World Volunteering Conference Launches New Website
28 March 2013 at 9:51 am
The International Association of Volunteer Effort (IAVE) has officially launched the new World Volunteering Conference 2014 website, at a formal event in Sydney yesterday.
In January, it was announced that the 23rd World Volunteer Conference and Youth Forum would be held on the Gold Coast on 15-20 September 2014, with volunteering peak body, Volunteering Australia as the host organisation.
IAVE executive director, Kathleen Dennis, was in Sydney to launch the new website, www.iave2014.org.
Dennis told Pro Bono Australia that the Gold Coast was chosen as the location for the conference, which is held every second year, following a competitive bidding process.
“We determined that Australia was the right bid at the right time,” Dennis said. “The ideas and thinking in the volunteering space make Australia the next good step in taking a stand in the world.”
Dennis said that the IAVE’s long history with former president Margaret Bell, who has taken on the role of conference coordinator, was another reason she has great faith that the event “will go extremely well”.
More than 1,500 delegates from around the world are expected to converge on the Gold Coast for the conference, themed ‘Volunteering, Todays’ Imperative’.
A Youth Forum in the days preceeding the conference is expected to attract 500 youth from across the country.
The Federal Government is reported to be injecting a significant amount of funding into the event, with Queensland Tourism also announcing its involvement as a Gold Sponsor.
“The conference will inject millions of dollars into the local economy which is good for business and good for jobs, especially in our tourism and service industries,” Minister for Social Inclusion Mark Butler said.
“They [volunteers] are the foundation of our community and Not for Profit sectors and the IAVE World Conference will give Australia a rare opportunity to celebrate and promote our culture and the strong role that volunteers and community organisations play.
“The conference will also encourage volunteering leaders from around the world to share what works, and how to best to improve the volunteer experience.”
Since 1970, IAVE’s World Volunteer Conference has been a focal point for leaders in the volunteering sector from across the globe.
Kathleen Dennis said that holding a conference that people involved in volunteering from all over the world can convene face-to-face was “very important”.
“There are plenty of ways to communicate via the internet, but we believe face-to-face contact really does make a difference,” she said. “We believe very strongly in this event.”
