The Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) team on Kiritimati Island and their Australian volunteer, Mr Spencer Liapakis, celebrated International Volunteer Day 2025 on Friday 5 December, commemorating the work of volunteers on Kiritimati Island with an event at the Ministry of Line and Phoenix Islands Development in London.
The TAK team was joined by representatives from the Kiritimati Urban Council, who also partnered with an Australian volunteer earlier this year, as well as representatives from the Ministry of Tourism, Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives (MTCIC) and the Ministry of Line and Phoenix Islands Development (MLPID).
The event included a garlanding dance, remarks by Mr Liapakis about the Australian Volunteers program, and a reflection on the successes achieved by volunteers and their partner organisations from Ms Ereti Tekabwaia, Officer in Charge of TAK Kiritimati.
In Tarawa, TAK CEO, Ms Reeti Onorio, attended the International Volunteer Day 2025 event hosted by the Australian Volunteers Program and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).
Mr Liapakis, a Tourism Digital Marketing Mentor, has been working with the TAK team on Kiritimati Island since July, and concludes his assignment in mid-December. Mr Liapakis and his fellow volunteer at the Kiritimati Urban Council are the first volunteers from the Australian Volunteers Program to live and work on Kiritimati Island.
The Australian Volunteers Program is an Australian Government-funded initiative that supports global volunteering. It works with partner organisations across the Pacific, Asia and Africa to achieve locally led change.
We hope that Mr Liapakis’ assignment is the first of many, as part of an ongoing relationship between the Australian Volunteers Program and TAK, and we look forward to welcoming more volunteers in the future.