In early February 2025, the European Youth Centre in Budapest transformed into a hub for reflection, foresight, and action. From 3–7 February, thirty young leaders and activists from around the world gathered for the IVS Study Session, organised by CCIVS in cooperation with Alliance of European Voluntary Service Organisations, ICYE, SCI, NVDA, and the Council of Europe. The theme: “New Trends in International Voluntary Service.”
Why This Study Session Mattered
Volunteering is evolving. With declining participation across International Voluntary Service (IVS) networks, it was time to pause and ask: What future are we heading towards, and how can we shape it?
Participants — including volunteers, coordinators, board members, and youth workers — engaged in a rich, collaborative process using the “Toolkit for Tomorrow: Anticipating Civil Society Futures”. Together, they explored the major forces reshaping the field and co-created new project ideas to tackle emerging challenges.
Key Trends Shaping Youth Volunteering
Participants identified several global trends influencing the IVS landscape:
- Climate injustice
- Voluntourism and the commodification of volunteering
- Decolonisation of international aid and volunteering
- Artificial intelligence
- Rise of misinformation
- New forms of social movements
- Growing individualism
Two priority issues emerged:
1. Climate injustice, affecting who can participate in volunteering and who is excluded.
2. Voluntourism, which risks transforming solidarity-based volunteering into a consumer experience.
Future Scenarios for Volunteering by 2035
Using foresight tools, participants imagined four distinct futures based on how these two trends evolve. The scenario-building exercise highlighted uncomfortable possibilities — and sparked innovative thinking on how to steer the IVS movement toward solidarity, justice, and sustainability.
From Imagination to Action
Participants developed new project concepts, including:
- Local and global partnerships between IVS organisations and educational institutions
- Campaigns for sustainable, low-carbon travel
- Gender- and climate-focused social entrepreneurship projects
- An annual international IVS fair
- New tools for the formal recognition of volunteering experiences
- A study session on decentralising CCIVS governance structures
Dreaming, Debating, and Reimagining IVS
During the Dream Board Dialogues, participants reflected on internal IVS movement dynamics:
- Are we treating volunteers as clients instead of changemakers?
- How can we break out of our communication bubbles?
- What language helps promote volunteering as a form of civic participation?
Concrete Outcomes and Next Steps
This wasn’t just a one-off event. The results of the Study Session will:
- Be presented at the General Assembly of the Centre of European Volunteering (April 2025)
- Feed into CCIVS’s strategic planning process
- Be used in an Erasmus+ KA2 application (C-IVS) focusing on recognition and certification of IVS
- Guide future advocacy in the European Youth Forum, including the Advisory Council on Youth nomination for 2026–2027
The Power of Foresight
A highlight of the session was a foresight workshop facilitated by Eva Gondor, helping participants anticipate challenges and seize opportunities to future-proof their work. Read her full reflection here.
Creating the Future Together
The IVS Study Session in Budapest 2025 was not just about analysis — it was about action. By combining foresight tools with community-building and creativity, participants reaffirmed their commitment to shape a more inclusive, just, and sustainable future for volunteering.
“The future is not some place we are going to, but one we are creating.” – John Schaar
At CCIVS, we continue this work — building bridges, empowering young people, and anticipating the future of volunteering.