The Travels of the Techno-Freedom-Fighter

From 2000 onwards I started to be more involved with youth development, this was mainly sparked by the success in re-establishing the scouting movement in Vanuatu. I started to be involved with Volunteering ACT in early 2000. with the help of Rupert Macgregor we established the Volunteering ACT’s Youth Enterprise program. With the Northside High School Student Support Centre, where successful in gaining funding from the ACT Govt, Schools as Communities Strategic Projects grants, to run a pilot project in 2002 for the placement of students in Voluntary Traineeships with local businesses, community organisations and government agencies. This was modeled on similar projects to this have been running very successfully in NSW, WA and Vic for many years.

The aim of the project was to give students who are finding it difficult to cope in the school environment, the opportunity to gain knowledge and build or develop life affirming skills, increase their self esteem and self confidence and improve their resilience and coping skills and as a result assist them in feeling more positive towards school and hence more motivated to complete high school. something that is close to my hart seeing that I also had great difficulty with school. really it was a major contributing factor to me dropping out of school in year 11. I was lucky enough to get my life skills ‘on the road’ in the Netherlands.

Experience over the years has shown that for students having difficulty coping in the school environment, extremely positive outcomes have been achieved, both personally and socially, when these students are given the opportunity to spend some time in the workplace. Students find that they are more able to manage at school, if they see that they can achieve in the workplace.

At the time schools are able to provide this type of experience, under the ACT Dept of Education and Community Services Work Experience Program, for students who are 14 years and above. Schools had become increasingly aware that many at risk younger students could also benefit from experiencing the workplace environment, but were not able to provide this opportunity due to insurance constraints. The SPICE project was able to provide workplace experience for students as young as 11 years of age and had the ability to be flexible in regard to the needs of the student, the school and the host organisation. It is anticipated that the student would complete approximately one day per week in the workplace or activity of most benefit to the student as determined by negotiation with the host organisation and the school.

With Volunteering ACT we co-ordinated the project, found appropriate placements for the students and provided and maintained regular contact with host organisations and the students. The Northside High School Student Support Centre provided referrals, liaised with the schools and assistanced with the development and implementation of the program. Schools did negotiate their own host organisation for a student and then contact the SPICE Coordinator to complete the agreement. Before the student were placed with the Host Organisation an agreement was signed by all parties concerned:- The student, the Parent/Guardian, the School, the Host Organisation and the SPICE Coordinator and copies of this agreement will be issued to all parties. All in all it was a great project I even used the spice program as a case study for my Youth Roundtable White Paper.

September 18, 2002 | 3:21 PM

I was responsible for evaluation, selection and customisation of IT network infrastructure for small and medium enterprise clients. The primary responsibility of this position is to support, monitor, test and troubleshoot hardware and software for Workflow Solutions products in LANs, WANs, within SME environments. Day to day activities included level 3 support for servers, desktop PCs, hardware and ISP security for Webone Internet (Canberra’s Largest ISP). this reall helped me to developed a service-oriented mind-set with an ability to organize, prioritise and delegate tasks while transferring knowledge and expertise to empower clients and users. In addition, supporting users by phone, email and onsite became a daily task to insure that any challenges, which occurred, would be followed through to their logical and satisfactory end.

Key achievements:
Client: Koomarri – I designed, evaluated and installed an IT solution for this geographically dispersed organization. I used VPNs(hardware) over TransACT WAN using wireless 802.11 and PPPOE technologies. I also installed and supported Windows 2000 servers (using MS Exchange for Email).

Client: National Gallery of Australia – I contributed to the IT policy and procedures for the organisation, this involved the documentation of current practises then evaluation and consultation with other business units right through to the deployment of these policies. Day to day activities included level 3 support for servers, desktop PCs, hardware and ISP security for Webone Internet (at the time Canberra’s Largest ISP).

Client: Web-teach Solutions – I had to configure many different web/LAN configurations incuding firewalls, e-mail gateways and web gateways. I mainly used two software products: Windows 2000 Server and Mitel SME server (a Linux distribution). I configured this different hardware to alow DMZs for webservers and FTP servers. With this one client in particular, I built and deployed two SME servers in conjunction with a firewall-based router. As an added protection, I also installed ‘Smoothwall’ on one of the servers. It was also necessary to reconfigure ‘Squid’ and ‘Apache’ as the client was running a complex website solution.

while working at Volunteering ACT – a not-for-profit volunteer coordinating organisation in Canberra – I was in the position of managing the OzOC project (Australian Online Community Network) – a joint initiative of Volunteering ACT and a local computer user group, to supply low cost web design, development. This involved hosting and online services to the Australian community and not-for-profit sectors, using volunteer labour and ‘in kind’ donations.

Work of this nature allowed me the opportunity to use my strong negotiation skills with donors and volunteer staff. It was necessary to commit myself to a win/win approach; this was done by being inventive about options and making clear agreements.

Fourteen websites where developed in the pilot phase of the OZOC program, which lasted six months. This was seen to be a great success as the original scope of the program was to develop only ten websites. After the pilot phase, the program was redeveloped into an ‘infrastructure support program’ and still continues to this present day.

Due to general youth negativity of the main stream media, I teamed up with Tom Dawkins who I had met through the National youth roundtable to put together a news and issues website to give young people a voice. Tom is one of the most dedicated people I have met, even though our politics are quite different I really do respect him for the achievements he has had. I learned a lot about communication and networking from him something that has held me in good sted.

We met over a coffee in Manuka and he showed me is business plan for the idea. Tom and his associate Carl had put together a great business plan. However Tom’s team mainly made up of university students lacked someone that had practical experience, as he put it, “put some rubber on the road”. His enthusiasm and drive was what made me ‘buy in’.

It was an exciting time for me as we where really doing something new, we where for the first time in Australia putting together something that might actually compete with the ‘old Media’ out there. I am constantly frustrated by the way that we are portrayed in the media. I really don’t think that it has much to do with the journalists as they are normally quite cool. It seems to me that it has a lot to do with the perspective of what the public wants and how that sells news paper.

The real issue was that at the time there where not a lot of “off the shelf” Content management systems. Not like now a days where you have things Mambo and PHPNuke. It was really quite cumbersome in the beginning to get articles up and running. There was always a divide between the geeks (who never went to Uni) and the Uni journos who where generating the content.

As the original technical director, and founding member, I used my skills and resources mainly that of Gladsoft Pty ltd to steer the website trough its first and second evolution. Once that was done see I was working with the Australian youth foundation, trough introductions I helped vibewire win its first grant. It was extremely exciting to be involved in such a fantastic project at the embryonic stage.

By the time in 2001 I departed for the internship with the UN, Tom had things pretty much under control, unfortunately by the time that I came back to Australia in 2002 I was to busy to get involved again, besides I work at my best as a mobilizer when things are just getting started. www.vibewire.net is still running today and is the premier independent youth media portal in Australia.

I was chosen to participate in an international youth leadership taskforce which aims to connect young people around the world. I travelled to the USA in August 2000 to become part of the International Youth Foundation’s (IYF) Youth Leadership Taskforce.

In April 2000, Nokia and the IYF launched a global partnership aimed at improving the lives of young people worldwide. Called “Make a Connection,” the program provided opportunities and skills to connect young people with peers, families and communities.

A key element of this program is the “YouthActionNet” website, a youth driven site that will feature global dialogue among youth leaders who will share their experiences in leading positive change in their own lives and communities. The “YouthActionNet” Task Force was be responsible for facilitating and moderating this dialogue, and was active in participating in the overall design, growth, and facilitation of the website activities.

It was a great opportunity link my interest in youth development with that of information technology. At the time about 40% the world population was under the age of 20, 80% percent of these young people where growing up in ‘developing’ economies. Their lives, resources and vision will shape our common future.

The project went well and is still running, you can check it out at www.YouthActionNet.org

The National Youth Roundtable (NYR) consists of fifty young Australians, aged 15 to 24 years, brought together by the Federal Government to engage a youth voice in the Nation’s policy development process. Between two ‘roundtable’ meetings in the year, each member plans and conducts a five-month ‘community activity project’ (CAP), culminating in a report to relevant ministers and their departments. The policy issues to be focused on are a compromise between ministerial expressions of interests, and the interests of the individual NYR members. My CAP was a white paper on the Development of a National Youth Development Program.

The Employment Group’s ‘Third Stream’ of education CAP
Aim - That an initiative is made to identify and support a ‘third stream’ of education based on the idea of developing “soft skills” in educational practises to increase and consolidate the opportunities of young people to enter the workforce.

Scope:
Consumers – All young people, especially young people that require ‘extra help’ to achieve successful educational outcomes
Sector Stakeholders – The professional/experienced opinions of a representative sample of industry, community and employment sector service providers, issue advocates, and policy developers on the needs and barriers to employment for young people to enter the workforce.

Methods:
Secondary Research – the gathering of Relevant research and discussion papers, policy briefs, strategies.
Forum – of young people with experiences of youth development who are approaching, seeking or maintaining employment.
Interviews - with a representative sample of mental health sector stake holders.
Focus groups – Thought the national youth congress 2000 run focus groups on Relevant youth development policy

As a part of his CAP, I led a team of young people that organized and ran the National Youth Congress (300 young people from all over Australia for a 4 day conference) to discuss youth issues and devise community based projects that can be implemented by youth, for youth. I was also invited to be on the ‘Ausyouth’ steering committee. I used these and other opportunities to consult with young people and develop his white paper. Through consultations with Tony Abbott and his departmental representatives, as well as with Volunteering Australia, I helped in the development of the, federally funded, Voluntary Work Initiative program.

Aim:

to reestablish the Scouting movement in Vanuatu, with the view to indirectly improving unemployment and other social problems among the youth of Vanuatu. Scouting can be used as an aid towards personal development and it is hoped that with the establishment of a strong and productive Venturer section (in particular), an improved level of morale and sense of potential can be achieved among these young people of Vanuatu.

Method:

• Start Meeting with remaining scout factions. Meet with 1st Tagbee Scout Group and assist with Scout and Venturer sections by supporting programmed activities and logistical efforts.
• Consolidate established scouting resources. Seek out and contact any other scouting elements from previous scouting movements, including the French Scouting and Church Scouting movements. Try to negotiate and promote the “united front” for a national scouting movement in Vanuatu, with its eventual mission to join the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM).
• Establish a new Scout Working Group with all interested parties, giving ownership and participation to all NiVanuatu that are interested in Scouting. Also, register the organization officially as an association with the registry office.
• Assist the new Scout Working Group. Help the working group to meet regularly and establish good governance practices that will set a precedent for the reestablished scouting movement.
• Obtain assistance from the New South Wales Scout Branch. Take up New South Wales on its offer of sending over a trainer to help with a basic leader training course.
• Plan and execute a leader training course. As well as being a valuable means of learning the skills required running the various scout sections; this course will also serve the purpose of being an attainable goal for the new Working Group.
• Invest the Vanuatu Scout Council. After the training course, formalise the Scout Working Group by establishing a new National Scout Council.

Log:

June 1999

• · I met Margaret Presser for the first time. She is a local scout leader who initially inspired me to do this project. We talked to the coordinator of the Australian Youth Ambassador for Development Program to investigate the possibility of getting some help in establishing the Scouting Movement in Vanuatu.
• · I also talked to the National Youth Council coordinator in order to establish a good working relationship.

July 1999

• · I talked to Bob MacDonald for the first time to try and organise a trainer to come to Vanuatu and run a Scout leader training course. Even though Bob seemed quite enthusiastic about my intentions, he was sceptical of its success and was not prepared to send a trainer.
• · I talked to Bob MacDonald a second time during this month and described the amount of progress I had made within the community and their positive response to my ideas. He then decided to send a trainer to Vanuatu.

August 1999

• · I am now in contact with Jeff Hook, the trainer coming to Vanuatu to conduct the training course.
• · The Vanuatu Scout Working Group has held it’s first meeting. The aim of the Working Group is to establish the Scout Association of Vanuatu as a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement and to assist with strengthening the Scout Association of Vanuatu. The role of the Working Group will diminish when the National Executive Committee is elected and the Vanuatu Scout Council is up and running well. This is anticipated to take about five years. The principles of the Working Group are the same as those for the World Scout Organization, and these are used as a rough guide for the conduct of the Working Group. The Group is open to anyone who has an interest in developing Scouting in Vanuatu. It will continue to have meetings at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry up until the AGM, scheduled for July 2000.
• · With the assistance of the Working Group, I have begun to develop a constitution as part of the process of getting the national council registered.
• · I have also participated in regular meetings with 1st Tagabee. I have had a lot of fun with the children running games and doing all of those ‘normal’ scout activities.

September 1999

• · Regular meetings with Tagabee – I am working very close with the children in the scout group, mainly the Venturer section as I am encouraged by their motivation and eagerness.
• · Working Group meetings – the meetings are really coming along and we seem to be progressing well. This is despite the difficulty of having ‘meetings’ in a culture that is not accustomed to them.
• · I have also sent the draft constitution to Jeff Hook to get it approved by Branch headquarters.

October 1999

• · I lodged the paperwork with the registrant’s office. I had to pay the registration fee myself, as we don’t have any money in the Scout account. I was told that it would only take a couple of weeks for us to receive the Certificate of Registration.
• · Regular meetings with Tagabee – once again a really good couple of meetings as we did a lot of badge work. I really look forward to my Saturdays at Tagabee as this is one of my few chances to get to know the local people and interact with them on an equal level.
• · Working group meetings – a lot of work has been done on what each person will be doing and what still needs to be organised.

November 1999

• · Regular meetings with Tagabee – everything is going very well. Some of the old leaders are returning to the Group and many people are excited about the upcoming Scout leader training course.
• · Hike – we went on a hike with the Venturers over the long weekend. We walked into the middle of the island and set up our base camp on the banks of the river. We took only the basic essentials of food and equipment, and gathered the rest of our food from the environment. One of the highlights for me was hunting and killing a wild bull. We feasted on the meat all night by cooking the meat on a stick above a campfire.
• · During a second camp this month, I was invested as part of the 1st Tagabee Group.

December 1999

• · Jeff Hook, the leader trainer, arrived from Australia and we ran the Leader Training Course. It was a great success and 28 people attended the course. Even veterans of the Scout Movement joined us to lend a hand. One of the most emotional moments was when a young leaderintraining broke down in tears as she was handed her award. This was the first time she had ever received an award or certificate. At the end of the course, we invested the Vanuatu Scout Council at a bonfire ceremony. My assignment for the Australian Youth Ambassador has finished, which means I now have to leave Vanuatu and return home.

Conclusion:

Scouting is now well established in the capital city of Vanuatu, Port Vila, and in several of the larger island townships around the country. There are currently three Scout Groups active in Port Vila, with a combined membership of 30 leaders and 200 Cubs, Scouts and Venturers.

When I started this project, I was focused on the personal development potential of it on the youth of Vanuatu. I realised by the end of it that I have also grown as a result of interacting with the people and participating in their culture. It is also very satisfying to know that I played an integral part in establishing a national organization that has a lot of promise in affecting the social circumstances of its members and their families.

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The Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development Programme (AYAD) is a Commonwealth Government initiative, funded through AusAID. The programme identifies and places skilled young Australians, aged 18-30, on development assignments throughout the Asia Pacific region. It gives them the opportunity to use their skills to assist developing countries, while building long-term goodwill and understanding between Australians and its neighbours.

I was selected for the Programme in November 1998 after a long selection process. At first, I was assigned to go to Malaysia to teach IT at a tertiary college in February. However, I was placed in Vanuatu last June, after negotiations with Malaysia stopped and Malaysia was taken out of the program’s destination countries. Due to having to be on a standby basis at a week’s notice, I was unable to commit to a contract with ether Gladsoft or any other organisation. I spent the time between the Malaysian assignment and the Vanuatu one, working closely with the AYAD staff in activities to strengthen the programme. Such as advocacy, secretarial work, IT support (NT LAN, mailserver) Publicity to do media interviews, help with promotion as well as going to recruitment workshops. As I was a part of the first intake, I had a great opportunity to be the “face” of what the programme was.

Having arrived in Vanuatu on July 6, I started work as soon as possible. The resource centre was not yet set-up by the Vanuatu Y2K taskforce and I spent the first two weeks setting the centre up and doing PR work. I brought my own laptop and related equipment enabling me to “hit-the-ground running”. Most of the enquires I received were for computer support other than actual Y2K work. This is because there is a lack of skilled IT people in the country. Being unable to field most of this myself, I chose to concentrate on two or three organisations and support them: maximising my impact. They where INTV (local technical high school and TAFE) the Red Cross and the Department of Health/Hospitals.

With INTV, I ran workshops on applications and OS support (Win3.11, Win9x) as well as repairing and installing computer hardware and networks (Win95 peer to peer, WinNT).

With the Red Cross, I have been writing and developing a “Assets Management System”, as well as providing training and support for their staff on MSOffice applications.

With the Hospitals and Dept. of Health, I have doing providing training and support for their staff on MSOffice applications, MYOB as well as contingency planing for Y2K and also getting them to adopt a IT strategy for more Information continuity.

My brief was inadequately designed, to say the least. Consequently, most of the work I have performed, thus far, has been outside my brief and performed in my spare time. Towards the end of my assignment there has been a lot more Y2K work, especially with the telecommunications company TVL , where I have been assisting with the installation of new hubs, routers and gateways for their WAN.

Jamboree On The Air (JOTA) is an annual event where the global scouting community communicates with each other through the medium of Radio. In modern times the bulk of the communication is moving towards Internet based communication such as e-mail and Internet really chat. I first became involved with JOTA when I was just a Scout enjoying the activity as a participant back in 1989 through to 1991. From 1992 to 1995 I was involved in assisting with activities and running external activities to keep the younger members of the other Scout section active while they watched and waited for their time slot on the radio. In 1996, while I was studying for my amateur radio license, I attended regular lessons held by the local amateur radio community (VK1 branch of the WIA). Through my involvement with the local amateur radio community, I was in an excellent position to assist with the co-ordination of the JOTA. In 1997 my involvement increased as I found my self organising most of the scouting events with the assistance of my Rover crew. Then, in 1998 I became co-ordinator for radio scouting in the Black Range Scout District. My task was not only to organise JOTA but also to encourage more activity in radio communications throughout the year.

What is the Jamboree-On-The-Air?

The JOTA is an annual event in which about 500,000 Scouts and Guides all over the world make contact with each other by means of amateur radio and internet. It is a real Jamboree during which Scouting experiences are exchanged and ideas are shared, thus contributing to the world brotherhood of Scouting.

The JOTA is a world-wide event. Units may operate for 48 hours or any part thereof, from Saturday 00.00 h until Sunday 24.00 h local time. For the VK2SBR station we will operate from 9:00am on the Saturday (oct.17th) to 3:00pm on the Sunday (oct.18th)

Members of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) are invited to take part in the JOTA and enjoy this international event together with the Scouts.

How to take part?

There are basically two ways to participate in the JOTA: by amateur radio, which requires the help of a licensed amateur radio operator, and via internet, which requires personal computers and perhaps a budget to cover the telephone and internet access costs.
– On the radio:
a. visit an amateur radio station with your Scout group or invite a radio amateur to install his station in your Scout building;
b. call “CQ Jamboree” or answer Scout stations calling to establish a contact;
c. all radio stations must strictly observe the national amateur radio regulations;
d. any authorised frequency may be used. It is recommended that stations use the agreed World Scout Frequencies or frequencies close by to find each other.
– On Internet:
a. set up a series of personal computers at your Scout building or visit a computer centre of e.g. a school or university.
b. connect the computers to the public telephone network with a modem.
c. pre-arrange access to the world-wide internet with a local internet provider.
d. Scouting www pages, electronic mail, and IRC, Internet Relay Chat are the most popular ways to participate.
· At VK2SBR we will have both forms of communications