Can volunteering abroad build the next generation of global citizens?

For young adults who feel disconnected from global politics, overseas volunteering offers a practical path to becoming a global citizen. This path is built through classrooms, communities, and cross-cultural exchange. When political issues feel remote, polarized, or too large to affect directly, some organizations offer a hands-on alternative. They suggest travelers meet people whose lives are different from their own and work on useful projects.

Founded in 1948 after the Second World War, AIESEC describes itself as the world’s largest youth-run non-profit. Its original purpose was rooted in cross-cultural understanding. At that time, Europe was trying to rebuild trust across borders. More than 75 years later, this idea remains relevant. The organization’s Global Volunteer program sends participants between the ages of 18 and 30 abroad. These placements typically last four to eight weeks. Volunteers work on projects linked to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. These projects range from education and first aid to tourism marketing, economic development, and marine conservation.

“The reason why conflict starts is that people don’t understand each other,” says Mary-Treesa Rozario from AIESEC’s Sydney University branch. “So cross-cultural understanding and global volunteering – the main purpose of the project – allow the volunteers to understand new cultures.”

There is a risk with international volunteering programs. They can drift into what is called “voluntourism.” This is when charity becomes a form of tourism. It can also oversell the idea of personal transformation. The more useful version of volunteering is harder. It is less flattering and more reciprocal. Volunteers arrive with something to offer, but they soon realize how much they do not know.

For many participants, the initial motivation is practical. They want independence, work experience, or a stronger resume. Some want proof that they can handle themselves outside the structure of home or university. Others are drawn by the chance to receive a certificate linked to the UN’s global goals. However, Rozario notes that the reason for going often changes once volunteers arrive. After working in unfamiliar environments, the purpose of the exchange shifts. It provides more meaning.

Sarah Sepuldiva volunteered on a Global Classroom project in Vietnam in June 2025. She joined because she wanted to become more independent. She also wanted firsthand experience about global issues. Teaching English without speaking Vietnamese forced her to rethink what communication really depends on.

Cross-cultural understanding and global volunteering allow the volunteers to understand new cultures.

“The biggest lesson I learned was patience,” she says. “Not speaking Vietnamese meant I had to rely on careful listening, observation, and creative communication. I learned to interpret what students were trying to express and respond in a way that made sense to them.”

In the classroom, this meant designing activities that were engaging and accessible. She watched students closely and built their confidence through encouragement and humor. Sepuldiva found she was especially effective when working one-on-one with students who felt nervous about their English. She shared her own experiences learning languages. She joked that, even as a native English speaker, she still made mistakes.

“Their laughter and smiles showed me that this approach helped them feel safe to try and make mistakes,” she says. “I like to think that my presence helped create a supportive environment where students felt confident, motivated, and proud of their progress.”

For Harry Kwon, who volunteered on the Beyond Race project in Jakarta in 2018 and 2019, the starting point was partly restlessness. He was born in Asia but raised in Perth, Australia. He says he wanted to “get out of Perth” and see more of the world. At age 19, during his first summer at university, he traveled to Indonesia. There, he taught in primary and middle schools.

“The premise was I was teaching English but the hidden agenda was to raise awareness of diversity and stereotypes,” he says. Indonesia’s mix of ethnicities, cultures, and religions gave those conversations an immediacy that classroom theory rarely has. Kwon used his own experience of growing up in a foreign environment. He talked to students about difference, social harmony, and the potential that can exist across cultural divides.

He also found himself learning from the other volunteers. They had come from Germany, Turkey, Malaysia, China, Korea, and other places. “I learned the world is vast and also that I can make some kind of change,” he says. “I also saw my privilege of living in Australia and what I had that many others around the world don’t – so I realised I should use some of this privilege in ways I can.”

That experience did not end when he returned home. Kwon went on to work for AIESEC Australia. He helped other young people take part in exchange programs. He now works for an education philanthropy focused on developing young people to pursue social impact.

“It shaped a lot of what life after looked like,” he says.

That may be the clearest argument for this model. The point is not that a few weeks overseas can solve global inequality, climate breakdown, or cultural division. It cannot. The point is that it can interrupt a young person’s assumptions early enough to shape what they do next.

For a generation surrounded by global crises but often shut out of meaningful influence, that shift is not insignificant. AIESEC’s promise is modest when stripped of marketing language, but it is still powerful. It encourages travelers to move with purpose and work across differences. The goal is to return less certain that the world is someone else’s responsibility. Images: AIESEC