Free travel with a twist

SYDNEY – Newly launched anti-poverty charity ActionAid Australia is offering one lucky Aussie an all expenses paid trip to an exotic destination – the only catch, they have to teach the locals to blog.

ActionAid, with operations in over 40 countries across Africa, Asia and South America, is on the hunt for a Twitter addict with a passion for social justice to send to one of its programme countries.

Nicknamed Project TOTO (The Overseas Training Operation), ActionAid has launched a nationwide search for a suitable candidate on its blog (http://blogs.actionaid.org.au/toto).

It’s all part of ActionAid’s efforts to give poverty a voice by establishing blog outposts around the world.

“On the one hand, it’s a free trip of a lifetime,” said ActionAid Australia CEO, Archie Law. “On the other, it’s going to be damn hard work.

“We’re looking for someone with a lot of energy to keep up with a demanding schedule, but also someone passionate about fighting poverty and inequality in a practical way,” he said.

This isn’t the first time ActionAid has sent an Australian to one of its programme countries to establish a blog outpost. In July this year, ActionAid sent well-known Crikey blogger Stilgherrian to Tanzania to pilot the initiative and write a “how to” manual for future expeditions.

“Tanzania was an interesting first country to pilot the initiative,” said Law. “A lot of Australians think of Tanzania as a great tourist destination, but just beyond the luxury hotels of Lake Victoria and Zanzibar, you’ll find abject poverty and people whose human rights are systematically abused.

“In fact, one of the major problems with dealing with poverty and injustice is that it is so often hidden from view.

“By using common social media tools such as Twitter and blogs, we’ll be giving poor communities a new medium through which to claim their rights, while giving outsiders an intimate view of the realities of poverty.”

Law said the next outreach blog would most likely be established in one of ActionAid’s Asian project countries.

“Our projects in Bangladesh and Cambodia would be good candidates, but we’re still determining the best fit based on the technical skills of locals and the infrastructure required to support the outpost.”

The uncertainty of the destination hasn’t deterred close to 30 eager candidates from nominating themselves already. Law expects this number to increase substantially as word gets out about the initiative.

“We’re not searching for a social media expert as such, just someone that has experience with tools such as Twitter and blogs and a passion for social justice.

We are seeking nominations by the end of this month and have set the departure date for December this year.

Law said ActionAid plans to establish up to 10 blog outposts around the world over next three to five years.