IVCO

This interactive session will explore the issues raised in the opening plenary. Participants will bring diverse perspectives in assessing what the conference theme means for academics, practitioners, government and policymakers who are working in the volunteering sector in a world facing unprecedented challenges. Rather than offering prescriptive solutions, the session will pose critical questions to stimulate conference debates amongst delegates. Let’s start unpacking the conference topics based on everyone’s own experiences!

Session objectives:

• Allow diverse voices to position volunteering as a mechanism for strengthening civil society
• Explore how volunteers can struggle to promote civil society in challenging contexts, inspiring volunteer-involving organisations to think about it in different ways.
• Start to use the conference as a safe space to navigate difficult conversations in an empathetic manner, rooted in cultures of care through sharing challenges.