The longstanding history and deep people-to-people links held between Australia and Vanuatu continues to strengthen with guest speaker Max Gale, a New Colombo Plan (NCP) scholar, recently attending a professional development workshop for the Vanuatu alumni network hosted by Australia Awards Vanuatu. Max was able to meet with AAV alumni to explain his role as an NCP scholar and to encourage alumni to make contact with him. “Through this opportunity, I was able to set the foundation for ongoing collaboration between these two impressive cohorts of students and working professionals” said Max.
The New Colombo Plan is a signature initiative of the Australian Government which aims to lift knowledge of the Indo Pacific in Australia by supporting Australian undergraduates to study and undertake internships in the region. Max is a fifth-year Australian law student who has recently been awarded the Australian Government’s paramount undergraduate scholarship, the New Colombo Plan Scholarship, for his work and interest in international labour rights and surrounding human rights issues. Through his New Colombo Plan program, he has been working to build upon Australia’s relationships in the Indo-Pacific region by contributing to increased cooperation on important labour rights issues including modern slavery, child labour, and workplace discrimination.
After completing his studies at the University of the South Pacific, Max hopes to intern at the International Labour Organisation to work on projects aimed at improving workplace pay and conditions in the region. It was an invaluable opportunity to have the New Colombo Plan and Australia Awards Vanuatu working together to enhance linkages between NCP scholars and AAV alumni. “Speaking at the AAV workshop enabled me to learn from the rich experiences of the diverse AAV Alumni Community.“
Facilitated by Marc Delrieu from Vanuatu Data Science, this workshop provided an introduction to data analysis and visualisation. It was an excellent capacity building opportunity for those seeking to reinforce existing knowledge on statistical variables and statistical tools to implement data analysis. The workshop was well received by over 60 AAV alumni members registering for the event to attend in person and online.