The conference report ‘Building and Sustaining Connections for Change: Volunteering for Solidarity’ captures key themes from the 2024 International Volunteer Cooperation Organisations Conference (IVCO 2024). It is the result of the collaborative efforts of the Northumbria University IVCO 2024 Organising Team, Matt Baillie Smith, Bianca Fadel and Sichelesile Nomalungelo Maxine Mpofu, supported by Janet Clark in the writing of the report, and the conference facilitators who assisted with note-taking and reporting: Aneeta Shajan, Benita Siloko, Floor van der Hout, Lindsay Bewick and Sophia Valle-Cornibert.

The paper is an invitation for readers to revisit the IVCO 2024 themes, key learnings and takeaways. It explores pressing global challenges and the ways in which volunteering can address them by reinforcing solidarity and forging deeper connections between people, organisations, and nations. It highlights the diversity of approaches and challenges across organisations and the pressing need for collaboration, cross-learning and the inclusion of global South perspectives in decision making to strengthen solidarity.

. También se puede acceder al informe de la conferencia en español aquí.

. Ce document d’information est également disponible en français ici.