The Multilingual Information Co-Op (MICO) was designed by STARTTS and Red Cross at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic as a platform for sharing important, time-sensitive, locally-relevant, in-language information. MICO achieves this through in-language videos that are posted on various social media platforms. STARTTS collaborates with various emergency/safety and health services to create scripts about health-related and safety-related information. MICO volunteers then volunteer to translate these scripts into their mother-tongues and record themselves reading the scripts.

MICO empowers volunteers while strengthening the resilience and knowledge of CALD (Culturally and Linguistically Diverse) communities in Coffs Harbour. By providing volunteers with valuable work experience, simple-language video scripts, and ongoing training through regular meetings and feedback, the program helps increase their English language skills, build self-confidence, and foster a strong sense of connectedness. In turn, volunteers create localised, in-language videos that address urgent safety and health-related news—produced as soon as possible in relation to major announcements and help reduce the burden on community members seeking accurate, accessible information.

To ensure cultural and linguistic accuracy, volunteers are consulted on the meaning of words and phrases, and are supported through tools like short WhatsApp videos explaining challenging vocabulary. Videos are widely distributed via STARTTS Coffs Harbour’s Facebook page, WhatsApp groups, YouTube, community Facebook groups and the MICO website with regular reminders to boost visibility. The program also encourages shared participation within language groups and nurtures community spirit through regular MICO meetings. As a result, community members gain a clearer understanding of the actions they need to take during emergencies—whether related to COVID-19, natural disasters, or other crises—while volunteers gain both confidence and practical skills. A qualitative evaluation, focused on the volunteers' experiences, may be used to continuously refine and improve the program.

Would you like to be a MICO Volunteer?

Volunteers are a critical part o MICO's ability to deliver much needed linguistic services to the community. If you'd like to be involved, please fill out and submit the form below and we'll be in touch.

Thank you!

Your Name(Required)
Please let us know a little about yourself, and why you would like to volunteer for MICO. Let us know, too, what language(s) you could offer for our translation services.