Asia Pacific Volunteer Leadership Conference inspires attendees to active, tangible service that becomes an agent for change in the world.

Conference Vision

We invite you to participate in what promises to be an exciting and visionary event: the first Asia Pacific Volunteer Leadership Conference! Hawai`i is the ideal location for bringing together people from the Pacific Rim who share a common focus in encouraging and strengthening volunteer engagement. The conference planning team envisions this pioneering event as the place to come to:

Hear expert presenters from almost a dozen countries who not only understand volunteer leadership but also take a global view of our field
Acknowledge each attendee as a knowledgeable resource and take part in structured interaction that assures learning from shared experiences
Examine the universal issues we all face in volunteer management, regardless of setting or location, and explore how we can use our similarities to further our work
Identify how we are different from country to country and setting to setting, and seek creative ways to learn from those differences
Benefit from the four different Streams of interest to spark new ideas
Recharge everyone’s batteries through international collegial exchange in one of the world’s most multicultural—and enchanting—locations!

The conference will attract upwards of 600 participants, drawn together by a commitment to volunteerism. The four Streams will each present one of the four general sessions throughout the event and offer a menu of concurrent workshop options each day. Attendees may choose to remain in one stream for the workshops or may sample workshops from different streams.

In addition, everyone will take part in unique Reflection Pool sessions.

What is a Reflection Pool?
The bigger the conference and the more diverse the participants, the harder it becomes for individuals to really get acquainted. But the most important reason for gathering together is mutual exchange. In order to facilitate interaction and build relationships, all attendees participage in Reflection Pools—groups of 10 participants representing as much variety as possible: nationality, focus of interest, experience in volunteer leadership, and so on. These Reflection Pools will remain constant for three days and meet four times to allow each Pool to be a “home base” within the larger event. Through key discussion questions, the Pools will transform strangers with a mutual interest into a support team. This will be a place to debrief the learning of each day, see how different people are reacting, and deepen understanding at many levels.

“I've been telling people that this event promises to be one of the most exciting conferences in a long time and certainly the most forward-looking for the volunteer field this year. It’s a unique opportunity to find commonalities across the diverse countries of the Pacific Rim, identify global trends in volunteerism, and develop collegial relationships with potential for future action—and it is all happening in Hawai`i! Could it get any better?”

~ Susan J. Ellis,
APVLC Keynote Speaker

Impacting Volunteerism
Those who can remain for Day 4 (September 19) will have the opportunity to participate in selected site visits to see volunteering in action on O`ahu.

Perhaps most important, the conference will look to the future. How can we deepen the new relationships we’ve started here? Sustain the enthusiasm and creativity? Begin to implement our best ideas? Together we can make sure this event moves from being a wonderful experience for each participant to a starting point for ongoing Pacific Rim action on behalf of volunteerism.