PARTNERSHIP
We are invested in the success of our partners.
SKILLS SHARING
An expert in volunteer management, operations, and training, we also support partners to develop their capacity through the provision of locally relevant skilled volunteers or other forms of technical assistance.
EDUCATION AND PUBLIC AWARENESS
Our experience with education and public awareness is foundational to our contribution towards positive change.
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP AND ADVOCACY
We proactively advocate for just policies and systemic change that reflect both our values and our strategic priorities.
We began our journey as Canadian University Service Overseas (CUSO). Established in June 1961 as an initiative of the Association of Universities and Colleges Canada (AUCC), today known as Universities Canada, our founders believed in the possibility of a more connected world — one where the social constraints into which people are born would not dictate the entirety of their lives.
With AUCC backing, a network of local committees was established to undertake recruitment of recent graduates interested in sharing their knowledge and skills to help others in the expanding number of newly independent states.
The early volunteers, which rapidly grew in number, took their roles as agents of positive change very seriously. They helped fill critical staffing and capacity gaps in developing countries, working as teachers, nurses, and agriculturalists. For many years, Canadian University Service Overseas volunteers (subsequently called CUSO volunteers) were provided housing and were paid a local salary by their employers, mostly governments; they thus served on the same conditions as their national counterparts, becoming global citizens in the process.
