Australian Volunteers International or AVI recruits skilled professionals from Australia to work with partner organisations in Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

, the Pacific, Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

 and the Middle East

Middle East

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

. Its work focuses on reducing poverty, promoting human rights and gender equality, increasing access to education and health services, and protecting the environment.

In the last 50 years AVI have placed more than 6000 volunteers and other field workers in 70 countries.

Purpose and Function

AVI has a vision of a peaceful and just world; where all people have access to the resources they need, the opportunity to achieve their potential, the right to make decisions about the kind of development they want and to participate in the future of their own communities.

Through the AVI Volunteer Program, skilled Australians live and work with local organisations and communities, sharing their skills and building relationships with local people. They receive support including airfares, living allowances and insurance.

The organisation also offers a range of people-centred development projects. It runs a short-term program for young Australians, and a range of professional services to Australian organisations including international recruitment and cultural effectiveness training.

AVI programs are funded by the Australian Government through AusAID, other government and corporate agencies, and donations from the Australian community.

History

The first volunteer, Herb Feith

Herbert Feith

Herbert Feith was an Australian academic and world leading scholar of Indonesian politics.-Background:Born in Vienna, Austria in 1930, Feith witnessed oppression of the Jews and witnessed Kristallnacht in 1938 at the age of 7. He came to Australia as a refugee in 1939 with his Austrian Jewish...

, travelled to Jakarta

Jakarta

Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...

, Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

 in 1951, taking up the challenge to work alongside Indonesians as a translator as the country dealt with issues of independence. His journey helped establish the Volunteer Graduate Scheme to Indonesia.

In 1961 the Volunteer Graduate Scheme became the Overseas Service Bureau, an organisation with Jim Webb as its founding Director. In 1963, The Bureau launched a program called Australian Volunteers Abroad (AVA) and the first the first 14 Australian Volunteers (AVAs) commenced assignments in Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...

, the Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...

, Tanzania

Tanzania

The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...

 and Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

. In 1999 it changed its name to Australian Volunteers International.

AVI is governed by a Board of Directors, Chief Executive Officer Dimity Fifer, and a Senior Management Team.