VSO ICS volunteer and qualified basketball coach Asma Elbadawi during an evening training session with male and female students from Lindi secondary school. Part of the VSO / ICS Elimu Fursa project

Youth volunteering (ICS)

The ICS programme is currently paused

The contract for ICS, delivered by VSO in partnership with Restless Development and Raleigh International, came to an end in December 2020. This means that we cannot accept further applications for the scheme at this time.

Read the full statement on the ICS website

Other volunteering opportunities

Find and apply for volunteer roles across Africa and Asia.

Browse all our current opportunities

40,000

The ICS programme launched in 2011 and since then nearly 40,000 young people have volunteered across the world.

92%

92% of partners involved in ICS have said that their organisation is better able to bring positive change.

74%

74% of ICS volunteers say the experience has been very useful for their career development.

Follow four young people as they embark on an ICS experience, meeting people from a different way of life.

ICS stories

Since 2011, VSO and our partners have supported over 40,000 ICS volunteers to contribute to sustainable change, working alongside community members in some of the poorest regions of the world. ICS volunteers have challenged the status quo, inspired young people to participate in development and ensured that the benefits of development are inclusive for all, especially those who are most marginalised in society.

A team of female ICS volunteers crouch down and pose together

The power of youth volunteering: Eight years of impact in eight ICS projects

Since 2011, more than 38,000 young people have taken part in ICS. Eight years later, we celebrate eight of our favourite moments of ICS impact.

Students Learning Kenya sign language from VSO volunteers
VSO/ Paul Wambugu

Meet the young activists fighting for Deaf rights

Youth volunteers Raabia, a young filmmaker from the UK, and her Kenyan counterpart, Enock, explain how badly marginalised Deaf people continue to be in both countries – and what they’re doing to help.

Condoms, Christ and sex positions: Sarah’s work reducing teen pregnancy in Zambia

Young people in the UK and in Zambia have exactly the same needs. The difference is that in Zambia they face poverty on a whole different scale

UK aid logo

Our partners

ICS is funded by the UK Government's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), which projects the UK as a force for good in the world, including reducing poverty and tackling global challenges.

ICS consortium

ICS is run by a consortium of experienced and respected development organisations:

  • VSO (lead partner)
  • Raleigh International
  • Restless Development.