Youth Committee Member, Max Conway, seeks volunteering opportunity with SMP Member Organisation

Based: Glasgow

Seeking: Up to 3 days a week volunteering opportunity over 3-4 months this Summer with an SMP Member organisation

Skills: Youth perspective, visited Malawi twice, social media, studying Politics and Social Policy, social research, statistical analysis

Interests: Governance and policy development, especially in relation to the cooperation with other organisations such as NGOs, the Scottish government and the private sector

Max's words:

In my junior and senior High School years, I was a member of the Scotland Malawi Partnership programme which saw my school in partnership with Mlozi School in Dedza District. My involvement included the organisation of several fundraising campaigns via radio, print media and social media, awareness-raising through the delivery of educational sessions in local Scottish primary schools. We ran and developed intercultural educational projects for learners both in Scotland and Malawi. For example, we helped set up the John Muir Awards scheme at Mlozi School and ran cultural exchange projects such as Gaelic and Malawian music and dance activities, geographical mapping and netball and football tournaments. Ultimately, we were successful in bringing together many Scottish and Malawian children, young people and teaching staff through reciprocal visits and a long-standing pen-pal project. My visits to Mlozi school in Malawi helped me to gain a much wider and deeper understanding of importance of cultural and educational cooperation between western nations and African cultures.

Currently, I am a sitting member of the Scotland Malawi Partnership Youth Committee which has recently had its Youth Festival. I am a member of the social media team and contributed to content-writing and publicity, this included live broadcasts and discussion forums. We successfully reached a quarter of a million people during the festival week, making this an extremely successful event. Although it was very challenging to also keep up with the fast-paced work of my university semester, it was a very exciting and rewarding experience. As a new member of the Committee, I look forward to increasing contributions to the team and help it to reach further in terms of awareness-raising and informing.

Currently, I am studying Politics and Social Policy at the University of Strathclyde. My degree course has covered a wide range of social topics, such as health, education, energy and the environment. I have also further developed the theory and research skills and worked on different fields of research. Therefore I am particularly interested in the governance and policy development, especially in relation to the cooperation with other organisations such as NGOs the Scottish government and the private sector.

Skills that I can bring in to this voluntary position are to provide a youth perspective and contribute my skills in social research and statistical analysis which include quantitative and qualitative research. Furthermore, I have a collegial attitude to teamwork and appreciate the ethos of supporting others in order to deliver high standards of work responsibly.

I would be happy to contribute in flexible ways. Taking into account my studies and the need to retain a part-time job to support myself, I could commit up to three days a week. A three to four month volunteering opportunity would be ideal for me.

If you would be interested to connect with Max, please initially contact our Youth & Schools Officer on youth@scotland-malawipartnership.org