‘Having the opportunity to collaborate with Sci-Enza’s team and observe the Centre’s community outreach programme has been a fulfilling experience,’ says Leticia Brown, a communications and media consultant in the Australian government’s Volunteer Program.

 

Leticia has been sharing her marketing and communications experience with the team at Sci-Enza, the University of Pretoria’s Science Centre, for the past few months and will continue to do so until May this year.

 

’With an interest in international development, I wanted to experience working and living overseas to challenge myself both professionally and personally. The Australian Volunteer Program, which is an initiative of the Australian government, provided the perfect opportunity to do this,’ she explained. ’As part of their commitment to international development and the United Nation's Sustainability Goals, the Australian Volunteer Program connects Australian citizens with overseas organisations looking for support, and thereby the sharing of skills and building people’s and organisational capacity.’ The Australian Volunteers Program provides opportunities for Australians to become volunteers and assists them with sharing what they have learnt through their international experiences.

 

According to Leticia, working at Sci-Enza has been an exciting and refreshing experience that has allowed her to gain new skills within science communication while sharing her own skills with Sci-Enza staff to help build the organisation's capacity. She commended Sci-Enza’s team for making science accessible to all through their amazing ability to connect with learners from different age groups and backgrounds and concluded by saying: ‘Before arriving in South Africa I did not know what to expect, but I have thoroughly enjoyed immersing myself into a culture and environment that is completely new to me.’