Indigenous Australian participation in international volunteering Report on exploratory research

In May 2008, Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians were interviewed about the current participation of Indigenous Australians in the Volunteer Program (VP) of the Australian Government’s Agency for International Development (AusAID). The purpose of this project was to improve the understanding of issues that might influence participation in the program, and to identify improvements that would enable the VP to be more inclusive of volunteers from Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) communities. The project provided the occasion for an initial exploration of the barriers and opportunities related to international volunteering, as well as to draw out the benefits to individuals and how these can be transferred to ATSI communities in Australia. The research was undertaken by Australian Volunteers International on behalf of AusAID (Community Partnerships). This is a summary of the conclusions and recommendations.