International Volunteer Year 2026 × CCIVS
Share your action
Show what the International Voluntary Service movement does. Collective actions and photos from the IVS in Action campaign.
In 2026 the UN marks the International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development. CCIVS is contributing through two campaigns with the International Voluntary Service movement.
Campaign 1 · IVS in Action
Collective actions across the movement
With the IVS in Action campaign, the global International Voluntary Service networks CCIVS, Alliance, SCI and ICYE, alongside the regional networks NVDA and NAVO, want to show the diversity of volunteering and the impact it has in strengthening communities, fostering solidarity, and contributing to social and environmental justice. During September 2026 we collected collective actions that illustrate what the International Volunteer Year means to each of us.
Who
Everyone in the International Voluntary Service movement: international and local volunteers, staff, host projects, workcamp participants, and host families.
What
Collective actions linked to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, solidarity and peace. The scope was deliberately broad, so almost any group activity counted.
When
Actions took place during September 2026. Submissions closed on 15 October 2026.
Visibility
All activities are published on the CCIVS website and shared across CCIVS social media channels with the hashtags #IVY2026 and #IVSACTION.
Campaign 2 · Living Earth / LIVE 2026
Step into IVY 2026: share your story, grow your visibility
Alongside IVS in Action, CCIVS runs Living Earth / LIVE 2026 throughout the whole year. If your organisation has a longer environmental story to tell, this is where it belongs.
We are collecting stories from member organisations throughout 2026: volunteer actions for biodiversity, climate, rewilding, environmental justice, and community wellbeing. Every story is published on the LIVE 2026 hub and shared across CCIVS social media channels with full attribution.
What to send: a short story of about 5 lines, 2 to 3 photos, and the credits plus consent for the people shown. It takes under 10 minutes.
IVY 2026 Gallery
What the movement has been doing
Collective actions submitted to IVS in Action, and the Living Earth member projects shared across the CCIVS channels during 2026.
Letters for Peace & Democracy
An interactive workshop marking the International Day of Democracy and the International Day of Peace. Participants studied historical letters that helped bring about social change, then wrote their own to peace organisations, political prisoners and activists around the world. It may yet grow into an international exchange of letters.
WHV – Dong Phayayen Through the Lens
International volunteers gathered in the Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex, a World Heritage site home to more than 800 fauna species. Through photography, video and digital storytelling they spotlighted the site’s biodiversity, then shared that work through educational sessions with local primary schools.
From our channels
Living Earth: Stories from Our Members
Across the world, CCIVS member organisations are working alongside local communities to protect the environment and advance sustainable development through International Voluntary Service.
Explore initiatives shared throughout 2026 as part of the Living Earth campaign, highlighting local action, collective efforts and the people and organisations behind them.
Event info
CCIVS celebrated Earth Day 2026 with the launch of the Living Earth campaign
On Earth Day 2026, the Coordinating Committee for International Voluntary Service (CCIVS) brought together volunteers, organisations and partners from across the global International Voluntary Service (IVS) movement for an online webinar dedicated to climate justice, environmental sustainability and collective action.
The webinar marked the official launch of the Living Earth Campaign and highlighted CCIVS’s participation in the International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development (IVY 2026), in partnership with Alliance and Legambiente.
During the event, participants received updates on the Voices for Change project and explored how International Voluntary Service contributed to eco-resilience and climate action, from community-based volunteer workcamps to youth-led environmental advocacy. The CCIVS Youth Committee also presented the Taith Toolkit, while member organisations had the opportunity to share their own climate action initiatives and sustainable volunteering projects.
The Earth Day webinar provided a valuable platform for the global IVS movement to exchange experiences, strengthen partnerships and highlight the important role of international volunteering in advancing climate justice and sustainable development.
