Get ready for International Volunteer Year 2026
2026 will be International Volunteer Year (IVY26) – as declared by the UN General Assembly. Volunteering New Zealand and the Volunteer Centres throughout the motu have begun planningfor this significant event.
The previous International Year of the Volunteer was in 2001, 25 years ago, when Volunteering New Zealand was created.
Significant changes ushered in
The International Year of Volunteers 2001 was a catalyst for enhanced recognition, policy change, capacity building, and research into volunteering, with a lasting impact on government and civil society practices worldwide. See the IVYGlobal Evaluation Report 2002.
In New Zealand, there were a range of initiatives to promote volunteering. Government provided funding support for Volunteering New Zealand and Volunteer Centres; and a policy project looked at barriers to volunteering in government legislation and policy. See the Report of the Ministerial Reference Group for International Year of Volunteers 2001.
Long-lasting effect
Global volunteer involvement after IYV 2001 was marked by greater recognition and institutional support, but formal participation rates fell in many regions even as volunteer hours and impact increased. Also, policy environments broadened to support volunteerism’s evolving role.
In New Zealand, there has been promotion and recognition of volunteering through National Volunteer Week and other campaigns; continued government funding support for Volunteering New Zealand Volunteer Centres; research, through Statistics New Zealand, on the uptake of volunteering.
Bucking the international trend of declining volunteering rates, volunteering in New Zealand has increased. In 1996, 41% of adults undertook unpaid work, by 2023 that was 53%.
Plans for IVY 2026
IVY 2026 is an opportunity to emphasise the power of volunteering, encourage greater investment in volunteering, and secure commitments from governments and others to support volunteering.
IAVE has been gathering insights from around the world into Call to Action on the Future of Volunteering. Find out more from IAVE.
Volunteering New Zealand also has plans underway to leverageIVY26, including:
· A decade of State of Volunteering reports analysis
· Reflective piece on the decade’s learnings
· Policy recommendations for the Government
· Thought-leader consultation (12 contributors)
At the Volunteering Changemakers Hui on 10 October, we’ll be holding an interactive session fordelegates to rate the priorities for the future of volunteering, and helpco-design our IVY26 Call to Action.
We will then share this more widely with community organisations and invite feedback.
In the meantime, start thinking about how you can mark IVY26.
Here are the IVY26 graphics you can download.