Kazakhstan's volunteer movement grows sixfold since 2020

According to the Ministry of Culture and Information, over the years, volunteering in Kazakhstan has evolved beyond isolated initiatives into a large-scale social movement with systematic state support.

The results are evident in the statistics. Compared to 2020, the number of volunteer organizations has grown 3.5-fold – from 224 to over 810. The number of active volunteers has increased sixfold to 300,000, while initiative groups have surged tenfold to 3,500.

Volunteering among seniors is also on the rise. In 2025, the number of older volunteers reached 6,000, up eightfold from 2020.

The movement entered a new phase in 2026, which was declared the International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development by the UN at the proposal of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. To date, more than 60 countries have supported Kazakhstan's initiative.

Another milestone was the enshrinement of the principle of encouraging volunteer activities in the new Constitution of Kazakhstan.

Thus, volunteering is becoming not just a direction of state policy but part of the fundamental principles of social development. This creates additional conditions for expanding civic engagement and supporting those who voluntarily participate in resolving social, environmental, and community issues.

In the first half of 2026 alone, more than 200,000 volunteers took part in various events. Today, the movement covers social, environmental, medical, cultural, educational, media, and animal care volunteering, as well as assistance in emergency prevention and disaster relief.

State support is also becoming more systematic. In 2025 and 2026, 120 small grants were awarded for volunteer initiatives. State bodies, together with the volunteer community, implement more than 50 projects annually.

The next stage of development involves further strengthening the movement's infrastructure. By the end of 2026, it is planned to outline a 2030 Concept for the Development of the Volunteer Movement, a Program for the Development of Environmental Volunteering, and introduce a digital volunteer passport to track participants' experience and competencies.

As previously reported, UN Volunteers Executive Coordinator Toily Kurbanov hailed Kazakhstan’s growing role in the global volunteer movement.