We attend a lot of conferences all over the world to learn from our peers, but often, like at this year’s IVCO, we go as speakers to share our experiences in the field. We hope to see you there!

Speaker at Business Conference and Presentation.

By Christine Johnston

IVCO

IVCO, the annual conference on international volunteering, is being hosted in Lima, Peru, by the International Forum for Volunteering in Development (Forum), World University Service of Canada (WUSC), and the Center for International Study and Cooperation (CECI), October 19-22.

I will have the honour of attending and speaking at the conference this year along with high-ranking multi-sector delegates from all over the world involved in the field of international volunteering and development.

The theme for this year’s conference is Volunteering in a Convergent World: Fostering Cross-Sector Collaborations Towards Sustainable Development Solutions. This identifies with Realized Worth’s client work as well as its involvement in Impact 2030, the first private sector led initiative aiming to bring stakeholders from all sectors together to align corporate volunteer efforts with the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

3 Sessions Not to Miss

1) Post-2015 Volunteering Working Group Report on Forum Advocacy Work: Mainstreaming International Volunteering in the Post-2015 Development Agenda

On the morning of Monday, October 20th, Gill Greer, CEO of VSA and ExCom Member of Impact 2030, will be joined by Barbara Hogan, Director of International Volunteering at Cuso International, and Adjmal Dulloo (Post-2015 Agenda Working Group Volunteer, International Forum for Volunteering in Development) in speaking about current discussions surrounding the Post-2015 Development Agenda within UN, member states and civil society networks. Most markedly, the panelists will be exploring the possibility of a draft IVCO 2014 Lima declaration shaping the role of international volunteering contributions to the Post-2015 SDGs.

2) Innovative International Volunteering Programs to Engage the Business Sector in Sustainable Development

This is one of many exciting breakout sessions that the conference is offering this year. On the afternoon of Wednesday, October 22nd, this session will discuss the innovation potential FK Norway and Uniterra see that private sector partnerships offer for sustainable development initiatives. Among the 5 panelists will be the wonderful conference organizers Mary Beshai, Senior Advisor, Strategic Partnerships, WUSC, and Sylvain Matte, Senior Advisor, Strategic Partnerships, CECI. The discussion will be moderated by Gill Greer, who again brings a wealth of knowledge to the discussion herself.

3) Creating Shared Value: Myth or Reality?

Finally, I will be speaking on the morning panel on Wednesday, October 22nd, discussing the benefits and challenges of Shared Value as an innovative approach to international development. I will be joined by moderator Wendy Harris, CEO of CESO and fellow panelists Lelemba Phiri, Zambia Regional Director, Zoona, and Luis Eduardo Salcedo (COOFINEP, RIPRESS, y Asemblea Permanente de la Sociedad Civil por la paz) to discuss whether Shared Value is the best solution, or if there are better methods of value creation between society’s sectors and community.

What else?

There are many more incredibly interesting and dynamic sessions being offered at this year’s IVCO. Find the full conference schedule here.

Join us!

If you are now convinced that this is the can’t-miss event that it is, register here now.

If you can’t be with us in Lima, don’t forget to follow me on Twitter next week as I live-Tweet the conference. Also, stay tuned afterwards for my followup blog highlighting the lessons learned and dynamic discussions shared at IVCO.

Thoughts? Comment or send your questions below, email us via contact@realizedworth.com, or connect with us on Twitter and/or Facebook. We would love to hear from you!

Christine RW PHOTO EDITED
Christine Johnston
Consultant, Project Manager, Realized Worth
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