So you would like to volunteer to help Manifest in 2008?  Excellent!  Manifest is a convention founded upon volunteer work and all of our committee are also volunteers.  Any contribution you can make, regardless of how small, is appreciated.  We will also make sure that you are duly rewarded for volunteering by getting free entry to Minifest 2009, a T-shirt from the event and an invitation to the volunteers’ party to be held shortly after Manifest as well as a few other small things.

If you would like to volunteer, please fill out the volunteers form and send it in to us at the address listed on the form.  With your preferred activities, please be as specific or as general as you like as it is important to us that our volunteers enjoy what they do at Manifest.

Alternatively we also offer online registration via the following link:

Areas you can volunteer in are:

• Registration – This mostly runs in the morning.  It mostly involves sitting at the registration desk and processing people through the registration process.  This involves checking ID, marking off attendance, handing out badges and show bags and, in the case of non-pre-registered attendees, taking payment and checking registration forms are correctly filled out.
  Our Registration coordinator is Daniel, but also answers to “Shadow”.
  
• Food and Drinks – This involves selling all the snacks Manifest is famous for, including Pocky, Swiss rolls and cans of drink.  You’ll need to be able to handle money, hand over goods and run the odd errand for our Food and Drinks coordinator, Margaret, which will often involve collecting more stock from the storage room.
  
• Merchandise – This involves the sale of Manifest merchandise within the traders hall and involves the same tasks as with Food and Drinks.  This time, you’ll be assisting Kirk, our merchandise coordinator, who may also request your assistance in the Merchandise production room where he prints all those awesome T-shirts.
  
• Information Desk – This comes in two varieties.  You’ll either be asked to man one of our info desks or be a roaming one to provide general information to attendees.  It will involve directing attendees to various parts of the convention, explaining some facets of the convention or, if you don’t know the answer to a question, directing the person to where they can find the answer.  If you have volunteered before, are an ex-member of the Manifest Organizing Committee, or are simply well familiarized with the University of Melbourne layout, this may be the job for you.  If you have any problems, please refer to any member of the committee for help.
  
• Cloak Room – This may be attached to the Info desk job.  You’ll be checking items in and out of the cloak room.  Because of the props also stored in there, you’ll need to get some extra training off Tim, our venue safety person.
  
• Screenings – This is one of the simplest jobs.  It involves starting and stopping screening sessions to keep to the Manifest schedule and supervising the screening to ensure the fire safety requirements of not sitting or standing in the aisles are met.  Emily, our screenings coordinator, will be your first point of contact.
  
• Events Tech – You will be assisting in the events theatre where most of our major events take place.  You may be asked to assist in the set-up and pack-up of equipment as needed, to ensure attendees do not pose a fire hazard by sitting or standing in the aisles, or to help operate the lighting and sound during events.  If you have any previous backstage experience from theatres of any kind, your assistance would be greatly valued by Alan, our Chief Events Tech.
  
• Traders – You will be assisting with monitoring the traders and fantraders to ensure smooth operation of either area at Manifest.  If you see any inappropriate behavior or bootleg material, you’ll be able to report it to Cari-Ann, our traders coordinator, so that the appropriate steps can be taken.  If you see any congestion, you’ll also be asked to help keep the crowds moving.
  
• Video Games & DDR – You’ll either be helping supervise the Video Games Hall or DDR room for fire safety and attendee behavior.  You will assist in running competitions or tournaments and ensure participation is as wide spread as possible.  Brendan, our video games coordinator, will be your first point of assistance.
  
• Troll – This last, but most vital job, involves being a door warden.  You’ll be monitoring certain points around Manifest and keeping an eye out for persons with no registration tags or who are behaving inappropriately.  In the event of a problem, you’ll need to notify any committee member with a radio so that they can either deal with the problem or call someone who can, most likely our program chair.  You may also double as a mobile info desk.  If you have a preference for where you would specifically like to troll, please let us know.

This year Manifest seeks to give our volunteers a more enjoyable experience.   We discourage bad behavior at all levels and take all forms of abuse seriously. If as a volunteer you feel mistreated in any way, please bring it up with us and we will take action. We care about our volunteers and the future of Manifest lies with them.  If you feel uncomfortable with what you are doing, it is in our interests to make you feel more comfortable and enjoy your time as a volunteer.  We value all of your feedback and our volunteers coordinator and program chair will be happy to hear any complaints or problems you may have.

If you apply, you will receive more detailed information about your assigned tasks and times by e-mail. There will also be several training days held prior to Manifest that we strongly recommend all volunteers attend. Please contact the volunteers coordinator if you have any questions.  We look forward to seeing you in the Volunteers room in 2008.