The National Volunteering Conference is Australia’s key volunteering leadership event and we look forward to planning future events to support the sector to advance volunteering in Australia.
National Volunteering Conference 2020 – Cancelled due to COVID-19
Volunteering Australia and Volunteering WA regret to announce that the National Volunteering Conference 2020, due to take place from 18-20 March 2020 in Perth, Western Australia, has been cancelled.
Plans had been made to postpone the conference, however it is now clear that the ramifications of COVID-19 are likely to last far longer than originally thought, with the recovery period uncertain.
This decision is obviously disappointing, given the hard work of the various committees and staff who have worked tirelessly over the last 12 months to plan this Conference. We would like to acknowledge and thank everyone for their understanding.
Volunteering Australia would like to thank our colleagues at Volunteering WA for all their hard work to deliver a conference that was shaping up to be one of our best yet, with a high-quality program of speakers and networking opportunities. We now look towards the next national conference in 2022 and look forward to welcoming delegates then.
We would also like to acknowledge the support and commitment of our valued sponsors and business partners and thank them all for their contributions:
- Australian Government Department of Social Services
- Woodside
- Department of Communities
- City of Perth
- SEEK Volunteer
- Perth Convention Bureau
- Aon
- ProBono
- RAC
- Beyond Bank
- Eduka
A representative from Volunteering WA will be in contact with all delegates to advise them of the refund process, in the meantime if you have any enquiries please contact nvc2020@volunteeringwa.org.au
Kind regards
Michelle Ewington, Chair, Volunteering Australia Board
David Morrison, Chair, Volunteering WA Board
National Volunteering Conference 2018
The theme for National Volunteering Conference 2018 was ignite, invigorate and inspire with over 650 delegates taking part in the three-day event in Sydney. Susan Alberti AC set the scene with a keynote address that told an inspiring story of action in the face of adversity through her life journey and passions. The address certainly did ignite, invigorate and inspire conference delegates with a standing ovation from the crowd.
The morning of day two had a focus on the inextricable link between the support volunteers provide and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the local and global level. Chris Jarvis from Realized Worth gave an engaging keynote introducing Impact 2030: The UN Sustainable Development Goals as a Key Strategy for Nation-Building.
Later, Thursday morning an expert panel discussed how organisations can start measuring their progress, and start advancing the Sustainable Development Goals. The panel included Dr Peter Devereux of Curtin University, Paul Bird of Australian Volunteers International, Adrienne Picone of Volunteering Australia, Mara Basanovic of Volunteering Queensland and Evelyn O’Loughlin of Volunteering SA&NT.
The National Volunteering Conference continued Thursday afternoon with highlights including panel sessions focused on the Future of Volunteering and Resourcing the Sector followed by a Gala Dinner.
On the final day we heard from the Minister for Social Services, The Hon Dan Tehan MP, Shadow Minister for Charities & Not-for-profits, the Hon Dr Andrew Leigh MP and Shadow Assistant Minister for Families & Communities, Senator Louise Pratt.
To close the conference a celebrity panel shared their volunteering stories. The entertaining panel included former AFL player Adam Goodes, Australian actress Paula Duncan, Australian fiction author, former theatre and television actress and radio and television screenwriter Judy Nunn, actor and writer and Judy’s husband Bruce Venables, and Australian performer, writer and comedian Jean Kittson.
Volunteering Australia would like to thank the Australian Government who provided funding and scholarships for the National Volunteering Conference 2018. It is also thanks to the support of the Australian Government that we were able to include a dedicated emergency management stream this year. We also thank the following organisations for their valued support of the National Volunteering Conference 2018: Seek Volunteer, Realized Worth Institute, NSW Government, Pro Bono Australia, Telstra and Hancock Creative.
NVC2018 photos
Thanks to our volunteer photographers Charlene Zhang, Leslie Leung, Mahsa Keyani, Peter Gardiner and Phillip Buckley. You can now view the photos from National Volunteering Conference 2018 on Flickr.
