Help envision the future of volunteering
In advance of the United Nations’ International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development in 2026, IAVE is hosting a series of Global Dialogues to encourage a wide set of conversations about volunteering that will inform and inspire what happens during that year, and beyond.
IAVE is working alongside the International Forum for Volunteering in Development (Forum), Generation Unlimited (GenU) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC).
Ideas from our first dialogue
We hosted our first dialogue yesterday. James O’Brien, Executive Director of Forum, and Wendy Osborne, Senior Consultant for IAVE, presented a framework for thinking about the future of volunteering. To break the ice, we asked the group to vote on which of three broad priorities seemed most important to them:
- Significant financial investment in volunteering
- Championing the value of volunteering
- Enabling volunteering to make a difference
The theme “Enabling volunteering to make a difference” came out on top. Within that category, participants identified two directions as most important.
- Governments to create legislation, policies and frameworks to support and develop volunteering, integrating volunteering into national policies and engaging volunteering organizations in the process.
- National-level volunteering leadership organizations to advocate for volunteering, provide capacity building for volunteer involving organizations and create supportive volunteering networks to share knowledge and strengthen volunteering infrastructure.