In our activity report 2025 you can find out what ICYE has been focusing on in that year and the broad range of projects, campaigns and actions we implemented.
Month: April 2026
In this policy paper, we critically reflect on the neocolonial barriers associated with the visa processes for young people who want to volunteer.
One of the root causes of exclusion from international volunteering can be attributed to the process of human mobility, which depends on migration procedures and requirements. Patterns of discrimination associated with migration barriers continue to have a negative impact on the accessibility of international volunteering.
Check out our recommendations on how to decolonize access to visa information and embassies at national level, and how to develop a solidarity-based approach to temporary human mobility.
This policy paper offers a critical reflection on the neo-colonial mechanisms that persist in the funding structures of the European Union (EU), in particular in the youth programmmes of Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps. Recommendations explain how to decolonise decision-making processes, funding and accountability requirements.
In this position paper, the young advocates from Decolonise IVS offer a critical reflection on the narratives IVS organisations use to promote international volunteering, and on the neo-colonial patterns they tend to reproduce through their communication.
They ask how to we can decolonise our discourse for a form of volunteering that truly promotes interculturality and defends the equal empowerment of young people.
From 26th – 30th August 2024, 8 YEC members met physically in Nairobi, Kenya and 5 joined online for the official launch of the ICYE Youth Engagement Committee. This was the first time youth representatives from ICYE’s global network gathered in person, marking a significant moment in fostering intercultural dialogue, collaboration, and action. The meeting provided a unique opportunity to reflect on the organisation’s goals and challenges, particularly regarding decolonising international volunteering service (IVS), creating a more inclusive and sustainable IVS framework, and creating a global action plan that could shape the future of volunteering worldwide.
The YEC’s new action plan will guide their work in the coming years. It outlines the key objectives the members hope to achieve, including improving youth engagement, increasing diversity in volunteering, addressing global inequality in the sector, and decolonising the volunteering narrative. The action plan emphasises collaboration across ICYE members and commits to ongoing efforts in making volunteering more inclusive and equitable. The main goal is to influence and inspire more young people to take action, by participating in multiple ways and at different levels in volunteering, decision-making, and taking responsibility for shaping our future, contributing to a more peaceful and sustainable world.
On Thursday, 29th August, 17 local stakeholders attended the public networking event, including Dr. Orpha Nyakundi from the Kenyan National Committee UNESCO.
The networking event brought together a variety of NGOs and organizations based in Kenya. This was an opportunity for the YEC members to meet local leaders and learn firsthand about the community-driven efforts in Nairobi. The Kenyan leaders also refined the YEC’s Action Plan. Attendees actively contributed through discussions and feedback, ensuring inclusivity. Suggestions were incorporated, and the YEC engaged with specific working groups on the action plan. The key takeaway from the networking event was the value of international cooperation. It was clear that while the challenges may be global, the solutions are often local. The exchange of knowledge between the global YEC network and local Kenyan organizations demonstrated the power of collaboration across borders. It also highlighted the mutual benefits of volunteering—not just for the volunteers, but also for the communities they serve.
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The meeting funded by the UNESCO participation programme and the Mekriba Foundation.
From 14th to 18th of July, ICYE organised an advocacy training in Brussels, Belgium as a continuation of several previous projects aimed at decolonising the International Voluntary Service (IVS) movement. 20 participants from 18 different countries representing various IVS networks (CCIVS, ICYE, SCI) came together to build the skills needed to advocate for more equitable funding, power relations, and distribution of resources in the field of volunteering. The ICYE Youth Engagement Committee (YEC) took the lead on getting participants up to speed on the existing policy papers and advocacy work in two online preparation calls.
As guest speakers representatives from our new partner organisation, Quest, and from the IVS network Alliance provided valuable inputs on advocacy. In further preparation, participants learned strategic communication skills, like storytelling, petition writing, how to structure a policydocument and public speaking. While Day 4 was packed with in-person advocacy meetings with relevant European stakeholders, the final day allowed for reflection and the compilation of lessons learned.
The group developed advocacy asks regarding Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps programme in the European Commission’s proposal for the Multi-Annual Funding Framework 2028-2034. This tangible experience in advocacy work will be taken forward into future advocacy work within the framework of our strong coalition of young advocates for decolonising IVS.
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This project was made possible with the financial support of the Council of Europe
With funding from the UNESCO participation programme and the Mekriba Foundation, ICYE was able to conduct the first regional training for staff from our members in Africa. From March 13th to 17th, 2023, 15 participants were trained in Nairobi, Kenya on how to prevent and respond to sexual violence in international volunteering. With our member SES in Argentina, ICYE had developed a training manual with interactive non-formal education activities which was piloted by the participants in Nairobi.
The feedback and recommendations from the training informed the finalisation of the Safer Together – Our Policy in Action manual and the subsequent regional workshops:
17.-21. April 2023 in Vienna, Austria with 21 participants
08.-12. March 2024 in Songkhla, Thailand with 15 participants
10.-14. April 2024 in Quito, Ecuador with 26 participants
The XXXIV ICYE General Assembly (GA) took place from November 22nd to 26th, 2025 in Lima, Peru. 50 participants from 32 countries attended the meeting. This included for the first time four members of the Youth Engagement Committee (YEC).
This GA focused specifically on ICYE’s new five year strategic plan 2026-2030 and it respective action plan for 2026. The members approved 23 motions, elected the new BoM, set up the YEC as a standing committee and approved both VIVOL/ ICYE Peru and VSA/ ICYE Thailand as full members.
A huge thank you for ICYE Peru for the amazing organisation of the GA and all the participants for their thoughtful contributions. We now look forward to implementing our new strategic plan.