In the 25 years Rob Lundie has been working as a volunteer with Amnesty International, he’s helped to raise more than $200,000 for human-rights causes.
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While he’s helped to organise fundraising through garage sales and catering, the Canberra resident is best known for establishing the Amnesty Trivia Night.
It’s for these efforts that Mr Lundie has been honoured with Amnesty’s June Fassina Award, which contributions from volunteers.
He said he always aimed to make Ammesty’s main fundraisers more than just a trivia contest.
“I would never call it a trivia night personally, but a quiz night,” he said.
“The questions had to be of real interest. I never wanted to write a question to which someone would answer ‘who cares?’”
The June Fassina Award is presented each year to one Amnesty volunteer who has been working for more than 10 years.
Mr Lundie was one of seven people across the country to be nominated for this year’s award.
Amnesty International’s organiser in the ACT and Southern NSW, Phoebe Howe, said Mr Lundie has had a major impact on the Canberra community through his work.
“It’s the only award that recognises long-serving volunteers,” she said.
“The award is all for someone’s meritorious contribution to Amnesty and the impact those people have had.”
While Mr Lundie has stepped away from organising the annual trivia night in recent years, the volunteer will be among the several hundred in attendance for this year’s event on September 9 at The Hellenic Club in Woden.
He said the event is a chance to bring a focus to human-rights issues around the world.
“The quiz night would be some people’s chance to learn about Amnesty’s work for the first time and to see that they could make a difference for human rights,” he said.
Over his 25 years as a volunteer for the organisation, he said he’s been involved in many different campaigners, most notably Amnesty’s international campaign to free Australian journalist Peter Greste from an Egyptian prison.
“My local Amnesty group has thrown our support behind many human-rights cases,” Mr Lundie said.
“We have written letters to put international pressure on governments and we have followed cases until the individuals are free.”
Andrew Brown
I've been part of the Canberra Times since 2016, after reporting at local papers in Sydney's north-west. Since starting at the paper I've had stints on the Sunday Times, on the early morning breaking news round, and now as a general reporter, covering the ins and outs of anything and everything happening in Canberra, with a focus on health.
I've been part of the Canberra Times since 2016, after reporting at local papers in Sydney's north-west. Since starting at the paper I've had stints on the Sunday Times, on the early morning breaking news round, and now as a general reporter, covering the ins and outs of anything and everything happening in Canberra, with a focus on health.
