Young Leader Development Program
Educating the Future seeks to improve the lives of those in Timorese communities as well as its Australian volunteers. Educating The Future provides its volunteers with opportunities to foster and apply their professional development skills and learn invaluable interpersonal skills.
Volunteers in Australia are presented with opportunities to represent Educating The Future in multiple capacities with various degrees of independence and self-motivation. Australian volunteers are able join one of the formalised teams that carry-out the operations of Educating The Future’s mission, or may participate at a more informal level, through engaging in fundraising activities and events.
Volunteer Opportunities
Educating The Future’s volunteer base in Australia comprises over 40 youth-volunteers who are supplementing their formal study and work with practical application and invaluable volunteer experience. The volunteer base is essential to Educating The Future’s day-to-day operations and can be credited with contributing to many of Educating The Future’s momentous achievements. The opportunity to participate in leadership and mentorship between Educating The Future volunteers provides a warm, welcoming and productive space for volunteers to foster relationships and skills essential for their future.
Immersion Trips
In addition to mentorship, professional development and leadership opportunities, Educating The Future provides its volunteers with the chance to visit Timor-Leste. These frequent immersion trips seek to develop volunteers' connection and sense of community with our Timorese counterparts. Educating The Future’s student-run immersion programs provide volunteers with opportunities to develop their understanding of the context within which Educating The Future operates in remote Timor-Leste. All volunteers who have previously attended these trips can attest to the benefits of visiting the Timorese communities which have directly benefited from their work in Australia. Witnessing the first-hand impact of Educating The Future in the remote regions of Timor-Leste is a humbling experience that consistently reinstates the vigour with which volunteers contribute to Educating The Future, whilst simultaneously contributing to maintaining regional partnerships and overseeing preschool constructions.
Professional Development
Educating The Future constantly seeks to improve the experience of Australian volunteers, thus increasing the scope, depth, breadth and impact of volunteers in achieving the organisation’s aims. Educating The Future’s reliance and appreciation for its volunteers sees unprecedented opportunities for individuals to work with industry professionals, engage in corporate practices, and seek personal and professional development. Volunteers are frequently invited to Educating The Future’s professionally chaired board meetings, attended by a multidisciplinary panel of industry professionals. Pathways are offered to sit alongside external experts on various committees and even seek professional roles such as the Committee Secretary. Internal training and development is provided in critical skills such as public speaking, analytics, marketing, event management, stakeholder engagement and business development.
Finally, Educating The Future endures an alumni network of over one hundred past young leaders, spread across various industries and professions, brought together by Educating The Future and the same passion for empowering disadvantaged youth through the opportunities education provides.