International Volunteer Year 2026
On December 5, 2025, the United Nations proclaimed the “International Volunteer Year” (IVY). The objectives of the IVY are to
- highlight and strengthen the important role of volunteerism in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
- to strengthen public awareness of volunteerism and its impact and promote its social recognition.
- to call on governments, organizations, and communities around the world to create suitable conditions and actively support volunteerism as a significant contribution to sustainable development.
The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) has been mandated to support Member States in implementing IVY 2026 (Resolution A/RES/78/127) and has developed a Communications Guide and other materials to help plan national initiatives:
At the European level, the “European Volunteer Centre” has addressed these objectives and published the paper “The Volunteering Policy Environment in the European Union.” It identifies three key areas of socio-political relevance of solidarity-based engagement in the European Union:
- Volunteering as a social inclusion and equality infrastructure
- Volunteering as democratic participation and civic space
- Volunteering as resilience, preparedness, and solidarity
The paper was presented to the European Parliament – the task now is to implement measures to strengthen and promote volunteering. At the national level, both governments and civil society are called upon to act.
All organizations are invited to highlight their volunteering activities this year and register them here:
Sandra Koch, head of the International Volunteer Year Secretariat, discusses the importance of volunteer work in international cooperation and explains why reliable structures and secure funding are crucial.
30 Years of the UN in Bonn
In 1996, the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) program became the first UN organization to establish a presence in Bonn. Many others followed: more than 25 UN agencies are now represented in Bonn, and the number is growing. In the past twelve months alone, UN Women and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have joined. As a result, the number of UN staff in Bonn has risen to over 1,200 employees. The UN Campus is coordinated by UNV.
UNV places volunteers in and for United Nations organizations – last year, more than 17,000 from 182 nations. With UNV’s Online Volunteering Program, you can also make a difference from home – while being flexible, working digitally, and using exactly the skills you want to contribute: