A Network Larger Than We Imagined:
2nd World Summit for Youth Volunteering Unites Volunteers from Around the Globe It was a watershed moment for Partners of the Americas. For the first time ever, we hosted a global event with worldwide implications. In November, nearly 900 youth from six continents joined us to celebrate the 2nd World Summit for Youth Volunteering in Barranquilla, Colombia. Attendees came from nearly 50 different countries and 29 of the 32 departments (states) in Colombia to discuss and explore effective ways to increase social inclusion and civic participation through volunteering. This event marked the ten-year anniversary of the first Summit, which was held in Tokyo and coincided with the United Nations’ International Year of Volunteers.
The Summit kicked off the morning of November 3rd, with Colombian government leaders, officials from Universidad del Norte (UNINORTE)—which hosted the Summit on its beautiful campus—and IAVE (the International Association for Volunteer Effort) board members in attendance. Mark Molloy, an IAVE youth board member, talked about the first World Summit in 2001 and the path leading up to this year’s celebration. Partners’ President & CEO Steve Vetter spoke on the spirit of volunteerism and the importance of partnerships—and Partners’ special relationship with Colombia, which led to the Summit being held in Barranquilla. The day’s keynote speaker was Australian Hugh Evans, CEO of the Global Poverty Project, whose message about ways to combat extreme poverty around the world set an inspiring and
exiting tone that lasted throughout the event. Another highlight of the Summit was hearing Malaysia native Michael Teoh, winner of an international competition titled “Your Big Year,” highlight his experience of traveling around the globe and volunteering. That evening, in a flurry of green balloons, Partners of the Americas, IAVE, and UNINORTE launched a new initiative called RED2021, a platform aimed to unite young volunteers around the world to share their service commitments and support each other through the exchange of resources. The World Summit benefitted greatly from the support of the members of the Global Corporate Volunteer Council, American Airlines, Motorola Mobility Foundation, State Street Bank, and UPS. Also supporting the Summit were various entities of the Colombian government, along with United Nations Volunteers, international student organizations like AIESEC, and numerous others. Pre-activities for the Summit began on November 2nd when more than 300 volunteers traveled to the community of Manatí, in the southern part of Atlántico state—an area that was heavily impacted by some of the worst flooding in Colombian history last winter. Volunteers helped to run a health project and gather clothing, in addition to activities designed to boost the spirits of beleaguered residents. While the volunteers spent the day in service, another group of Summit attendees spent the day talking about the increasingly important role that corporations play in promoting volunteerism. At the Corporate Volunteer Roundtable, diverse organizations had a unique chance to talk about their methods of using volunteerism as a tool to engage employees in meaningful service to their communities.
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