Forum and UNV share a common purpose, and both organizations recognise the importance of responsible, impactful volunteering in delivering the SDGs. This MoU sets out a new phase in our collaboration with UNV in which we will launch new research and new conversations on volunteering, and promote the voices of volunteers. We look forward to working closely with our colleagues in UNV in this exciting new phase," says Heather Shapter, Chair of the Forum Board.

UNV Executive Coordinator Mr. Olivier Adam spoke today at the IVCO Conference in Seoul in a panel discussion on global advocacy to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 17 on revitalizing global partnerships for sustainable development. The need to establish an enabling environment for volunteerism “to fully contribute to the realisation of any future sustainable development agenda” was the overarching theme of this year’s IVCO.

The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), both members of the "Forum for Volunteering in Development" (Forum), will jointly host the 2016 International Volunteering Cooperation Organizations (IVCO 2016) conference in Bonn. About 200 participants are expected to join the three-day event will take place from October 9-12th and focus on the theme Increasing Resilience of Communities Through Volunteering.