Our kick-off in Cologne

The weltwärts community is here! On January 22, 2025, we celebrated the launch of the weltwärts Community with our kick-off event at the “Wohngemeinschaft” in Cologne. In an intimate atmosphere, representatives of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Engagement Global (EG), Bildung trifft Entwicklung (BtE), our project team from the grenzenlos association and two raffled former volunteers came together to provide impulses for an open and committed community.

New community with a shared vision

With the premiere of our welcome video (see link below), we gave all participants a clear goal right from the start: through the weltwärts community, we want to create a space in which former volunteers can reconnect, think ahead and make a difference together. Creating a community that comes together beyond the volunteer service and builds bridges: between projects, perspectives and countries. Open to anyone who wants to stay involved after their voluntary service.

In short pitches, representatives of the BMZ and Engagement Global also made their visions for the community clear: it should function across all organizations, be diverse and globally connected - a space in which people with similar values but different perspectives come together.

Won, joined, contributed

What was particularly special was that two former volunteers who had won their place in an Instagram competition were also there. Together with the other guests, they thought about what they wanted from the community: What does it need to be truly sustainable? What is their vision? What “superpowers” would be helpful? (You can find impressions in the video below).

Website launch, confetti and volunteering spirit for ever!

A real highlight: we celebrated the launch of this new community website with confetti and a big group photo. The website shows everything worth knowing at a glance about the many opportunities for former volunteers to find information, network and become active.

The day ended around midday with conversations and lots of new ideas. And although the community has only just started, one thing was already clear: something with real potential is being created here - supported by people who not only have fond memories of their time as volunteers, but also want to keep their spirit alive. And by everyone who wants to make this possible.