Volunteering with ICV

ICVolunteers provides motivated individuals with unique short- and long-term opportunities to volunteer in local, national and international settings. By helping others, volunteers offer their knowledge and experience to provide critical assistance to important humanitarian and other non-profit projects. At the same time, they also acquire new skills and grow both personally and professionally.

What does ICVolunteers offer?

When volunteers register with ICVolunteers, we send them regular updates on upcoming projects. Once an individual decides to sign up for one, we will then send specific information related to the project. Project types include:

• Conference Volunteering.  Work with other ICV volunteers to help plan, host, interpret and report on events for some of Geneva's most interesting and important local, national and international conferences. Specific tasks include welcoming and assisting delegates, translation and interpretation of events, writing and editing reports on conference proceedings, and providing multimedia support. Past conferences range from annual meetings of the UN Commission of Human Rights to gatherings focused on the cutting-edge issues in information technology, sustainable development, and other current affairs.

• CyberVolunteering. The CyberVolunteers Program recruits, trains and coordinates volunteers with skills in information and communication technology (ICT) for development. Volunteers participate in local, regional and international projects for a period of several weeks or months, offering their skills in areas such as web or software development, system administration and content generation.
   
• Language services.  ICVolunteers recruits and coordinates volunteer translators and interpreters. They are generally student interpreters or young professionals who wish to gain experience. ICVolunteers offers both simultaneous and consecutive volunteer interpretation.
   
• Communications and journalism.  Write and edit articles, interviews and other contributions for ICV publications, our website and other online forums.
   
• Volunteering in different places around the world.  Volunteers can participate in local, regional and international projects for a period of several weeks or months in communications and journalism, information and communications technology, or conference services.  
   
• Other professional activities.  Individuals can apply their professional talents, including accounting, bookkeeping, computer maintenance, transportation services, and other important skills, to help our organization manage and build its programs.
   
• Internships and 'long-term' volunteering with ICVolunteers.  We offer internships (unpaid) and long-term volunteer opportunities, be it in translation (from and to English, French and Spanish), event organization, writing and editing, Internet research, IT-related work (web, system and software development) and resource mobilization in Geneva (Switzerland). We are also looking for long-term volunteer for our offices in Canada, France, Mali, South Africa, Spain and are working with online volunteers.

How can you get involved?

Before starting to work with ICVolunteers, candidates are invited to fill in our registration form specifying, among other relevant information, their skills, motivations and expectations.  A personal interview following this registration may be necessary to develop an individualized plan for your activities. If you would like to apply for one of our longer-term volunteer opportunities or for an intership, please send your CV to volunteer@icvolunteers.org .

What kind of training will you receive?

At the beginning of every major project, we organize an information / training session for volunteers. For international volunteers going to another country, we provide both pre-departure and onsite training. The training includes technical information related to volunteer activities as well as a general introduction to the subject of the project, conference or event. Volunteers are required to attend the training, as those who are not adequately trained may not be able to participate in activities.

If desired, volunteers receive a certificate of participation at the end of a project. For long-term volunteering and internships this is automatic.

Is there any financial compensation?

We cannot pay volunteers. Volunteers provide assistance on the condition that they are not financially compensated for their time. Expenses (transportation, accommodation, etc.) may be paid on prior agreement only.

Who can volunteer?

ICVolunteers is a network organization, linking knowledge with needs. Its network includes over 9,000 individuals, volunteers and partners worldwide, speaking 130 different languages and residing in over 100 countries. We are an inclusive organization, open to all people regardless of race, nationality, religion, sex, education or physical ability. For legal reasons, we require written authorization from a parent or legal guardian for volunteers under 18 years old.

What does ICVolunteers expect from volunteers?

Volunteers are asked to indicate their availability prior to a project. We will elaborate our schedules according to the volunteer's availability. Once a volunteer commits to participate in a project, s/he has a moral obligation to do so. Volunteers must contact us to let us know any changes of availability prior to the event, so a replacement can be found.

Help ICVolunteers link knowledge with needs today!

• Have a look at our latest projects.
• If you wish to get updates on the activities of ICVolunteers and would like to participate as a volunteer, please fill in our registration form.