Meet Democracy Ambassador Winta
During the training I came across the VEC and learned about democracy, how elections work in Australia, and about the role of Democracy Ambassadors. I became interested in working for the VEC and applied to become a Democracy Ambassador.
I started working as a Democracy Ambassador in 2018 after completing training. My role involves reaching out to different communities to teach them about voting and their voting rights and responsibilities.
Since 2018 I have worked at both State and local council elections. I have learned what it means to be impartial, the 3 levels of government in Australia and the difference between Upper and Lower House during State elections.
During COVID-19, we started reaching out to communities online by making videos to teach the process of elections and voting. I did a video in Amharic and this year am doing videos in Swahili and Amharic too. It has been released alongside videos in over 20 other languages.
I enjoy working with the VEC as a Democracy Ambassador. I have had the opportunity to visit many places to deliver outreach sessions and attend a variety of community events to create awareness of the VEC and democracy.
Being a Democracy Ambassador gives me the chance to meet people from different communities across Victoria, some of whom have never voted before. I enjoy educating communities about elections and how each person can play a role and exercise their rights.
This year I became an Australian citizen! I am looking forward to voting and it will be my first time doing so... I am so excited to practice what I have been teaching communities.
Winta
Book an outreach session
To enquire about booking a session with one of our Democracy Ambassadors please use the Session booking form.
Or, you can:
- email us at education@vec.vic.gov.au
- call us on 131 832 or in other languages on (03) 9209 0112
- call us using the National Relay Service, then ask for (03) 8620 1100.