Many of you may recall 2001 as the International Year of Volunteers. For those of you who are less familiar with it, it was a led by United Nations Volunteers (UNV), and set out to recognise and promote the work of volunteers throughout the 186 counties that took part.

We are now only a little more than a year away from its ten year anniversary, which will be celebrated as International Year of Volunteers +10 (IYV+10). A few weeks ago, IVR attended a meeting at UNV's offices in Bonn to start planning what IYV+10 could look like.

The meeting was attended by nearly 40 organisations and networks from across Europe and the world who have an interest in volunteering. The discussion started to develop a vision for the year, discussed how the year could be coordinated at the national and international level, considered a possible link to social inclusion, and talked about communication approaches.

IVR worked on the evaluation of the International Year in 2001, and we were there to share learning from this, as well as represent our wider knowledge and the views of Volunteering England. Discussions are still at a very early stage, but it was a great opportunity for the UK, Volunteering England and IVR to ensure that IYV+10 is of maximum benefit to the UK in a little over a year's time.

IVR will continue its involvement with the planning, sitting on a research working group throughout the next year and we will update you with further news when it is available.

Source: Nick Ockenden