Use a combination of public speaking techniques to present your speech. Anecdotes, visual aids, statistics and other presentation methods keep your audience engaged.

Questions Be prepared to answer questions. If you have an engaged audience they will want to know more details of your time in-country!

Enjoy the process! This has been a life-changing experience and you have gained a great deal of life experience just by being involved, enjoy the storytelling process.

Stories from the field – ways to engage There are many ways that returned volunteers have engaged with the media to tell the story of their time in-country. For inspiration, here are some examples of ways that you can engage with different storytelling mediums:

Radio interviews

From regional SA to speech pathology in the Philippines ABC Goldfields (see right)

Media releases

Giving Globally, inspiring locally: North Adelaide women shares story

Newspaper articles

Joanne fights the cancer ‘curse’ Geelong Advertiser

The Wonder of childbirth City North Messenger

Sharing the gift of the gab Community News

Above > Example of radio interview from ABC Goldfields on Returned volunteer, Larissa Ashton, who worked with children with speaking difficulties in Philippines. Hear the full interview here. Photo > Larissa Ashton/ABC Goldfields

Stories from the field continued… Former Warrnambool ambulance officer Andrew Hodgetts

answers Vanuatu's call for help The Standard Sustainable water solutions: from Australia to the Gobi

Desert ABC Radio Australia website Article written by volunteer, Nick Quigley, Groundwater Management Officer, Mongolia (see right) Northcott volunteers in Vanuatu Newspaper article, Port Lincoln Times Gemma Northcott, Community Development Officer (Netball), Vanuatu How learning Bahasa Indonesia changed my life ABC Radio Australia website Article written by volunteer, Anna Strempel, Network Support Officer, Indonesia

Television stories Entrepreneurs improving livelihoods for women in Myanmar

Television story featured on MITV (Myanmar) on volunteer Dean Parrish, Chef - Culinary Trainer, Myanmar (see right).

Right > Example of interview with Australian volunteer, Nick Quigley, in Mongolia from ABC Plus online. Full story.

Left > Example of interview with Australian volunteer, Dean Parrish, in Myanmar from MITV (Myanmar). Full story.

Using social media to tell your story Using social media to share your story can be a great way to reach a broader audience base. Think of creative ways you could share your story via:

• Twitter, Facebook , Instagram, RAVN LinkedIn group, blogs

Some points to remember:

• Use the hashtag #AusVols4Dev where appropriate.

• Ensure your content is socially and culturally appropriate.

• Content on social media is public and reflects on many stakeholders including yourself, your host organisation, the host country, AVID, DFAT and the Australian Government, and AVI, Australian Red Cross and Scope Global even if they’re not referenced directly.

• Twitter and most blogs are accessible to the general public. Even if your Facebook account has strict privacy settings, remember that something you say in a ‘private’ forum online can quickly become public.

• Use appropriate photos with informed consent. Be aware that some content (including photographs) which you may consider harmless can be seen quite differently by local communities and governments.

• Refrain from tweeting, posting or blogging any content which either directly or indirectly criticises the Australian Government, host

country government, or your colleagues or fellow volunteers.

• If you would like a copy of the branded RAVN PowerPoint templates please email volunteers@dfat.gov.au

Social media examples: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.

Right > Example of the Return Australian Volunteer Network (RAVN) LinkedIn page.

Below > Example of an Instagram post from a RAVN alumni at a recent event in Sydney.

Above > Example of the Scope Global Facebook page promoting a returned volunteer event in Adelaide.

Below > Example of a re-tweet from Scope Global promoting a presentation from returned Australian volunteer, Dr Kylie Ireland.

Key points about the AVID program to help with questions at events

• Since the 1960s, the Australian Government has supported more than 12,000 Australians to volunteer in Asia, the Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean as part of the overseas aid program.

• The Australian Government funded Australian Volunteers for International Development (AVID) program, was launched on 26 May 2011. AVID draws all Australian Government overseas volunteering initiatives together under a single banner making it easier for more skilled Australians to contribute to our overseas aid efforts.

• The AVID program is delivered in partnership with two core partners – Australian Volunteers International (AVI) and Scope Global. The two core partners work collaboratively with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) to deliver the AVID program.

• The aim of the program is to make an effective contribution to the development objectives of the Australian Government and its partner Governments through Australian volunteers working with people and organisations in developing countries.

Key messages of recruitment

• All AVID program volunteer assignments are listed on the DFAT website here.

• All assignments have been requested by our partner organisations who identified a skills gap and a need to build capacity and strengthen work in this particular area.

• AVID participants are selected after successfully responding to selection criteria detailed in the assignment description.

• The AVID program is open to Australian citizens, Australian permanent residents and New Zealand citizens residing in Australia.

• Volunteers receive return airfares, visas, medical insurance and a modest living allowance. They participate in a comprehensive briefing before departure and attend an orientation on arrival in country. AVI and Scope Global provide in-country support through their local country offices. Volunteers also receive debriefings and resettlement support upon their return to Australia.

Further reading Here are some links to help inspire your storytelling journey. You might also like to share your own links and tips for storytelling success with your fellow alumni, by posting them in the RAVN LinkedIn group.

Some links to get you started:

TED Storytelling Playlist

Find out the clues to a great story – learn from the masters at TED Talks.

Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action

Simon Sinek has a simple but powerful model for inspirational leadership all starting with a golden circle and the question "Why?”

The Moth Podcast

True stories told live. The Moth is an acclaimed not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling.

ABC Open

Real stories made by real people from all around Australia.

Australian volunteer Ana Burggraaf (centre) teaching class at Solomon Islands National University, Honiara, Solomon Islands. Photo > Darren James/AVI

Stay in touch We love staying in touch so please let us know if you have a change of contact details so we can make sure you do not miss out on any special RAVN opportunities and you continue to receive the RAVN e-newsletter. Please email volunteers@dfat.gov.au with any updates.

Sign up to receive the AVID e-magazine Find out what is happening in the world of international volunteering. With stories from current volunteers in the field and returned volunteers back home, you’re sure to find inspiration and support in each quarterly edition.

Sign up for the AVID e-magazine here.

Connect online through LinkedIn The RAVN LinkedIn group is a great way to stay connected and find out about returned volunteer events and opportunities in one easy online space.

This is a group just for returned Australian volunteers to post interesting articles, job vacancies, and stay informed about local, state and national RAVN events coming up. Returned volunteers are welcome to post their own returned volunteer events.

To join the RAVN LinkedIn group, follow this link.

Returned volunteer Ray Faggotter worked as a vocational instructor in joinery-cabinet making with the Ministry of Higher Education, Training and Employment Creation in the Caprivi Strip, Namibia. Ray continues to volunteer within the community of Coffs Harbour, including with the Coffs Harbour City SES. Photo > Ray Faggotter