A Call To Action for the Future of Volunteering
Volunteering New Zealand supports the global Call to Action for the future of volunteering, issued on International Volunteer Day, 5 December.
Volunteers and volunteer managers in New Zealand were among those who responded to the global consultation which led to the Call To Action.
Volunteering New Zealand Chief Executive Michelle Kitney says: “New Zealand’s voluntary sector proudly participated in the co-design of the Global Call To Action which aims to improve the conditions for volunteering.”
25 years of volunteering action
The Universal Declaration on Volunteering in 2001described volunteers as fundamental building blocks of community and civic life. Volunteers are our first responders during disasters, the hands and hearts behind food banks, the voices leading campaigns, and the neighbours lending a hand when it’s needed the most.
Twenty-five years later the world is getting ready to celebrate, elevate, recognise and support volunteers, with the United Nations General Assembly declaring 2026 as the International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development. This is a vehicle to enable all stakeholders to work together to promote the vital role that volunteers play in ensuring just and sustainable societies.
Two years of preparations globally to mark the International Volunteer Year 2026 (IVY 2026) brought together the voices of close to 14,000people from 164 countries to respond to the question: to better harness the power of volunteering towards sustainable development, what needs to change – and who has the power to change it?
Launched on December 5 2025, the Global Call To Action
The challenge is clear: for volunteering to realise its full potential, we need to collectively identify the key actions needed, across diverse contexts and stakeholder groups, to unlock greater investment and create enabling environments for volunteering to thrive.
This Call to Action represents the collective voices of volunteer-involving organisations, national leadership for volunteering organisations, the private sector, funders and governments gathered in 2025 through surveys, local dialogues, and global discussions. From their perspectives, this call sets out the key actions needed for volunteering to realise its full potential.
In response to the Global Challenge Paper, Volunteering New Zealand convened with regional volunteer centres, member organisations and the wider sector, collated shared feedback and insights and synthesised and submitted this into the Global Call To Action process.
“We elevated sector voices directly by sharing key quotes and feedback. This fed into the insights paper and into the final Call To Action,” Michelle Kitney says.
Three action areas
This Call to Action outlines three action areas: Recognition, Support and Safeguarding. Each has an underlying principle and key actions addressed to specific stakeholders. Across all areas, volunteers themselves play a central role as advocates and partners in driving this agenda forward.
1 Call to Action: Recognition
Volunteers should be systematically recognised, valued, and celebrated, shifting from symbolic appreciation to systemic recognition through policies, funding, and integration of volunteering into relevant strategies.
2 Call to Action: Support
Volunteering is not always cost free, nor does it always happen automatically. It requires an enabling environment to support participation and maximize its impact, while adapting to evolving social and ecological conditions.
3 Call to Action: Safeguarding
Together, we can build a future where volunteering is recognized, supported, and protected everywhere, for everyone.
It is now more urgent than ever to create safe environments where volunteering can thrive. The safety, rights, wellbeing and dignity of volunteers, and the people with whom they engage with, across all contexts, are paramount to ensure they contribute without fear of harm or exploitation.
How to get involved
Get involved in recognising, supporting and protecting volunteers and volunteering. What you can do now:
· Share the Call to Action statement within your organisation and your networks. Use your social media channels to show your support for the Call to Action using the hashtag #futureofvolunteering
· Say ‘Yes’ to being part of the Call to Action movement and get involved by registering your details at iave.org/calltoaction and forum-ids.org/ international-volunteer-year-2026.
· Use IVY 2026 as the year to take action on one or more of the commitments.
Learn more
Learn more about the movement by reading the Call to Action for the Future of Volunteering Challenge Paper and Insights Paper.
Together, we can build a future where volunteering is recognised, supported, and protected everywhere, for everyone.