Bunbury Fringe: Fringe Family
21/11/2024
Overview/summary
Bunbury Fringe aims to develop strategies for the inclusion of young people and people living with disabilities to participate in event volunteering. Learnings, resources and strategies for engagement have been developed and shared with the sector. The Fringe Festival was held in January 2024, and the learnings from this event are already informing more inclusive approaches for the 2025 Festival.
The situation/problem being solved
The Bunbury Fringe festival is fully dependent on volunteers to operate and this year implemented new recruitment strategies to include a more diverse volunteer base including people with disabilities and youth.
Strategy
- Referrals from disability organisations helped to connect Bunbury Fringe to potential volunteers.
- Worked with key NDIS providers and through local carers networks.
- Connected with TAFE and local schools as well as local agencies working with young people.
Outcome
- Adaptions to recruitment processes to make them more inclusive can be applied to future events.
- Relationships with relevant stakeholder organisations fostered for future engagement.
Key learnings
Bunbury Fringe were able to trial new ways of communicating with these priority groups and learned strategies that were most effective.
‘Building a sense of community, ensuring a safe space for volunteers is paramount to success, and increased engagement. This gathering also has to have purpose and utilise strategies where people can engage in a collaborative task, where everyone can contribute equally. We held a craft workshop that involved all volunteers prior to the festival. The activity had to be tailored to all abilities while offering a chance to mingle and meet people.’
Essential to success is to engage a volunteer leader that has the skills to communicate with people from diverse backgrounds. They also learned that engaging volunteers from diverse backgrounds takes time and investment:
‘Don’t measure quantity of volunteers as success, but rather focus on ensuring each individual has a positive experience, that benefits both parties.
The Volunteer Management Activity Project Grants are funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services.
