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27.11.2007

Melbourne, Australia

Good to be back on Aussie soil

I finished my trip with a visit to Melbourne where I presented a short workshop on the powers of networking for Volunteering Victoria following their Annual General Meeting. It is always great to see the VV team and they have some really exciting initiatives planned at the moment, including being the first volunteer centre in the country to sign up to the Everyone Ready online education program (contact VV if you are interested to learn more). The team are also in the final stages of launching anew look website which should be released over the next few weeks - so keep an eye open for it

25.11.2007

Johannesburg, South Africa

A Volunteer Manager in every port

Susan Ellis says that while a sailor may have a woman in every port - those of us in volunteer management have a VPM in every city! And such is the case here in Johannesburg, where I connected and had dinner with long distant and long time colleague Manon Ellis Williams and a friend of hers, Bev Russell-Rice.

Manon, (below left) who hails from the UK has lived in Johannesburg for the past 5 years, working firstly with Civicus and more recently with CAFSA - Charities Aid Foundation of South Africa, who specialise amongst other things, in developing corporate / community partnerships. As Manon explained to me, with the absence of a clear volunteering infrastructure in Sth Africa (and remember NO volunteer centre in this 10 million strong city!) CAFSA receive daily inquries about where and how people can volunteer. Manon has been very active in trying to convince government about the importance of developing a more structured third sector and it was nice to be able to learn from her experiences.

Bev (below right) is the CEO of a company called Social Surveys Africa. Social Surveys seeks to contribute to the transformation of Sth African society through high quality research in a number of areas including education, health and importantly civil society. Again it was fascinating to hear of the tremendous and cohesive work being done within the sector here to try and convince government about the importance of properly funding the volunteerism / NGO sector

23.11.2007

Cape Town, South Africa

A tremendous time

I connected with colleagues here in Cape Town and have been involved in a number of activities over the past 24 hours. To start with, I attended  (and spoke briefly at) the AGM of the Volunteer Centre here in Cape Town. I was surprised to learn that it is (with its 4 outreach offices in this city) the only volunteer centre in all of South Africa! So it was good to learn about their history and the history of the volunteer movement in South Africa. In addition to attending thier AGM, I also visited the Volunteer Centre and had the opportunity to address a staff meeting and talk to the wonderful and dedicated team at the centre about their visions for the movement in SA. A national body (Volunteer South Africa) was established following both IYV in 2001 and a subsequent national year of the volunteer in 2002, but this was sadly disbanded in 2005 after funding was ceased. The big challenge now in Sth Africa is to find ways to put national infrastructure in place to support the volunteer movement here.

A lot of good things are happening though. Discussions continue about ways to support civil society and volunteering and a large scale volunteer management training program is being developed, so it feels to me as though there are good things to come for volunteerism in this region. The Volunteer Centre have also just launched their new website which can be viewed at http://www.volcent.co.za/

I was also very fortunate to visit the volunteer program at the 'Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital' in Cape Town (called the Friends of the Children's Hospital), where I met with Naz Teladia (pictured below at right), the Director of the program. The Children's Hospital is the only specialised children's hospital in all of sub-sahara Africa and from what was explained and evident to me, the program is considered to be one of the better run volunteer programs operating in the country. It was certainly very innovative and an eye opener for me as it seeks to meet the needs of a population which huge levels of poverty and an AIDS pandemic which just blows the mind.

I finished the day by spending the day touring the city with Volunteer Centre CEO Deline van Boom. Not only did we have lunch on Table Mountain (which is just spectacular), I even had the great privilege to visit one of the ghetto settlements which flank the city. It was an amazing visit and my thanks are extended to the Volunteer Centre team (pictured below) for their hospitality and generosity

Left: With the team at Cape Town (Western Cape) Volunteer Centre (CEO Deline van Boom is pictured on left)

Right: Pictured with 'Friend's of the Children's Hospital' Director Nazrina Teladia

19.11.2007

Hamburg, Germany

Learning new things

I've spent the last three days here in the beautiful sea port of Hamburg, where I have been doing a lot of sight seeing and catching up with friends. I have also had the opportunity to spend some time with Markus Semrau, who is the German national youth volunteer Coordinator with Greenpeace (GP have their German head office in Hamburg). Not only is Markus a quality person, it was terrific to gain the pespectives of a large volunteer organisation who we do not often see represented at many of our mainstream volunteerism conferences and workshops. It was also fantastic for me to be able to gain insights into different ways to mobilise youth volunteers and to think through and discuss some of the aspects which make environmental volunteering such an attractive proposition to so many. Thank you markus - thank you Germany!

Above: A traditional German dinner while discussing the finer nuances of volunteerism with Markus Semrau (right) in Hamburg

16.11.2007

Blackpool, United Kingdom

New Publications Launched

Two new books were launched at IAVM this week. The first is a book titled 'Keeping Volunteers' which was written and launched by Steve McCurley and Rick Lynch. It is my hope to have copies of this available over coming weeks through OzVPM

The second publication to be launched at the event was the second edition of 'Turn Your Organisation into a Volunteer Magnet'. Along with co-editor Fraser Dyer (Rob Jackson the third editor was not able to be at Blackpool) and one of the books many authors, Erin Tierney, the book was launched with much fanfare. Copies of the electronic version can be downloaded from the OzVPM home page. Hard copies of the book will be available through the store in coming weeks

Above left: Rick Lynch and Steve McCurley at the launch of 'Keeping Volunteers'

Above right: Andy Fryar, Erin Tierney and Fraser Dyer at the magnet book launch

15.11.2007

Blackpool, UK

Institute for Advanced Volunteer Management

This week has been filled with attending the ninth Institute for Advanced Volunteer Management, which is arguably the greatest volunteer management event on earth! This year the host organisation CSV have invited seven lead trainers from all corners of the globe to present a series of challenging workshops to the ninety plus delegates present. Being my third time here, I can say it really is an amazing event that I'd encourage you to all try and attend some time in your professional careers.

Above left. 2007 IAVM Faculty members from left Andy Fryar (Australia), Jayne Cravens (Germany), Martin J Cowling (Australia), Linda Graff (Canada), Fraser Dyer (UK), Rick Lynch (USA - rear) and Steve McCurley (USA-front)

Above right: Meeting regular OzVPM contributor and online volunteerism expert Jayne Cravens was a big highlight of IAVM 2007 for me

12.11.2007

London

Today was my only full day to explore London this trip - it is a great city and there are endless things to do. I took the opportunity to firstly line up for one of the very limited day tickets to the 'Teracotta Warrior' exhibition at the British Museum and was lucky enough to get one ...and I wasn't disappointed.

Following that I met for lunch with Rob Jackson from Volunteering England (and founder of our sister newsgroup UKVPM's) and a number of the Board members from the Association for Volunteer Managers (AVM), the UK's new professional VPM Association which was launched earlier this year. I had the great privilege of meeting with a group of volunteer managers here a few years ago to talk about the AAVA experience in Australia, and it was nice to reconnect with them again now as Board members of the new entity, which appears to be moving from strength to strength. If you are not familiar with the work of AVM, visit their website at http://www.volunteermanagers.org.uk/avm/about-us. Oh and if you are a UK based reader let me encourage you to become a member!

UK friends and colleagues from left John Ramsey (President AVM) Rob Jackson, myself, Debbie Usiskin and Steve Gee

11.11.2007

Paris, France

I've spent the last four days exploring the amazing sights and sounds of Paris with leading UK based volunteer management author, trainer, guru and good friend Fraser Dyer. Not only has Paris been a wonderful city to walk and explore, it also offered me time in a city where volunteer effort appears to not be as prevalent as I am used to. While I am sure much volunteer work does occur, there was a distinct absence of public volunteer effort such as the 'information assistants' so common in tourist heavy areas in many other large cities. Even large multi-national charities (such as Red Cross, World Vision, Oxfam etc) were not readily noticable as I strolled the streets.

Paris is however home to the organisation Volonteer (http://www.volonteer.fr/) and eariler this year I am aware that both the CEV (European Volunteer Centre) and IAVE (European Region) hosted meetings in this wonderful city. From what I can understand, volunteering is slowly becoming more accepted here and there seems to be a special emphasis on the development of employee / corporate volunteer opportunities.

The other exciting fact is that I learned one of the tube (Metro) stations is actually called 'Volontaires' - the French word for volunteers, so Fraser and I took the train ride just to bring you the following photo!

6.11.2007

Dublin, Ireland

Developments in Dublin

This is my third visit to Dublin in the last three years and I am beginning to feel like a local! The two days I have spent here have been very enjoyable, starting with a dinner meeting with Elaine Bradley (new CEO of Vol Ireland) and Zse Varga (new Training Manager). It was great to hear the vision that VI have for the future, and also to learn more about volunteering in Europe through the  work of CEV - the European Volunteering Centre.

Yesterday I was a guest at Volunteering Ireland's 5th VOLT Conference, an event at which I was guest speaker in Cork two years ago. It was great to again catch up with many friends and colleagues and to learn a little more about volunteering in this wonderful country. Of particular note, I was surprised to learn the Garda vetting (police checks) are still relatively new in Ireland and it was interesting to hear of the very comprehensive system of checking the the garda have established.

The other important news was that VOLT, the professional Association for volunteer managers in Ireland has had a name change to PAVMI, which stands for Professional Association for Volunteer Managers in Ireland. Unlike other professional Associations around the globe, PAVMI are actually a part of the Vol Ireland structure, so it is a great model to highlight how professional volunteer management Associations and National Volunteer Centres can work collaboratively together.

Today I had the pleasure of leading a group of volunteer managers through a one day workshop on resourcing and planning for volunteer programs. It was great to meet many new people and to re-connect with some familiar faces.

A photo of myself (far left) with dignitaries at the VI conference on Monday including PAVMI President Brenda Farrelly (third from left), Minister Pat Carey, VI CEO Elaine Bradley and Garda Officer Pat Burke

4.11.2007

Belfast, Northern Ireland

The dark side of volunteerism

This is my first visit to Belfast, and walking through the areas of this city in which not so very long ago blood was regularly spilled on the streets was quite an eye opener. Between them, the forces of the protestant Ulster Volunteer Forces (UVF) and the catholic volunteers of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) killed more than 3500 people between 1969 and 2001. While that many purists amongst us will argue these groups are not volunteers at all (because the outcome of their actions are negative and not positive), the fact that these groups themselves see their actions as voluntary is something we at least need to consider when defining the broader role of volunteerism.

2.11.2007 - Liverpool, England

Help!   ...I need somebody

Yes that's right, I am in Beatles territory!  ...and while there a million things to do in this wonderful city, I was disciplined enough to spend the morning visiting the volunteer program at the Liverpool campus of the Royal Liverpool University Hospitals (see picture below). Aside from learning directly about the services provided at the Liverpool site, I also learnt about the long history of the Womens Royal Voluntary Service (WRVS), who were formed during WWII to assist civilains throughout the war. They have since been the backbone of many hospital based programs here in the UK, often filling the traditional role that Auxiliaries may have filled back in Austraia and NZ.

The other thing I learnt was that hospitals across the UK also have a national volunteer management support structure / network in place (something we really must do in Oz). The group is called the National Association of Voluntary Services Managers (NAVSM) and their key role is to support VPM's working in the health and social services field.

...oh and in case you think it is all work and no play, let me re-assure you I got to the Beatles museum in the afternoon as well as the sobering international museum of the history of slavery

1.11.2007 - Warrington, England

International Volunteer Managers Day

Today was a lot of fun as I participated in the fourth annual conference of the Warrington Association of Volunteer Managers (WAVM), where I presented a keynote address and two workshops. The day was a great success and it was terrific to meet so many passionate volunteer managers from the area. Warrington is a great example that you don't need to be in a big city to have a dynamic volunteer management sector. Well done to all the team at Warrington on such a great event

30.10.2007 - Edinburgh, Scotland

All in the name of volunteerism....

I am now in my favourite city - Edinburgh, where I am staying a few days with my sister and her fiance. It is my third visit here in the last four years and there are always new things to see and do.

Today I called in and visited with the Volunteer Manager at one of the local hospitals - the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. Amongst the things I learned was the fact that the Scottish government are currently developing a national strategy to look at volunteers in their hospital system, which is something I plan to learn more about and share through the OzVPM newsgroup.

After my hospital exploration and a visit to wonderful Craigmillar Castle, I stumbled across a pub called 'The Volunteer Arms', which of course I had to spend several hours in   ...purely for the purposes of science and research of course  :O)    Ahhh the things I do for this great profession of ours!

27.10.2007 - Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Volunteers as activists

As I was going about a day of tourist activities today, I was suddenly reminded of the amazing impact that volunteer activists can have when they band together to support a cause. I stumbled across, and then joined (for just a short distance) a peace protest through the streets of Boston. The Boston event must have had tens of thousands of participants and I learned later that the march was part of a national chain of events also held in a number of other cities across the USA. To learn more visit http://www.unitedforpeace.org/

Earlier in the day while on a 'trolley tour' we passed Massachussets General Hospital and I remembered that this facility has the largest hospital based volunteer program I have ever heard of - 1200 volunteers. I am just disappointed that I remembered this fact too late to visit and learn more about this massive volunteer effort. Visit http://www.mgh.harvard.edu/volunteers/new_community.htm for more details

25.10.2007 - Columbus, Ohio, USA

VAN Conference

Today I was invited to participate in the VAN (Volunteer Administrator's Network of Central Ohio) conference, which was held at one of the largest churches I have ever been to (they have a membership of 12,000!). The conference had the theme of 'from compass to GPS' and the group were a terrific bunch with a real desire to learn. There was certainly a great sense of collaboration and commoraderie within the group. I presented two workshops and a keynote address, after which I attended a workshop on the topic of using Facebook (www.facebook.com) as a social networking tool, which was just fascinating. To learn more about VAN visit http://www.vancolumbus.org/

Here's a photo of VAN President Heather Popio and myself at the conference

24.10.2007 - Columbus, Ohio, USA

Over dinner tonight I discovered a new level of football fever that leaves AFL fans for dead. The local football team, the Ohio State Buckeyes, fill their 110,000 seat stadium EVERY match. This is especially impressive if you consider that a) the Buckeyes are a college football team (not a NFL team) and b) the population of Columbus is approximately only the same as Adelaide! To put that in perspective for Australian AFL fans, it is like filling the MCG to watch a SANFL, WAFL or VFL game every week!!! That's enough to put any AFL supporter to shame.

24.10.2007 - Columbus, Ohio, USA

Mary Merrill Country

This is my first visit to Columbus, and it is a great honor to visit the city where volunteerism leader, trainer and consultant Mary Merrill (1945 - 2006) lived and had such an impact. I had the pleasure of meeting Mary on several occassions and was always impressed by her knowledge and passion for the field. I am being hosted here by VAN - the Volunteer Administrator's Network of Central Ohio, an organisation that was in part founded by Mary. If you are unfamiliar with Mary's work, check out http://www.merrillassociates.com/

23.10.2007 - San Francisco, California, USA

Californian Bush Fires

I arrived in this wonderful city yesterday, and besides spending time 'doing' all of the regular tourist traps the big news from California has been the break out of massive bush fires south of here from Santa Barbara right down to the Mexican border. Not only has this meant nearly one million people have needed to be evacuated, it has, like back home, highlighted the critical nature of volunteers in fighting natural disasters of all shapes and sizes. Even by Australian standards, the sheer number of people effected by this fire is unprecedented.