Global Voices (GV) is an international, mostly volunteer community of writers, translators and human rights activists. Together, we work to build understanding across borders. Through our community-based journalism, media ecosystem research, digital rights advocacy and digital media training for marginalized communities, we aspire to a world where curiosity abounds and respect for human dignity flows equitably across differences of language, country and culture. Since our founding in 2004, more than 8,500 writers, translators, researchers and human rights activists from 160 countries have contributed to this mission.

If you’re considering applying to join the GV community as a volunteer and wish to learn more about our work, a good place to start is the What is Global Voices? page on the main site.

If you’re a newcomer, welcome! It’s great to have a new “GVer” on board. This guide will familiarize you with the many facets of mission, activities and community.

If you’re a current community member, you may find that this guide provides a useful refresher on our processes or explains new ways to participate.

How we work together

GV has always been a remote organization—we have never had a physical office. Our leadership team and hundreds of contributors collaborate virtually from their homes in various parts of the world. Most of our work revolves around five sections of our organization:

• the Newsroom, where our original stories are produced
• Lingua, an initiative that translates our stories into dozens of languages
• Advox, an initiative that reports on freedom of expression online and advocates for policies that support a trustworthy, free and open internet for all
• Rising Voices, an initiative that supports marginalized groups such as Indigenous language communities to represent themselves and their concerns in online media
• the Civic Media Observatory, an initiative that researches media ecosystems in various countries and around various topics or events

This Community Blog serves as a space for the community to share knowledge and ideas, as well as a hub for organizational announcements and guides.

GV is a large, diverse community that spans many countries, languages, cultures and behavioral norms, and all community members are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with the guidelines set out in our Community Ethics and Harassment Policy.

What we create together

Two big ways that volunteers collaborate with GV is by writing or translating stories.

• Writers work with Regional Editors and Associate Editors in the Newsroom to draft fact-based stories that support GV’s mission of building understanding across borders. Contributors can also write stories specifically for Advox and Rising Voices or contribute research to the Civic Media Observatory, where they work with the teams responsible for those sections.
• Translators work with the Lingua project's Translation Managers to make these stories or research findings available in dozens of languages.

But there are many other ways to get involved at GV. At various points in its history, GV has produced a video webinar series and a podcast, which benefited from the contributions of volunteers. Community members have helped run GV’s social media accounts, sift through applications from potential authors and translators, sent along story tips and ideas, advised writers as an expert source, participated in research projects, promoted GV stories in their networks, connected GV to another peer organization which publishes our work… The list goes on and on! Not to mention all of the opportunities related to research, training and fellowships that Advox, Rising Voices and the Civic Media Observatory periodically offer.

We are proud to publish writing, translation and illustrations created by people, for people, and we expect our contributors to uphold that standard. As such, all that we create should conform to our policy on AI.

Additionally, everything produced by GV is published under a Creative Commons license, so be prepared to see your best work appear on other news websites and online spaces as well!

Why volunteer with GV?

While GV relies on a team of paid contractors to keep things running smoothly, we are fundamentally a volunteer-driven organization. Over the years, thousands of volunteers have contributed to GV and found fulfillment in bringing global attention to their countries and experiences; honing their skills in writing, journalism, translation and research; building portfolios of published work; learning from the experiences of their peers from around the world; making deep and lasting friendships; and creating the change they wish to see in the world.

We’ve been told over and over by many in our community that contributing to GV has opened doors to new connections and professional opportunities. Contributors are also frequently contacted by foreign media and organizations to share their knowledge and commentary when notable events are occurring in their countries.

Who's who at GV

Many people work to keep GV running from day to day, including you! Your primary contact at GV will likely be a Regional Editor in the Newsroom or a Translation Manager, but also feel free to ask anyone on the Core Team for information or guidance.

Global Voices organizational chart as of July 2024.

You can learn more about these roles by consulting the guide Roles and Responsibilities at Global Voices.

Your voice matters

The beating heart of GV is the community, who not only contribute stories, translations and research, but also help set the organization’s priorities and inform strategy. We always welcome the sharing of new ideas, suggestions and critiques on community communication channels like the Google Group mailing lists, the GV Slack channels and social media accounts. Find out more about How We Communicate at Global Voices.

Contributors should also feel free to suggest ideas or raise concerns directly with their main points of contact.

The Global Voices Community Council offers a more formal way to participate in our decision-making process. Each year, active GV contributors are invited to join the Council, whose members participate in special online discussions and weigh in on specific issues through polls and surveys. If you’re interested in joining the Council, keep an eye out for an invitation email, which is usually sent out early in the new year.

Board representation

Like all nonprofit foundations, GV is governed by a board of directors. See the Global Voices Board page on the main site for a list of current members; the guide Roles and Responsibilities at Global Voices for information on its role; and the Board Elections guide for an explanation of its composition.

The board includes three representatives who represent the interests of GV community members. They are the community’s spokespeople at the board level and the conduit for community perspectives. Representatives should be in regular touch with the GV community to listen to and familiarize themselves with members’ opinions and concerns. Consult the Contact Your Community Board Reps guide to learn how you can send your feedback directly to the current community representatives.

Summits and meetups

Periodically, GV holds summits in various locations around the world, which consist of an internal gathering exclusive to the GV community and a public conference dedicated to topics related to citizen media. These meetings bring together as many contributors as possible for several days to strengthen our community, exchange knowledge and ideas, and showcase our work as we strive to achieve our mission. While we are unable to bring the entire GV community to these summits, we do cover the cost of travel and accommodation for a subset of our most active contributors.

Additionally, GV contributors who live in the same cities or regions sometimes organize their own smaller meetups. We encourage all our members to reach out to fellow GVers in your area and see if you can make a local event happen. Conferences and other events organized by other groups in your area can also be a good opportunity to meet up and network.