Commit. Encourage. Volunteer.

That’s the tagline for the world’s biggest annual conference for the NGO community, which in 2011 fits right in with the tenth anniversary of the International Year of Volunteers.  Read article

Quito, Ecuador: Organizations from across Latin American civil society have agreed to work together on influencing policy and promoting the impact of volunteer work on development.  Read article

Baltimore, USA:

The International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Johns Hopkins University Center for Civil Society Studies announced the release of a new manual to help statistical agencies around the world track the amount, type and value of volunteer work in their countries.

The manual, drafted by the Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies in cooperation with the ILO and an International Technical Experts Group, and with the support of the United Nations Volunteers, represents the first-ever internationally sanctioned guidance to statistical agencies for generating reliable, official data on volunteer work using a common definition and approach.

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Beijing, China: China plans to incorporate volunteer service into the evaluation of student performances to promote the spirit of selflessness, the Ministry of Education said.    Read article

First published in 1968, Arthur Gillette's comprehensive history of voluntary youth service is now available online. The author shows how service has affected volunteers and the peoples with whom they work, and draws guidelines for the future of international voluntary work.  Read article