VSO is an international development charity that works through volunteers. Our vision is a world without poverty in which people work together to fulfil their potential.

We bring people together to share skills, creativity and learning to build a fairer world.

VSO is by far the largest independent volunteer-sending agency in the world. Since 1958, we have sent out more than 29,000 volunteers to work in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, the Pacific region and, more recently, Eastern Europe.

VSO was voted top international development charity in the International Aid and Development category at the Charity Awards 2004 for its work in promoting innovative approaches to globalising volunteering.o people" approach to development. Instead of sending food or money, we send women and men from a wide range of professions who want the chance to make a real difference in the fight against poverty. These volunteers work in partnership with colleagues and communities to share skills and learning and jointly achieve change.

Shared Partnerships, Shared Benefits
You only have to talk to VSO volunteers to realise that they gain from their experience, personally or professionally, as much as they contribute. Many will enthuse how fascinating it was to explore a different culture at first hand. Others will point to the friendships they have made. But many will also tell you how their professional talents have been stretched, and how they have learnt new skills that will significantly enhance their career prospects on their return home. If ever it was true that "you get out what you put in", VSO is proof positive.

These experiences make volunteers passionate in challenging misconceptions about developing countries. In the current climate, it is more urgent than ever that we work to achieve a global community where people of all cultures are seen as equal, learn from each other and share a common sense of rights and responsibilities as global citizens. VSO builds on this experience and passion to support a range of global education activities.

DFID Global School Partnerships – The Global Educators Register
We currently hold up-to-date information on approximately 13,000 Returned Volunteers living in the UK.  Approximately half of these volunteers have teaching experience and/or are education professionals.  Because of their personal and professional experience overseas, they are extremely well placed to become Global Educators: raising awareness of global development issues, challenging stereotypes and championing a global dimension in the school curriculum.

As part of the DFID Global School Partnerships Programme, VSO is responsible for the online Global Educators Register, whereby teachers are able to search for a Global Educator who meets their development education requirements. and might be willing and able to support them in planning how to introduce a global dimension in the school curriculum, setting up and/or managing a global school partnership, or using their experience of Southern countries to support global education activities in the curriculum.

Find out more about the Global Educators Register.