For 45 years, I have been a volunteer in the Red Cross and Red Crescent. And when I think about the future of volunteerism, I always begin by going back to its very beginning.

In 1859, on the battlefield of Solferino, Henry Dunant did something profoundly simple and profoundly radical. Faced with thousands of wounded soldiers abandoned to their fate, he mobilized local women to help them. There were no job descriptions, no training modules, no organizational charts. There was only urgency, compassion, and a shared conviction that human suffering demanded a response.

That moment captured the original essence of volunteering: ordinary people choosing to act, together, when humanity is at stake.

Youth Red Cross and Red Crescent participate in the inauguration of the Solferino memorial, 100 years after the Battle of Solferino and the birth of the Red Cross idea.

We have come a very long way since then.

Today, our volunteers are doing extraordinary work, often highly specialized, sometimes dangerous, always demanding. They are first responders, nurses, doctors, logisticians, psychologists, engineers, climate and disaster risk experts, community mediators, and digital volunteers. They operate in a world of protracted crises, armed conflict, climate shocks, migration, pandemics, and deep social fractures.

Yet their protection has not always kept pace with this transformation. If we truly value volunteerism as the core of our humanitarian action, we must ensure that volunteers receive the duty of care, safety measures, legal protection, and psychological support they need and deserve.

Over the years, volunteerism has become more complex. More professional. More structured.

Yet despite all this change, I have always believed one thing has remained constant. Volunteers work for an emotional paycheck.

That paycheck is the quiet pride of being useful.

The dignity of service.

The feeling that, when it mattered, they did not look away.

I have seen this in villages struck by floods, in overcrowded shelters, in conflict zones, and in forgotten corners of our world. It motivated the women of Solferino, and it continues to motivate millions of volunteers today.

But the future of volunteerism demands honest reflection.

Around the world, older generations of volunteers, who carried our Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement for decades, are slowly leaving us. At the same time, younger generations are stepping forward with new expectations of how they want to contribute and how they want to be supported.

They still seek purpose.

They still believe in solidarity.

They still want to make a difference.

But they often volunteer differently. They value flexibility as much as commitment. Participation as much as instruction. Meaningful roles, transparency, and a voice in decisions. They want to understand impact, protect their wellbeing, and align their volunteering with their values, their skills, and their lives. They bring digital fluency, global awareness, and a deep sensitivity to issues of justice, climate, and inclusion.

This is not a threat to volunteerism. It is its next chapter.

Our responsibility is not to ask new generations to volunteer the way we always have, but to ensure that the way we organize, lead, and support volunteering remains worthy of their commitment.

That means evolving our models without losing our soul.

It means remembering that volunteers are not a free workforce, but partners, offering their time, emotions, and identity. It means protecting them, listening to them, and trusting them.

And above all, it means staying faithful to that first impulse on the battlefield of Solferino.

No matter how specialized our roles become.

No matter how complex our systems grow.

No matter how much the world changes.

Volunteerism begins the same way it always has: with people standing up for people, guided first not by procedures, but by humanity. That is our past. That must remain our future.

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Disclaimer: The views expressed in this opinion piece belong to the author and do not represent the official position of the organization with which she is affiliated.