Newsletter - Awesome August Welcome back from Tour Land Its been a HUGE gap between newsletters - but The Otesha Crew are back to tell you all about their most recent adventures.  For those of you who were reading our tour Blog, Vanessa and Kate, our Co-Directors , Nyssa, Emily and Michael our 2011 Coordinators and the rest of the fantastic crew have cycled their way from Melbourne to Canberra and BEYOND!!! And upon arriving back in Melbourne town we jumped straight into a 6 week high school workshop program up in Whittlesea which will see 10 inspired year 7, 8 and 9 students perform The Otesha Play at a Sustainability Festival in early September. We hope you missed us and our little emails - as we really want to tell you all about what we have been up to these past few months, that we are all still alive and kicking and about where we and Otesha will be heading in the future!   Please keep reading....its worth it we promise!!! Tour Report Whittlesea Workshop Report AGM Announcement and Management Committee Call out Co Director Position Call Out Spring Welcome Otesha Trivia and Catchup Fundraiser Super Sunday - Fun and Fundraising for Otesha Tour ReportIf you ever wanted to know what its like to be on a tour - here is an amazing description written by one of our Tour Coordinators from 2011 - Michael Brittain - who came all the way from LA in the USA to be part of the adventure! 'Otesha was one of the greatest adventures and experiences of my life. The tour challenged us not just physically, but mentally and emotionally. Living with 11 people 24/7 for 8 weeks, riding long distances with heavy loads, and trying to suss out food donations and places to sleep was a challenge alone. On top of that we were performing to schools sometimes up to 3 times a day, and socialising with the local community members and environmental groups at night, and in any spare time we were rewriting the performance to make it as effective and enjoyable as possible to watch. Some mornings we were so exhausted we didn't think we could get up, but we continued to bring all our energy and focus to pedal on day after day, and were always happy to be back on the bike. As a great outcome of taking on these challenges with 10 other people, I have made some of the greatest friends and had some of the most remarkable experiences of my life. One of the most significant impacts from being on tour was meeting with the locals across regional and rural Australia. The people we were privileged to have met or stayed with were inspiring and incredibly generous, and treated us with the utmost respect and hospitality, even if our lives and political views were drastically different than theirs. Time and time again, we were invited into peoples' homes and cooked for and invited back again. Being on tour opened my eyes to a whole new world and way of being, and challenged me to be the change i wish to see in the world.' Michael Brittain Whittlesea Workshop Report We have been really fortunate to have spent the last 6 weeks at Whittlesea Secondary College as part of a program created by Otesha for Kildonnan. The workshop program aims at empowering youth who have been identified as 'students at risk' - who are simply looking for positive inspiration in their lives.  By taking on character roles, using theatre games and acting out the play themselves, as well as learning all about the key themes within the play in a safe and fun environment,  they themselves become positive and inspired role models for change in their communities. Its been such a great experience getting to know the ten year 7 , 8 and 9 students involved and watching their evolution in terms of their knowledge of sustainability issues, enthusiasm for learning, and of course having an amazing time acting out the play! We have some super stars in our midst thats for sure! We have all learnt so much through the new workshop program and we have all had so much fun! Go Otesha!  If you think after reading this there might be school out there you know of interested in doing this program - please contact us on info@otesha.org.au AGM Announcement It's coming to that time of year again where we review our successes and our lessons learnt, and bring together our members old and new for our AGM. This will be held on Wednesday 7th September. At this meeting we can officially nominate and vote for new committee members as well as announce those wishing to stand down. If you are interested or know of anyone who may be interested in being on the management committee it would be great to hear from you! You don't have to be based in Melbourne - you can be anywhere in Australia or even overseas!!Your role would involve attending monthly committee meetings, via skype or in person, and actively participating in management committee working groups on special Otesha projects that you are especially interested in! These vary from grant writing, networking with other NGOs, and helping to grow The Take Action Project, to presenting workshops at Schools and speaking at Universities and festivals on behalf of Otesha - Why you could even help out at our fundraising events and come up with new ideas for Otesha to grow and prosper! How awesome does that sound!! You only need to commit a relatively small amount of time toward the position, out of your busy lives and active schedules - But your insight, experience and support is invaluable to us! It truly makes us feel like we have a support crew of awesomeness behind us and our wonderful projects! The management crew's main and most important role is to help us all to be inspired and keep the positive Otesha energy going for the next generation to experience ! Any signed nominations should be sent to The Secretary, The Otesha Project PO Box 1121 Thornbury Vic 3071 or scanned and signed nominations by email (info@otesha.org.au) before the 31st August 2011. Include a brief bio with the nomination! Here are the details for you to pop into your Otesha diaries; Date - Wednesday 7th September Time - 5.30pm for snacks - for a 6pm start Place - The Eco House at CERES Environmental ParkMatters-1. Introduction to the rules of the meeting (by Directors) and renewals of Otesha memberships (to obtain voting rights) 2. AGM report as slideshow presentation (by Director/s) 3. Financial Report (by Treasurer) 4. Special business (i.e. special changes to the organisation) 5. Council elections (4 executive and 4 extraordinary) 6. Any other agenda items Funky Co-Director - 4 September Application Deadline And if you are feeling REALLY inspired and have at least two days a week to spare, you may want to consider applying for the Funky Co-Director Position we have going! YEAH! We want two awesome inspired peeps to join Kate and Vanessa at the helm as we introduce our new Co-Director management structure to the organisation. Helping Otesha to inspire and help lead the next generation of Oteshians on to the next tour and beyond! So check out the Position Description on the link below and make sure you send us your application by Sunday 4th September. We know you love Otesha - and we love you too! Let's put all that love in a letter and maybe YOU can be the next Funky Co-Director to join our Otesha Oz crew! Yes YOU!!! We are talking to YOU!!! You sustainable funky person you! http://www.otesha.org.au/aboutus/employment-opportunities#paid Spring Welcome Otesha Trivia and Catchup Fundraiser We are excited to announce our next Otesha Fundraising Event! This is funtastic trivia experience not to be missed!! If you came to our last Trivia Night you know what we are talking about!! If you didn't - come along and help make the night even more fun than last year! Please come and join us at this gathering, to be kindly hosted by the amazingly generous and inspirational CERES Environmental Park www.ceres.org.au We really hope you can join us. What: Tour Presentation and Trivia Night FundraiserWhen: Friday 16th September, 6pm onwardsWhere: CERES Environmental Park - Education CentreCost: Tour Presentation - FREE (gold coin donation appreciated) Trivia and vegetarian dinner - $20 each - $15 concession Places and tables are limited so please RSVP so we know numbers and look forward to seeing your faces! - info@otesha.org.au Super Sunday Fun and Fundraising for Otesha We know you have all heard about Super Tuesday run by Bicycle Victoria - but now there is Super Tuesday's little sibling, Super Sunday - Which is Australia's newest bike count tool. If anyone is interested in taking part in the count on Sunday 6 November as a volunteer - every Super Sunday Counter has an opportunity to nominate a Bicycle User Group or community group to receive $50

So if you nominate Otesha - we could raise some much needed funds while helping to improve the cycling experience for us all!

Please email us if you are keen to participate or know someone who would be - info@otesha.org.au Thanks for taking the time once again to catch up with all our happenings.