International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development 2026: A Global Call to Serve
And How Global Volunteers Continues to Lead the Way
The world is preparing for a historic celebration of compassion, solidarity, and community action. The United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed 2026 as the International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development, offering a pivotal opportunity for Global Volunteers and our role in helping achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Power of Volunteers in Achieving Global Goals
The United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed 2026 as the International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development, recognizing volunteers as a powerful force for positive change worldwide. This milestone comes 25 years after the first International Year of Volunteers in 2001, providing an opportunity to reflect on progress made and reimagine the future of volunteering in our interconnected world.
Volunteers have always been at the forefront of social change, disaster response, community development, and humanitarian efforts. From improving health care to relieving hunger, from education initiatives to poverty alleviation, volunteers work tirelessly to create resilient and inclusive communities.
Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations Amina Mohammed emphasized the significance of this recognition, noting that volunteers are change-makers who weave through the fabric of the 2030 Agenda, helping to accelerate action toward sustainable development goals. “Their commitment shapes a world where sustainable development is not merely a goal but a shared reality we create together,” she said.
The key message emerging from IVY 2026 is clear: volunteers can significantly contribute to sustainable development, but only if provided with an enabling environment. This means removing barriers to participation, ensuring inclusive access regardless of background or circumstance, providing proper support, and recognizing volunteer contributions in development planning at all levels.
The Vision Behind IVY 2026
IVY 2026 revolves around four central pillars:
- Emphasizing Volunteer Power: The year highlights the transformative impact volunteers have on communities worldwide, showcasing stories of dedication, innovation, and positive change across diverse contexts.
- Encouraging Investment in Volunteering: IVY 2026 aims to secure greater financial and institutional support for volunteer programs, infrastructure, and capacity building at local, national, and international levels.
- Creating Enabling Environments: A key message for IVY 2026 is that volunteers can significantly contribute to sustainable development, but only if provided with an enabling environment. This includes supportive policies, safe conditions, proper training, and recognition systems.
- Securing Commitments: The initiative seeks concrete commitments from governments, NGOs, corporations, and other stakeholders to support volunteering ecosystems that allow community action to flourish.
Key Messages and Principles of IVY 2026
IVY 2026 centers on several core principles that organizations and individuals should understand:
- All Forms of Volunteering Matter: Whether formal or informal, in-person or digital, local or international, every act of volunteering counts. From mutual aid and caregiving to skill-sharing and civic engagement, each contribution deserves visibility and support.
- Volunteers Strengthen Societies: In times of crisis and peace alike, volunteers provide immediate support and build long-term resilience. Their efforts span pandemic response, disaster relief, peacebuilding, and sustainable development initiatives.
- Evidence and Measurement Are Essential: Robust research, data collection, and measurement frameworks help demonstrate volunteer impact and identify effective practices that can be scaled and replicated.
- Inclusivity Is Non-Negotiable: Volunteering must be accessible to everyone regardless of gender identity, race, ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, religion, or background. Removing barriers ensures full participation.
- Volunteerism Is Evolving: Digital volunteering, skills-based engagement, and cross-border opportunities are expanding, especially in underserved areas. Supporting these emerging forms requires innovative approaches and policies.
- Beyond 2026: Build on momentum to create lasting change in how societies value, support, and enable volunteerism for decades to come.
Global Volunteers: Supporting Sustainable Development, One Child at a Time
While IVY 2026 represents a global movement, Global Volunteers demonstrates what sustained commitment to international volunteering looks like in practice on the ground day-after-day. For over four decades, Global Volunteers has been a pioneer in mobilizing short-term volunteers in service to local people on long-term community development projects to help children and families reach their full human potential in countries across the planet. Global Volunteers holds Special Consultative Status with the United Nations, a distinction granted in 1999 that made us one of the first short-term volunteer organizations to receive this recognition. This status affirms our long-standing commitment to operating within the UN framework to advance the well-being of children and families worldwide. It reflects our dedication to safeguarding children’s security and welfare while supporting initiatives that help improve nutrition, strengthen health, and enhance education at the community level.
What truly distinguishes Global Volunteers in this landmark International Volunteer Year 2026 is our unwavering Philosophy of Service, a set of guiding principles established at our founding and upheld in every community we serve. These principles are the foundation of our identity and the reason our programs continue to earn the trust of community partners around the world and the high satisfaction of our thousands of volunteers.
Our Philosophy of Service ensures that we work only:
- At the invitation of community partners
- Under the direction of local leaders
- On sustainable, community-based projects
- Hand-in-hand with local people
- For the benefit of local children and families
Since our founding, this philosophy has guided more than 42,000 volunteers who have served alongside local people in 37 countries. These volunteers have contributed to a wide range of projects, including teaching conversational English, the sciences, geography, and math, supporting early childhood development, strengthening maternal and child nutrition, providing healthcare and health education, and helping repair and renovate essential community facilities.
Today, our service programs span the globe, with active partnerships in China, the Cook Islands, Cuba, Greece, Italy, Malaysia, Nepal, Peru, Poland, St. Lucia, Tanzania, and Vietnam, as well as across the United States on the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana, the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, and Aguada, Puerto Rico. Each service program addresses unique local priorities while collectively advancing broader sustainable development goals.
Our model is community-driven and directed by local leaders. Volunteers serving one to three weeks step directly into ongoing initiatives shaped by local people, ensuring that their efforts support genuine needs and strengthen long-term progress. This approach aligns seamlessly with the enabling environment envisioned for International Volunteer Year 2026, where volunteering uplifts local voices, reinforces community capacities, and fosters partnership-driven change.
Get Involved: Answer the Call of IVY 2026
International Volunteer Year 2026 serves as a reminder that volunteering is more than simply contributing hours, it’s a universal language of compassion. This year invites people of all ages, cultures, and backgrounds to step forward and contribute to the betterment of society and our world. Whether it’s teaching children, providing healthcare assistance, or fostering cultural exchange, IVY 2026 champions collective action as a pathway to global resilience. Global Volunteers’ four decades of service proves that when volunteers are properly prepared, effectively managed, and work in genuine partnership with local communities, extraordinary things happen!
Whether you’re considering your first volunteer experience or your fiftieth, IVY 2026 invites us all to be part of something larger than ourselves.
As we count down to 2026 and as the world prepares for the International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development, we invite you to join us in this historic movement. Global Volunteers’ service programs start every Saturday (click for the 2026 schedule). The question is simple: Where will you make a difference?
Join a service program in 2026 – Request information
You may also like:
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!