four young people on a waterfront smiling and holding ice cream cones

Our Vision

Founded in 1951, CISV (formerly Children’s International Summer Villages) believes that we can help change the world by providing life-changing experiences and building friendships that last a life-time. We offer an exciting blend of national and international programmes and amazing volunteer opportunities for the young and young at heart.

Every year CISV volunteers around the world organize over 200 international programmes for over 10,000 participants.

CISV Canada is active from coast to coast! From Victoria to Halifax, CISVers are promoting CISV values in their local communities. Each year, youth and adults from these same communities travel to international CISV programmes around the world. CISV has a dynamic national network of young people. This group, called the Junior Branch (JB), is dedicated to organizing regional and national activities for Canadian youth. Each local CISV chapter has an active group of Junior Branch members, open to anyone who wants to be involved (starting at age 10). JB organizes regular activities, community projects, workshops and mini camps. Completely youth-led, Junior Branch applies the CISV goals to the local community while participants learn and develop leadership.

Our Goal

CISV wants a more peaceful future for all people based on mutual respect and intercultural understanding, awareness for global relations and on borderless friendships.

Experiential Learning

‘Learning by doing’, or ‘Experiential Learning’ is simply a way of saying learning through direct, personal experience, rather than from reading books or listening to lectures. It is the basic educational approach of all CISV programmes and this process is referred to as ‘Experiential Learning’. Our educational principles underpin all of our educational programmes and activities.

  • We appreciate the similarities between people and value their differences.
  • We support social justice and equality of opportunity for all.
  • We encourage the resolution of conflict through peaceful means.
  • We support the creation of sustainable solutions to problems relating to our impact upon each other and the natural environment.

Land Acknowledgement

As a national organization CISV Canada operates across various corners of Turtle Island. We respectfully acknowledge we are on the treaty and traditional territory of First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples since time immemorial. We acknowledge many of us at CISV Canada are settlers working and living on traditional territories and we offer our gratitude to Indigenous peoples for their care for, and teachings about, our earth and our relations. May we honour those teachings.

Gender Statement

CISV Canada is proud of our position regarding gender inclusivity, in line with CISV’s content areas of diversity and human rights, CISV Canada has adopted an open and flexible approach to gender binary ratios for delegations. We will strive towards having a mix of genders represented in our delegations. People of all genders are encouraged to apply for all open delegation positions.

Invitations in CISV have historically been assigned according to binary gender definitions. CISV Canada has chosen to adopt a more inclusive approach to filling our delegations. Instead of conforming to the traditional 2 boys / 2 girls split in delegations, we, as a National Association, will strive towards including a mix of genders represented in each delegation. People of all genders are encouraged to apply for all open delegation positions.

As chapters, we commit to selecting delegates that are best suited to the programme , not being restricted by traditional gender definitions. CISV Canada chapters commit to communicate with host NA’s when the mix of a delegation does not conform with the traditional norms of CISV delegations to ensure that our delegates are welcomed and all requirements, including rooming requirements, are met inclusive of all participants.