CUSO
How Cuso International is Strengthening Safeguarding and Volunteer Engagement with the Global Volunteering Standard
Cuso International is an international cooperation and development organisation dedicated to creating economic and social opportunities for marginalised groups. Working alongside partners, Cuso focuses on advancing gender equality and social inclusion, improving economic resilience, and driving progress on climate action. Cuso has been involved in the development of the Global Volunteering Standard since its inception and continues to support Forum in managing and promoting the Standard.
Bringing the Global Volunteering Standard into Everyday Work
Cuso has embraced the Global Volunteering Standard to strengthen its policies and practices across a number of areas. This includes ensuring that safeguarding is built into every step of the volunteer experience. From setting up partnerships to recruiting and training volunteers, and even after they return home, protection and safety — including protection from sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA)—are key priorities.
Another major step for Cuso was expanding their safeguarding policies, taking policies that were designed for volunteers and extending them to cover staff and partners, ensuring that safeguarding is applied consistently across the entire organisation. This shift helped reinforce a culture of safety and best practices throughout Cuso’s work.
‘There was a lot of emphasis on integrating safeguarding across the whole volunteer journey, and that’s one thing that we certainly took out of the Global Standard is that integration of safeguarding, safety and security, especially PSEA.’
Volunteer training also got an upgrade based on Cuso’s work with the Global Standard. It became more flexible, adapting to different types of volunteers in different settings. This meant offering training in multiple languages and providing a mix of online and in-person learning to make it more accessible.
‘The standard showed us different areas that we needed to look at and consider and then work through with our country teams on to create more effective training for different types of volunteers.’
The Difference It’s Made
Since adopting the Global Volunteering Standard, Cuso International has noticed a shift in how staff and volunteers think about good volunteering practice. Everyone—volunteers, staff, and partners—now has a stronger awareness of safeguarding, making placements safer and better for both the volunteers and the communities they support.
The Standard has also helped country offices align their volunteer engagement practices, creating a more consistent and coordinated approach across different locations. This has been particularly important for making sure international, national and remote volunteers receive the appropriate supports.
‘At a country level, that was probably what was most needed and most effective. We looked at the Standard and applied some of those elements to them, and it gave us direction for areas of improvement that were most relevant to their context.’
By embedding the Global Volunteering Standard into their work, Cuso International has strengthened its safeguarding systems, improved how volunteers are engaged across different countries, and made their programmes more inclusive. These changes have not only enhanced the volunteer experience but also ensured greater positive impact for the communities they work with. And the journey isn’t over — Cuso continues to build on these improvements, making sure volunteering remains safe, meaningful, and effective.