Kevin Rennie. Photo by Jer Clarke.

Kevin Rennie is a retired secondary school teacher from Australia who joined the Global Voices community in December 2008. Kevin is a unionist and has been an Australian Labor Party member since 1972. His teaching career took him to various parts of Australia, including the Northern Territory and Maningrida, an aboriginal community in Arnhem Land. He resides currently in Melbourne.

All candidates in the 2023 board elections have been asked to answer the set of questions listed below. Feel free to ask Kevin additional questions in the comments area below this post!

What appeals to you most about the prospect of serving on the GV board?

Getting to know GVers new and old and to take on an important representaive role for our amazing community.

I have been an active and passionate contributor for 15 years.

What talents, skills, connections, and expertise can you offer Global Voices in your role as board representative?

I have had extensive experience in a range of voluntary roles with GV and as a citizen journalist more widely. My skills include online writing, video-making and investigative research. My broad network, both within and outside GV, includes many writers and translators, and activists from many backgrounds.

My main interests at present are the environment, human rights and indigenous issues. Nevertheless, my stories may cover any aspect of life down under.

As you look ahead to the next three years, what, in your opinion, should be GV’s overarching priorities as an organization?

It is very important that we spread the word about our unique multi-lingual community and our stories. We must explore ways of finding the audience our work deserves, and making our many visitors into regulars.

What aspect of GV’s work interests you the most?

Mostly, the newsroom. I have also written regularly for Advox. How we can use social media to promote our work is another area of interest.

What would you like to get out of this board service experience, both professionally and personally?

The satisfaction of helping amplify our diverse ideas, views and experiences.

How will you fit board service into your personal and other professional work commitments?

As a retiree from the paid workforce, I’m sure I can squeeze this challenging role into a busy life.

What methods would you use to engage and listen to the community in order to represent them effectively at board level?

The GV Council and our google groups, email and online media are just some of the means of gathering GVers’ needs and suggestions and reporting back. The dreaded zoom meeting certainly has its place. The community blog is an underused resource. Theme, topic or issue based groups could also enhance our work. The Green Voices team, of which I was one of the initiators, is a good example.

Please contact me if you have any questions or suggestions.