Australian Red Cross Delegates Program

Indicator 2: At least one Federation Head of Delegation / CountryRepresentative in the Asia Pacific is supported by AustralianRed Cross.Four Head of Delegation or Country Representative positions in the InternationalFederation of Red Cross were held by Australian Red Cross aid workers in the2011-2012 financial year.These positions included the Head of Delegation position in Indonesia (PhilCharlesworth), the Country Representative position in Timor Leste (ValerieHunnam), as well as the Head of Delegation position in Mongolia (Javier Barrera)and the Country Representative position in Nepal (Victoria Bannon).Having a number of Australian delegates in senior positions in the Federation hasincreased Australia’s representation and influence across the region, and presentedstrategic benefits for Australian Red Cross’ bilateral programs.Through her attendance at UN security meetings, Valerie Hunnam, CountryRepresentative in Timor Leste, has been able to strengthen Red Cross knowledgeof the local security situation, improving programming at the grassroots level.Country Representative for the Federation in Nepal, Victoria Bannon, like ValerieHunnam in Timor Leste, is an active participant at UN forums and cluster meetings,most notably the Nepal Risk Reduction Consortium which brings togetherhumanitarian, development and funding agencies with the Government of Nepal inorder to reduce Nepal's vulnerability to natural disasters. Her participation andinformation sharing have helped strengthen the role of the Red Cross Red CrescentMovement and provided Australia Red Cross with insights into the disaster riskreduction sector in the region.As the Federation Country Representative, Victoria has a close and trustedrelationship with the Nepal Red Cross Society especially with senior and middlemanagement and has provided advice to Australian Red Cross on many occasionsto help inform decisions on programming. Victoria has also been involved in theinitial meeting between AusAID post and Australian Red Cross, as well as twosubsequent joint Australian Red Cross-Nepal Red Cross Society proposals forAusAID funding.Photo: Australian Red Cross delegate and IFRC country Director Valerie Hunnam discusses plans with LucasGodsnho, disaster response manager at Timor Leste Red Cross. Photo: Australian Red Cross/Conor Ashleigh.