2010 Australasian Retreat Report
Volunteer Management: What does it take?
“I have gained a whole new focus on my role as a volunteer manager”
The 2010 Australasian Retreat for Advanced Volunteer Management was held at the Hahndorf Resort, in the Adelaide Hills from March 17 to 19, 2010
The Faculty included: Martin J Cowling, Jayne Cravens (USA) and Andy Fryar along with Guest Faculty members DJ Cronin and Meg Webb
"The retreat had many ‘aha’ moments and was a life-changing experience”
The Retreat theme for 2010 was chosen because while it is easy to talk about all the things we need to be doing to stay relevant in a world where the challenges facing volunteering are becoming more complex every day, actually 'really' getting to a point where we can professionally forge change, is often another matter altogether.
The five faculty were joined at the 2010 event by 51 delegates from Across Australia and New Zealand, who engaged in some vigorous debate, philosophical discussion and some personal reflection.
Once again a wide range of learning styles were offered, including keynote sessions titled:
- 'What does it mean to be advanced ...really?',
- 'What does it take to change volunteer management ...really?',
- 'What does it take to become a 21st century leader of volunteers ...really?' and
- 'What does it take to raise my stock at my organisation ...really?'
In addition, elective sessions were offered which examined topics covering a wide range of topics including national standards, mapping successful volunteer management, career validation, virtual volunteering and philosophies of volunteer involvement.
A world cafe session posed questions about whether or not we are truly a 'sector' while key issues facing volunteerism in Australasian were discussed and documented
“Thank you everyone for reinforcing my belief in myself and my role as a volunteer manager”
The Support Circle concept used each year at the Retreat again proved to be a major success story for the event, with many delegates expressing appreciation for the opportunity to delve deeply into a work related issue, and as always, many life long friendships have again been forged.
“It was the boost I needed to put ideas and information into action - never a dull moment. Upbeat and challenges to our current way of thinking . Overall very engaging to mix with dynamic and diverse professionals”
To view photos from the 2010 Retreat please CLICK HERE
Handouts and presentations from the 2010 event (please respect the authors copyright of these and not reproduce without permission)
~ DJ Cronin - Presentation for 'Critical Thinking' workshop
~ DJ Cronin - Presentation for 'Farmyard Animals' workshop
~ Andy Fryar - Handout for 10 Qualities of Advanced Volunteer Managers
~ Meg Webb - Presentation for 'Map It' workshop
~ Meg Webb - Presentation for 'Standards' workshop
~ Jayne Cravens - Link to all of Jayne's workshop notes
~ Martin J Cowling - Leadership Presentation
