Pretoria, South Africa – 11–16 November 2025
The “Symposium on Environmental and Social Justice” took place in Pretoria, South Africa, hosted by SAVWA (South Africa Volunteer Work Camp Association) and co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union. The activity brought together 27 participants including facilitators Kate Curtis and Mzwakhe Vilane.
The aim was to:
- present and review the results achieved so far in Voices for Change, using the Global Reflection Meeting and local actions as a reference point for the state of the IVS movement;
- share experiences and innovations in environmental and social justice, and reflect on the decolonised approach used in the project;
- discuss and validate policy and advocacy strategies based on impact research findings.
From needs analysis to shared experiences
The first part of the programme was dedicated to internal work. Participants revisited the needs analysis, the Global Reflection Meeting, the Impact Measurement Training and the Earth Artivists Training and Songwriting Workshop in Kenya.
Updates from related processes, including the Living Earth Campaign, the Palestine Working Group, the youth-led MILE and ICON initiatives and the Youth Committee – helped to build a common picture of the current situation of the IVS movement: reduced numbers of projects and volunteers in many regions, but also strong efforts to work in a more decolonial, community-led and climate-just way.
This phase responded to the objective of showcasing achieved results and using them to assess where the movement stands.
Open Symposium on Environmental and Social Justice
A half-day hybrid Open Symposium on Environmental and Social Justice created a wider space for exchange with external speakers and online participants.
The programme included:
- a keynote input from the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) Southern Africa team on the links between cultural activism, Ubuntu and environmental justice;
- the première of “Echoes of Nature”, the IVS song created through the Earth Artivists Training and Songwriting Workshop, presented with the International Music Council (IMC);
a series of short presentations from local actions in different countries, showing how the song and the project’s approach had been adapted to local realities through environmental and social justice activities. - a presentation of the CCIVS Volunteer Rights Framework by members of the Youth Committee, outlining volunteering as a right based on non-discrimination and human rights, and identifying key areas such as recognition, safe and equitable mobility, prevention of harassment and decolonised funding practices;
- an overview by IMC the advocacy roadmap, offering a reference for how Voices for Change and IVS advocacy can be structured and communicated in the coming years.
The external expert on impact measurement, Francesco Volpini, joined online to present findings from the use of the “Most Significant Change” technique in the local actions. The stories highlighted local, concrete changes, youth as catalysts of action, and care and solidarity as central responses to crisis.
A round table with invited experts – Dr Vishwas Satgar (University of the Witwatersrand, Emancipatory Futures Studies in the Anthropocene), Helene Perold (researcher on volunteering and civic engagement in Southern Africa), Dr Jacob Mati (Centre for African Philanthropy and Social Investment – CAPSI) and Silja Fischer (Secretary General, International Music Council) – opened discussion on funding, power, decolonisation and climate justice, and how Voices for Change and IVS practice can connect with broader policy agendas. They addressed the persistence of coloniality in economic and political systems, the need for democratic systemic reforms, the risks and opportunities for civil society organisations, the importance of community-based power, and the role of philanthropy and international networks in supporting actors in the Global South rather than speaking for them.
Internal consolidation and advocacy planning
The group worked on drawing conclusions and planning next steps. World Café discussions and working groups focused on:
- refining the draft policy and advocacy proposals on environmental and social justice, resource justice and decolonised funding, building on the impact findings
- reviewing the CCIVS Volunteer Rights Framework as a key advocacy tool for the movement;
- discussing the planned advocacy actions in 2026 and the timeline of events;
- identifying priorities and responsibilities for Voices for Change in the next steps (planning for Palestine partners meeting);
- exploring how Voices for Change results – especially “Echoes of Nature” and the impact stories – can contribute to the International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development 2026.
The Volunteer Rights Framework was discussed as a reference document that can support future advocacy work on recognition, safe and equitable mobility, prevention of harassment and decolonised funding practices.
Across all discussions, three elements appeared repeatedly as conditions for future work: community-led priorities, resource justice, and meaningful participation of young people in decision-making.
Main outcomes
The Symposium on Environmental and Social Justice in Pretoria:
- brought together the different strands of Voices for Change (needs analysis, global reflection, impact measurement, Earth Artivists Training, local actions) in one shared space;
- allowed partners to present and receive feedback on concrete environmental and social justice actions carried out in their communities;
- used impact research findings as a basis for discussing policy and advocacy directions;
- positioned the Volunteer Rights Framework as a central reference for future advocacy;
- clarified priorities and responsibilities for the net steps and identified links with the International Year of Volunteers 2026.
Voices for Change is an innovative first step that will lead to an ongoing process connecting research, arts, local action and advocacy within the IVS movement.