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As part of the celebrations of the International Year of Volunteers 2026, proclaimed by the United Nations (UN), the Institute for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, I.P. (IDiPD, I.P.), launches the publication “Persons with Disabilities as Volunteers: A Guide to More Inclusive Volunteering”.

The guide is the result of a journey of collaboration with Pista Mágica, a non-governmental organization that develops training, operationalization and social inclusion activities through volunteering, started 4 years ago, on the occasion of the VolunTalento, a more inclusive volunteering project that aimed to improve access to volunteering for people with disabilities.

This joint work, between the two organizations, wants to ensure the creation of a guiding tool for all people interested in promoting more inclusive volunteering programs, based on the elimination of barriers that continue to limit the participation of people with disabilities in community contexts, ensuring that capacity-building mechanisms are implemented, allowing full and active participation in society.

“(…) persons with disabilities are primarily citizens and citizens with aspirations, dreams, values and willingness to participate actively in community building. [It is necessary] democratise access to volunteering for persons with disabilities, recognising volunteering as an essential tool for active citizenship, social participation and personal fulfilment.’, Diana Alves Reis, lawyer and disability rights activist, who signs the guide's foreword.

Diana Alves Reis' first-person testimony matches the words of Achim Steiner, current administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, in the 2026 resolution: International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development: “Only through collective action and solidarity will we be able to gather the strength needed to tackle the challenges that affect us all”.

“Persons with Disabilities as Volunteers: A Guide to More Inclusive Volunteering” reflects the commitment of the Institute for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, I.P. to promoting equality, participation and inclusion of persons with disabilities in all areas of life in society, recognising volunteering as an expression of active citizenship and a space for exercising rights.

Consult the guide “Persons with Disabilities as Volunteers: A Guide to More Inclusive Volunteering’, HERE.