It all began in 1970 when IAVE was born from the vision of its founders that volunteers from around the world could come together to share their experiences, to learn from one another and to build bridges across cultural, political and linguistic barriers.

This year’s conference brought together representatives of numerous organisations form almost 100 countries. It was opened by the mayor of Augsburg Dr. Kurt Gribl, the president of IAVE Kylee Bates and the executive director of the Volunteer Center in Augsburg Wolfgang Krell. The four conference days offered a rich selection of workshops and presentations. The conversations during the breaks were not less interesting. The organisation of the event was made possible due to the efforts and the tome of 150 volunteers.

The themes included a variety of up to date issued like Youth Volunteering as a Path to employment; Volunteering is for Everyone, volunteering is about Belonging; Supporting Refugees through volunteering – examples from the German response; Young citizens in Action; High value partnerships that create impact; etc.

Maria Petkova from Tulip Foundation was invited to present the experience of the organisation in the session on “Impact measurement – Conceptual frameworks and evidence from research”.