India is the largest democracy in the world. But without its lively civil society scene, many ills in society would continue unchallenged. Civil society derives its strength from the Gandhian tradition of volunteerism, but today, it expresses itself in many different forms of activism.  Read article

The world of volunteering needs help--but not the kind you think. The problem is that too many nonprofits cling to their old ways, asking volunteers to do little more than stuff envelopes and make fund-raising calls.  Read article

They're the students who go abroad to boost their CVs, have a laugh - and help out in the developing world at the same time. But this week a charity claimed that young people volunteering during gap-year risk doing more harm than good. The Guardian's Patrick Bartham asks 10 volunteers what they think.  Read article

Most British high school graduates take a year off before university to volunteer abroad, the so-called gap year. After 20 popular years, the gap year's nature and necessity is being questioned by Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO), a UK-based international volunteer-sending organization. VSO claims, among others, that gap years are becoming "outdated and colonial." Mike Pallis of The Guardian reacts on the changing faces of gap years.   Read article

Plummeting volunteer numbers are the equivalent of a dead canary down a mine; a timely warning to do something about the circumstances that led to its death. Any data that will help build a true picture of volunteering in Australia and help us plan for a sustainable volunteering future is critical.   Read article