The Australian Volunteers for International Development Program, managed by Austraining International provides fantastic opportunities for skilled Australians to volunteer overseas in Asia, the Pacific, Latin America or the Caribbean.

Australian Volunteers work with local people to reduce poverty by sharing knowledge, developing sustainable skills and building the capacity of individuals, organisations and communities. This is in line with partner governments, Australian Government development priorities, and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

One volunteer's story:

Jane Shiels volunteered as a Teacher Resource Centre Advisor in the Maldives on Faafu Nilandhoo, an island with a population of 1531, wonderfully quiet and isolated. She was the first western foreigner to live on the island and was readily accepted by the community, which is well known for its cohesiveness and local spirit.

"My role as an Australian Volunteer was to work with my counterpart, Ismail Naseer (Isse'), the Teacher Resource Centre (TRC) Coordinator of the Faafu Atoll, to build his capacity to provide professional development (PD) and support for teachers in five schools in the atoll. The Maldives consists of 1190 islands grouped into 26 geographical atolls covering an area of 90,000 sq km. TRCs have been established, one in each of the 20 administrative atolls, so that training can be decentralised and contextualized".

Jane Shiels, volunteered as a Teacher Resource Centre Advisor in the Maldives.

"Since the first PD session with Rugiyya and Sheeza in January, they had an insatiable thirst for more information and support. Most school days they spent a period with me discussing ideas for lessons and application of strategies. They welcomed me into their class to model lessons, recognised the importance of pre-and-post discussion and followed up with team and observed lessons. This aspect of my capacity building was exciting. Not only did I build their capacity as teachers, I also built Isse's capacity, by modelling the effectiveness of follow up support after Professional Development sessions."

Opportunities in the Maldives:

The following assignments are currently open for highly skilled education specialists in areas such as curriculum development, teacher training, and e-learning.

Assignment: Curriculum Development Specialist (Visual Arts)
(APPLICATIONS CLOSE 21 MAY 2013)
Host Organisation (HO): The Maldives National University- Faculty of Arts  
Location: Male’, Republic of Maldives, Maldives.
Assignment Duration: 6 months