Jointly hosted by VSO and Forum, the annual conference for International Volunteering Cooperation Organisations (IVCO) was held in Kigali, Rwanda from 27-30 October, 2019. Focusing on the theme: Advancing Quality in Volunteering for Development, IVCO 2019 was an excellent opportunity for heads of volunteer organisations and delegates from public, private, academic and NGO sectors around the world to network, discuss pertinent issues in volunteering, share innovative approaches, and build strong alliances.
IVCO 2019 was hosted by VSO in Kigali, Rwanda from 27-30 October, 2019. Focusing on the theme 'Advancing Quality in Volunteering for Development', IVCO 2019 brought together 204 participants from 49 countries, with over 70% from the Global South.
You can read the three discussion papers for IVCO 2019 here, and access presentations from the conference here.
A highlight of IVCO 2019 was the launch of the Global Standard for Volunteering for Development (download the Standard here). This Standard is the first of its kind, and is designed to support Forum Members and other organisations that work with volunteers to improve their practice, and their impact.
At IVCO, organisations showed their commitment to the principles of responsible and effective volunteering that underpin the Global Standard by signing the Kigali Declaration. You can join them by signing the declaration online.
Over three days, IVCO2019 combined keynotes, plenary and breakout sessions to explore concepts related to 'Advancing Quality in Volunteering for Development'.
Day 1: Advancing Quality through Standards
Global perspectives on advancing quality through standards, and the launch of the Global Standard for Volunteering for Development. Delegates explored how standards can best help us to deliver value for local communities.
Day 2: Volunteering Models – Innovation and Good Practice
Delegates took an in-depth look at good practice across different modalities of volunteering, exploring projects working to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals through quick-fire interactive sessions.
Day 3: Communicating the Impact of Volunteering
Focused on how we can improve our collective efforts to both measure and communicate the impact of volunteering. Delegates received an update from the United Nations Volunteers programme (UNV) on the Global Technical Meeting on volunteering to be held in 2020.
For more information and resources from IVCO 2019, see ivco2019.org