CCIVS Youth Committee

The CCIVS Youth Committee (YC) The Role of the Youth CommitteeStructure of The Youth CommitteeYouth Committee Guidelines

The CCIVS Youth Committee (YC)

The Youth Committee (YC) of CCIVS has been established since 2021, as a key mechanism to strengthen youth participation and leadership within the organisation. It provides a structured space for young people to gain experience in the governance of an international network, build their leadership and advocacy skills, and take on active roles in representation, policy input, and programming.

In practice, the “youth dimension” of CCIVS means more than participation, it means youth leadership, influence, and ownership. Through the Youth Committee, young people are given the possibility to:

Lead and join initiatives, campaigns, and Working Teams, shaping the direction of CCIVS activities.
Bring a youth perspective into decision-making, projects, and policies, ensuring they reflect the realities and priorities of youth.
Provide structured input and feedback on the implementation of CCIVS strategies and action plans.
Co-design and evaluate CCIVS projects and programmes to ensure they are inclusive, innovative, and youth-driven.
Represent youth interests at internal and external events, including advocacy spaces with UNESCO, the UN, and European institutions.
Act as a reference point for young people who wish to engage in international voluntary service (IVS), supporting peer-to-peer learning.
Prepare for leadership roles, including potential integration into CCIVS’s Executive Committee or other governance structures.
Purpose of the CCIVS Youth Committee

The Youth Committee exists to empower young people to actively shape the International Voluntary Service (IVS) movement and ensure their perspectives guide the values and goals of CCIVS. It serves as a platform for youth leadership, advocacy, and co-creation, providing direct opportunities for young people to influence CCIVS’s strategies, policies, and projects. The YC specifically aims to:
● Promote meaningful youth participation and leadership in voluntary service and global solidarity.
● Integrate youth perspectives into CCIVS decision-making and programming. Foster advocacy and awareness, connecting local youth experiences to global platforms.
● Advance the UN SDGs, particularly those linked to youth empowerment, education, gender equality, climate action, and inclusion.
● Strengthen the visibility and voice of youth across the international voluntary service movement.

Vision of the CCIVS Youth Committee

The YC envisions a global community of young people actively engaged in creating positive social change through voluntary service, contributing to climate justice, social inclusion, and intercultural dialogue.
Our mission is to support and inspire youth-led initiatives and to build lasting partnerships that drive impactful change at local, national, and global levels. We aspire to be a driving force for systemic change in the field of international voluntary service. For us, systemic change means:
● Increasing youth leadership in governance, ensuring young people hold decision-making roles within CCIVS and the wider IVS movement.
● Redistributing resources and opportunities, so youth, especially from underrepresented regions or groups can fully participate in volunteering and advocacy.
● Shaping policies and strategies to be more inclusive, decolonial, and youth-driven. Embedding youth perspectives into all levels of planning, implementation, and evaluation within IVS.

Our long-term vision also includes greater intergenerational collaboration, interregional solidarity, and the integration of decolonial practices, ensuring that youth are recognised not only as participants but as equal stakeholders and agents of transformation.

Objectives of the CCIVS Youth Committee

The objectives of the Youth Committee are grounded in the conviction that young people are powerful change-makers, and that their active participation is essential for building a more just, inclusive, and sustainable world. In collaboration with CCIVS EC and Secretariat, we are committed to achieving the following objectives:
● Represent the diversity of youth within the internal structure of CCIVS and in external spaces, by bringing youth-related issues to the forefront of the agenda by ensuring representation of different regions, genders, and backgrounds in all YC actions and at external events.
● Contribute actively to CCIVS’s internal agenda, by engaging in decision-making processes and creating a continuous dialogue between the needs of CCIVS members and the voices of young people. YC does not hold formal voting power, it plays an active role in co-developing proposals and ensuring youth perspectives are reflected in CCIVS strategic discussions and decisions.
● Strengthen local, national and international networks, by fostering collaboration among IVS organisations, youth platforms, and multi-stakeholder actors committed to the values of volunteering, solidarity, and social justice.
● Promote and share the mission and vision of CCIVS, through youth-led advocacy and awareness-raising actions on a global scale by amplifying youth voices and highlighting the impact of IVS.
● Integrate the youth perspective in the development of global strategies, networks, and projects, ensuring that the values of CCIVS are upheld through an inclusive and youth-driven lens, contributing to the design, implementation, and evaluation of initiatives.

These objectives aim to ensure that the CCIVS Youth Committee becomes an active space for youth participation, growth, and representation — integrating their visions,
proposals, and energy into the organisation’s policies and activities.