3 teams to win $25,000 in 2024 Ideathon

Multicolored cartoon volunteers carrying tools work on and around a photo of the Earth

Happy International Volunteer Day!

We celebrate International Volunteer Day every December 5. It’s a worldwide event launched by the United Nations in 1985.

#IVD2023 is a chance for every organization and community to recognize the unsung heroes we depend on. It’s an opportunity to promote the achievements that volunteer work has made on a local, national, and international level.

Join us in thanking the volunteers in your community this week! Here are three more ways you can celebrate International Volunteer Day.

1. Join our second Ideathon with the Emirates Foundation!

IAVE is delighted to announce the launch of our second Ideathon in collaboration with the Emirates Foundation, 4–6 March 2024!

This three-day virtual event, sponsored by GM, will focus on the impact volunteers can make on the environment.

Each day, volunteer teams from major NGOs and volunteering organizations around the world will propose their solution to a new environmental challenge. The teams compete to win three $25,000 prizes to implement their ideas in their communities. 

Eligible organizations include global, MENA region, and national volunteer organizations; IAVE-affiliated and prominent volunteering leadership organizations; and NGOs or other third-sector organizations with a volunteering mandate.

To learn more and register your team, go to volunteers.ae/ideathon23The deadline is 10 p.m. GST on 29 January 2024! Questions? Email [email protected].

2. Make plans now to attend the 2024 World Volunteer Conference!

IAVE is getting ready for its next World Volunteer Conference in Busan, South Korea, from 22-25 October 2024! Busan Metropolitan City Volunteer Center is our host, and the theme will be People Power: Creating a Sustainable Future through Volunteering.

Since 1970, IAVE has worked with local partners to organize dozens of volunteer conferences around the world. Volunteers, nonprofits, corporations, and government agencies all come together to strengthen relationships, learn from thought leaders, share best practices, and be energized by how volunteer efforts are improving communities around the world.

Please join us! If you need financial support to attend, IAVE also expects to have a scholarship fund for members, but please look into travel grants and sponsorships that may be available in your home country from governments, local businesses, and other organizations.

Sponsorship opportunities are available for companies to promote their volunteer and CSR programs and position themselves as global leaders in support of volunteering. For more information, please reach out to Lorrie Foster, Director of Corporate Strategy.

3. Share your pix!

IAVE is highlighting the good work volunteers are doing around the world. Share your photos of volunteers in action for a chance to be featured on IAVE’s website or social media. To enter, upload your image here! You’re welcome to submit more than one picture. By submitting an image you confirm that you have permission to share it and we have permission to publish it. (This picture by Brian Odwar from Pixabay.)