Valorising volunteering for people and places: International trends and experiences

Around the world, more than 860 million people volunteer at least once a month, accounting for approximately 15% of the global population. From supplementing emergency services following natural disasters, to leading youth development activities, to supporting environmental conservation, volunteers play an essential role in addressing social, environmental, and economic challenges in their communities. Their engagement yields a substantial impact, contributing an estimated 1.9% to GDP in OECD countries. Despite their importance, volunteering rates have been steadily declining in the years leading up to COVID-19, which further reinforced this trend. Although most recent data suggests that rates have rebounded to baseline levels since, several countries are still experiencing historic lows. This underscores the urgent need to reinvigorate and volunteering and enhance its contributions to local development. 

To mark International Volunteer Day, the OECD launched a new paper "Unleashing the potential of volunteering for local development" that takes stock of the latest trends in volunteering internationally and considers approaches to strengthening policies, programmes and initiatives to support volunteering.  This webinar presented new insights from the report, followed by a panel discussion featuring leading international experts and practitioners.

The OECD Local Development Forum is a community of thousands of individuals worldwide, united by their shared commitment to making their communities more resilient, inclusive and sustainable. It brings together representatives of regional and national governments, employment and training agencies, economic and community development agencies, chambers of commerce, public employment services and social innovators from around the world. Through its events and online resources, the Forum serves as a venue for peer learning, disseminating local innovations and best practices at the global level, and bringing the OECD’s work beyond ministries to local communities.

The OECD’s Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities (CFE) provides comparative statistics, analysis and capacity building for local and national actors to work together to unleash the potential of entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprises, promote inclusive and sustainable regions and cities, boost local job creation, and support sound tourism policies.

The mission of the Local Employment and Economic Development Programme (LEED) is to build vibrant communities with more and better quality jobs for all. Since 1982, the Programme has been supporting national and local governments through tailored reviews and capacity building activities, as well as research and good practice reports on innovative approaches to local development.