Celebrating International Volunteer Day 2020

Celebrated on 5 December, International Volunteer Day 2020 is an opportunity to recognise and celebrate the valuable contribution made by volunteers to international development across the world.

For International Volunteer Day 2020, at the program we wanted to recognise the extraordinary year that we have experienced together. So this year, we celebrated by saying a huge 'Thank You' to all of our volunteers, our partners, and our staff.

Our valued partner organisations and program staff from around the world shared their messages of thanks for the volunteers who have supported their work. Read the words of thanks from our partners and the words of thanks from our program staff.

We marked the day with events across our countries, and sharing the incredible stories of our volunteers, partners and staff via our social media channels. Visit us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube to see the activity from the day, or scroll below to read some of their words of thanks.

IVD2020 Tuvalu
'Our heartfelt thanks to Tuimalae Henry and Tulua Finikaso for your time carrying out activities for the Tuvalu Association of NGOs.'
IVD Cambodia 2020
'To my Khmer family, thank you for welcoming me to work alongside you at the Eye Care Foundation (Cambodia).'
IVD 2020 Fiji
‘Thank you to our volunteers, from the Australian Volunteers Program team in Fiji.' International Volunteer Day 2020
IVD 2020 Tanzania
'Thank you, Fiona, from all your friends at GLAMI/AfricAid (Tanzania). Since you joined the organisation, you have done an incredible job.'
IVD 2020 Nepal
'Disability Research Team (KU) and in-country team in Nepal, thank you so much for the laughter, the hard work and the sharing of stories.'
IVD Vietnam 2020
‘Thank you to all our volunteers, from the Australian Volunteers Program team in Vietnam.' International Volunteer Day 2020
IVD2020 Indonesia
'Thank you Lizzie! We really appreciate your support to increase the knowledge and skills for us and the women weaving group (Indonesia).'
IVD 2020 Myanmar
'Thank you Myanmar Gems Enterprise - I will always treasure the generosity and kindness that you extended to me.'
IVD 2020 North Pacific
‘Thank you to all our volunteers, from the Australian Volunteers Program team in the North Pacific.' International Volunteer Day 2020
IVD 2020 Mongolia
'Thank you Kernah for coming to Mongolia. We miss you, and are always reminded of your kindness and perseverance.'
IVD 2020 Timor Leste
‘Dear HIAM Health (Timor-Leste), you selflessly taught me your language, culture and passions about fighting malnutrition.'
Philippine Team IVD2020
'Thank you volunteers for your time, energy, patience and resilience, from the Australian Volunteers Program team in the Philippines.'
IVD 2020 Papua New Guinea
'TTU (Papua New Guinea) would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all the Australians who have volunteered with us from 2014 to 2020'
IVD 2020 Bhutan
'I am richer, wiser and forever grateful for the time I spent in Bhutan. I hope to see you all again, without a screen, in the future.'
IVD 2020 Laos
‘Thank you to our volunteers who have supported organisations in Laos, from our team: Phet and Alie.’
IVD 2020 South Africa
'From the bottom of our hearts, words cannot express our appreciation for the work you've done to help Malamulele Onward (South Africa).'
IVD 2020 Samoa
'To the amazing volunteers who have had the opportunity to work with the Samoan communities - thank you so very much.'
IVD 2020 - FSM
'Thank you Jaclyn and Gary for all your contributions to our organisation and the people of Chuuk State, Federated States of Micronesia.'
IVD 2020 Sri Lanka
‘Thank you to all our volunteers, from the Australian Volunteers Program team in Sri Lanka.'
IVD 2020 Solomon Islands
'A big halo olketa to Will, Josiah, Kristy, Ashleigh, Lara, Emily, Iona and John from us at the High Performance Program (Solomon Islands).'
IVD 2020 - Tonga
‘Thank you to all our volunteers, from the Australian Volunteers Program team in Tonga.'
IVD 2020 Vanuatu
'We would like to convey our appreciation and gratitude for all the volunteers - former and present (Vanuatu).'
IVD 2020 Kiribati
'Kam rab'a from our team (Kiribati).'
IVD 2020 Bhutan
'Thank you Prof. Mike Watkins, from all of us at the Royal Institute of Management (RIM), Bhutan.'