In just two weeks, the volunteering for development sector will come together virtually for the opening of IVCO 2021 - Inclusive Volunteering for Global Equality.
Today Forum and ActionAid Hellas are very proud to launch the IVCO 2021 Programme, which includes details of keynote speakers, interactive panel sessions and Good Practice Pods across five days, as well as the first Virtual Global Volunteering Fair. At IVCO we will hear from over 70 speakers from 35 countries representing NGOs, government, academia and the private sector. We will explore the enabling environment for inclusive volunteering, the role of government and the private sector as well as questions of decolonisation, digitalisation and directionality.
A series of research and think pieces have been uploaded, starting with three papers:
- the introductory paper 44 Questions about Inclusive Volunteering for Global Equality by Gerasimos Kouvaras, Country Director of Action Aid in Greece. In this paper, the IVCO 2021 themes are introduced and explored, followed by a set of questions aimed to inspire and mobilise discussion at IVCO 2021 and beyond.
- To Hell with Good Intentions by Helge Espe, Senior Advisor for Norec, offers a contemporary commentary on Ivan Illich's famous address of the same name, which he delivered to the Conference on InterAmerican Student Projects in Cuernavaca, Mexico in 1968.
- The Challenges and Opportunities of Inclusive Online Volunteering by Elaine Sly, a volunteer with CBM Ireland's project VIVID: Technical Assistance in Humanitarian Response, Ensuring Valuable Volunteering and Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities. It gives a volunteer perspective on the rise of online volunteering and the challenges and opportunities it presents in terms of accessibility, resources, inclusion and diversity.
In the coming weeks, we will be publishing seven more think pieces, including Improving Organisational Programming, Culture and Practice by Claire Bennett of Alto, Hierarchies of Place & Knowledge in Volunteering for Development by Alice Chadwick El-Ali of the University of Bath, and the intriguingly-titled 'A Poor Man Cannot Volunteer' from the Refugee Youth Volunteering Uganda project.Between now and IVCO, we will share a series of ten short think pieces exploring the conference themes from the perspectives of academia, practitioners and volunteers, as well as the main IVCO Framing Paper, Inclusive Volunteering for Global Equality - Linking Decolonisation & Diversity by Ben Haas and Victor Moinina.
By registering to the virtual conference, you will get immediate access to the Fair, which includes a personal e-booth where you can present your research or your work on the field plus two additional free tickets for visitors of the Fair. The IVCO2021 conference portal will remain open 24 hours a day for 30 days, so you can attend and watch recorded content whenever it's convenient for you during this time.
We are looking forward to your participation in IVCO2021!
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GERASIMOS KOUVARAS
ATHENS
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