A number of weeks ago, Gig Buddies Sydney CEO, Carol, along with our WH&S and Policy Coordinator, Jo, dropped by in Brighton to catch up with our British counterparts.
While in England, it was my turn to stop by at Gig Buddies HQ and to sit in on one of their monthly Storm and Thunder meetings.
“It’s a small one”, Madeline - Gig Buddies Project Co-ordinator, noted as the six of us, including Paul, organisation director, Jamie, Claire and Bernie - Storm and Thunder team members, sat down.
Jamie, Claire and Paul
Madeline and Bernie
L to R: Bernie, Madeline, Paul, Claire and Jamie
Storm and Thunder, in their own words, are an advisory group: “One of the things we want to make sure of as a charity is that we have as much input from the people we’re trying to serve so we decided to set up an advisory group to oversee the Gig Buddies project and the overall work of the charity”.
Meeting monthly, usually attracting between five and ten members, Storm and Thunder has been in existence since June 2013 and they do exactly what is said on the tin. From discussing news, looking for willing recruits for forthcoming Gig Buddies’ events, to writing gig reviews on their website - this meeting underlined the role the group plays in allowing Gig Buddies to become a truly “user-led” organisation.
While sharing stories over Australian confectionary of what works both in Sydney and in Brighton, the sense of project community was evident throughout the two hour catch up. Wanting to replicate this model, it’s something we at Gig Buddies Sydney HQ have been considering for a while, and it’s something we would like to action as soon as feasibly possibly.
Matthew Collins
Gig Buddies Sydney Social Media Coordinator
matt@assistcom.org
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