International Volunteering with Palms Australia

The learning experiences described below will inspire adults and encourage the leadership of senior secondary students. They are stimulants for those seeking to apply principles of catholic social teaching in their Australian communities. At the same time the participation fee contributes directly to the achievement of Palms' mission of responding to requests of global communities seeking to reduce material poverty.

We each learn in a variety of ways. Some find particular processes more useful, exciting, challenging, fun, etc. Palms offers a variety of processes in an attempt to cater for all learning preferences.

Workshops, Simulations, Field Trips and Meditations are four approaches taken by Palms in its education, personal and professional development programs. Some of the better developed are available under the themes below, but other apporaches can be applied to other themes. We can design particular approaches and draw on material for the themes that suit your purpose. Please discuss the possibilities with us.

Theme 1: Towards Solidarity
Theme 2: Interpersonal Difference: Potential Growth
Theme 3: Culture and Sub-cultures
Theme 4: Justice, Ecology and Peace

Palms also offers one to one guidance from our qualified and enormously experienced counsellors for assisting individuals with achieving their mission. It can be a stressful business; personal support and pastoral care is necessary.

Towards Solidarity

My Story, Our Story, The Story
We are encouraged to move beyond our individual interests and groups that shape our view of the world in the hope that we can come to appreciate universal truths. This can be done as a useful half-day presentation, but as a full day workshop participants are enabled to more fully explore their engagement in each story.

Solidarity and Development: The Palms Approach
A half-day workshop discussing a complete approach to solidarity, indicating the many values on which it is built. It is accompanied by and informs an alternative appreciation of development, without which economic development is found wanting.

Interpersonal Difference: Potential Growth

DISC
How we operate in undertaking tasks and activities is different from how others may approach them. Unless we have the tools to analyse the value that different approaches can contribute we can end up with irreconcilable conflict. DISC is a simple tool of analysis that can be thoroughly appreciated in a fun half-day workshop or the basics can be picked up in a 70-90 minute presentation.

Enneagram
It has been described as "An Ancient Tool for a New Spiritual Journey". If you have two days, this tool used by Sufis over 2000 years ago and recently developed by catholic religious and others can assist a full appreciation of that which holds us back, and that which develops the positives in our personalities. It is recommended for adults over 30, however mature 25-30 year olds should find it accessible.

Culture and sub-cultures

Bafa Bafa
If you want to know how left out one can be trying to enter another culture without suffering the trauma that can be caused by the real experience Bafa Bafa is the simulation exercise to leave an imprint. It is a great two-hour game that requires a group of 15 to 30 people.

Culture
A 70-90 minute discussion of culture attempting to arrive at a working definition and an appreciation of how we come to understand another culture. It draws significantly on the vast experience of two senior missionary priests. It very appropriately follows Bafa Bafa and is very usefully explored before the cross-cultural field trip.

Cross-cultural Field Trip
Australia is a multicultural society, where individuals representing multicultural contexts can be "in the same room at the same time," but how well do we share stories with someone considered "other". The field trip requires a full day that Palms volunteers describe as the most challenging, eye opening and enjoyable of their cultural preparation. Success of the activity requires that full details only be revealed on the day. Facilitators will require brief participant biographies.

Evangelising Culture: The Disturbing Counter-cultural Ministry of Jesus
Culture helps to organise social interaction, indeed the whole social environment. It's why we can take so much for granted, but it can also be oppresive and sanction the power of the strong over the weak. All major religions suggest that in God's kingdom this would not be so. Is this why Jesus was so often seen to disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed? Do we accept aspects of our culture that oppress others? Can we change it?

Justice, Ecology and Peace

From Violence to Wholeness
This is a ten-part study and action program in the spirituality and practice of active nonviolence. Each of the sessions is two hours and includes: 1. The Experience of Violence; 2. The nonviolence of Jesus; 3. Violence and Gender; 4. Gandhi and nonviolence; 5. Reverence for the Earth; 6. Nonviolence and Social Transformation; 7. Martin Luther King Jr and Social Change; 8. Experimenting with nonviolence; and 9. Communities of nonviolence. Some sessions may be freestanding workshops, but may require three hours if done out of sequence.

For more information on running an activity for your staff or students, contact Palms Australia via email or phone (02) 9518 9551.