All volunteer fairs in Belgium: the overview for 2026 and 2027

A volunteer fair is the shortest route between someone who wants to help and an organisation looking for hands. One afternoon, dozens of stands, and people you would otherwise never have reached.

And autumn 2026 will be exceptionally busy. Below we list all confirmed fairs in Belgium. From September 2026 to July 2027. Whether you are looking for a stand or just want to take a look, you will discover exactly where and when here. Are you an organisation? Make sure your vacancies are online before you head to a fair, because that is what people look for after their visit.

Are you organising a fair yourself that is not listed here? Let us know via liam@giveaday.eu, and we will add it.

The (provisionally) confirmed dates

Nine fairs with a confirmed date. Spread across Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia.

What you can expect per fair

Antwerp, 20 September 2026. Antwerp Volunteer Point is organising the Volunteer Fair "Discover and do!" during Car-Free Antwerp, from 13:00 to 17:00 in and around the Zuiderpershuis. Participation is free for organisations. You can choose between an indoor stand in the Zuiderpershuis or an outdoor stand with a gazebo on the Waalsekaai. Setting up is possible from 11:00. Between 12:00 and 13:00 there will be a networking moment for participating organisations.

Please note the accessibility: the location is within the low-emission zone and the car-free zone. Between 10:00 and 18:00 you cannot get there by car. All info and registration via https://www.antwerpen.be/info/6a17157dae0fb692f26420e6/schrijf-je-organisatie-in-voor-de-vrijwilligersmarkt-ontdek-en-doe.

Leuven, 26 September 2026. The Volunteer Fair runs continuously between 10:00 and 12:30 in Hal 5 in Kessel-Lo. You will get to know around 45 Leuven-based organisations looking for volunteers. From culture, leisure and youth work to care, sustainability and solidarity. More info via https://leuven.be/vrijwilligerswerkbeurs.

Sint-Niklaas, 14 October 2026. Already the fifth edition of the Waasland Health and Welfare Volunteer Fair. An evening fair from 18:30 to 20:30 in 't Bau-Huis. A regional fair for the entire Waasland area, organised by Primary Care Zone Waasland. Whether you have a few hours a week to spare or are looking for a long-term commitment, the options are broad. More info via https://www.ontdeksintniklaas.be/nl/agenda/alle-resultaten/vrijwilligersbeurs-gezondheid-en-welzijn-waasland-0.

Brussels, 12 November 2026. Brussels Volunteer Support Centre is holding its Volunteer Market in Muntpunt, continuously from 10:30 to 15:00. You will get to know Dutch-speaking organisations in Brussels looking for volunteers. The focus is on accessible volunteering, including for newcomers and non-native speakers learning Dutch. Entrance is free and registration is not required, just drop by. More info via https://www.steunpuntvrijwilligerswerk.be/kalender/vrijwilligersmarkt.

Namur, 21 November 2026. The second edition of the Village du Volontariat, from 13:00 to 17:00 at La Bourse on the place d'Armes. Around twenty Namur associations will present their activities through meetings, testimonials and exchange. Free and open to all. A collaboration between the Ville de Namur and the Plateforme francophone du Volontariat. More info via https://www.levolontariat.be/events/29-novembre-village-du-volontariat-namur.

Kortrijk, 29 November 2026. The very first Volunteer Fair of Kortrijk, entitled "Ik ben vrij gewild, en gie?", in Depart.

The 70 free stand spaces are now fully booked. Very impressive for a first edition. Would you still like to be there as an organisation? You can sign up for the waiting list via https://www.kortrijk.be/schrijf-je-in-voor-de-vrijwilligersbeurs. If an organisation drops out, they will contact you.

Brussels, 3 December 2026. The Marché du Bénévolat en Action Sociale. From 14:00 to 18:00 in GC Pianofabriek in Saint-Gilles, close to the Halle Gate and the South Station. The Plateforme francophone du Volontariat is organising this fair to mark the tenth anniversary of the VolontariAS network, with a focus on the social sector. Admission is open and free for anyone interested in volunteering. Brussels organisations active in social action can participate for free, but registration is mandatory and the number of stands is limited. More info via https://www.levolontariat.be/volontarias-agenda.

Bruges, 6 March 2027. The Volunteer Centre team of the City of Bruges is organising its volunteer fair, as is annual tradition, during Volunteer Week. In the Jan Garemijnzaal of the Stadshallen, beneath the iconic Belfry, you can have an introductory chat with one of the forty volunteer organisations from the area between 13:00 and 17:00. Everyone is welcome. Registrations for organisations are not yet open, so keep an eye on brugge.be.

Hasselt, 18 April 2027. The Hasselt volunteer fair is biennial, and this will be the third edition. It takes place at the Centrale Werkplaatsen. In the intervening years, Hasselt organises a networking event instead of a full fair. The city announced the date via https://www.hasselt.be/nl/vrijwilligersbeurs-30-november-2025.

Conferences and networking events

In addition to the fairs, there are events aimed at professionals: coordinators, policymakers and organisations.

Connect & Act, the National Volunteering Congress, on Tuesday 16 March 2027. Save the date now. Connect & Act is the largest knowledge and networking event for volunteering in Belgium. Organised by Give a Day, Hitch and ToolBox, and made possible by BNP Paribas Fortis. The congress grew from 450 participants in 2024 to more than 600 in 2026. For 2027 we are two weeks earlier in the year, so align your spring planning accordingly. Programme and registration will follow via connectandact.be.

National Volunteering Conference, 30 November 2026 in Brussels. The three communities in Belgium and the High Council for Volunteering invite you to Amazone in Brussels. The International Year of Volunteers is the time to look forward. That is exactly what this day does: exchange, new insights and concrete steps to secure the future of volunteering. Not a matchmaking fair, but a policy moment. More info via the agenda on UiTinVlaanderen.

Vis ma vie de bénévole, 9 to 22 November 2026. A major discovery campaign by the Plateforme francophone du Volontariat, for two weeks throughout the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles. Participating associations open their doors so that citizens can experience volunteering first-hand. Through an immersion of a few hours, a one-off activity or just a chat. The goal is to let people feel what commitment means and thus attract new volunteers. Associations and interested parties can already block the dates; guidance and more info will follow in the coming months via levolontariat.be.

Fairs that do not have a date yet

These cities usually organise an annual or biennial fair, but have not announced anything for 2027 yet. So be sure to keep a close eye on their channels.

Ghent. An annual city fair. In 2025 on 27 April in the UFO building, with around 70 organisations and 900 visitors. A new edition in the spring of 2027 is likely, with an announcement via stad.gent.

Mechelen. Annual fair of the Volunteer Point. In 2025 it became an XL edition, the Volunteer Festival on 9 and 10 May, because Mechelen was the European Volunteering Capital. No date has been published yet for 2026 and 2027.

Sint-Truiden and Nieuwerkerken. The very first edition of the "Sympathiek" fair took place on 16 April 2026, with around 450 visitors and 45 exhibitors. The organisers announced they would repeat it every year or every two years.

Nivelles. The Salon du Volontariat is biennial. The tenth edition was on 9 October 2025, so the next one will presumably fall in autumn 2027.

The province of Liège also deserves a footnote: the Salon du Volontariat held its seventeenth edition on 13 and 14 March 2026, but will from now on be biennial. The next edition will therefore take place in 2028. In the intervening years, the province is organising a Quinzaine du Volontariat dedicated to associations.

Volunteer Week 2027: from 27 February to 7 March

That week is already confirmed, and the Bruges fair falls right in the middle on Saturday 6 March. Several local fairs usually cluster around Volunteer Week, including the one in Ghent. Other cities announce their dates four to eight weeks in advance, so expect those announcements starting in December 2026 and January 2027.

Why there are so many fairs this year

That is no coincidence. With resolution A/RES/78/127, the United Nations General Assembly declared 2026 as the International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development. That year officially kicked off on International Volunteer Day on 5 December 2025.

The result is visible in this calendar: an unusually high number of first editions. Kortrijk is organising its very first fair, Sint-Truiden and Nieuwerkerken did so earlier this year. Towns and municipalities are seizing the momentum to put volunteering on the local map.

What you should do now

Are you an organisation or association? See which fair suits your region and request a stand. The large fairs work with a registration deadline, often weeks or months in advance. And make sure your vacancies are online before you go: a conversation at a fair almost always ends with "where can I find that?".

Are you a local authority? The autumn fairs coincide with the national recruitment campaign around the International Year of Volunteers. This is an opportunity to align your local communication and your fair, instead of running them separately.

Do you want to become a volunteer yourself? Go take a look. A fair is the easiest way to meet dozens of organisations in one afternoon without making any commitments. If you prefer to find something immediately from home, you can search on our platform by interest and location.

Are you organising a fair that is not listed here yet?

Are you organising a volunteer fair, a volunteer market or a networking event that is not in this list? Or do you know of one? Send us the date, the location and a link to liam@giveaday.eu and we will add it. This way, this overview will be complete for everyone who is searching.

This also applies to the cities above that do not have a date yet. As soon as you set it, let us know, and your fair will immediately move to the confirmed list.

Times and locations are subject to change. Please verify shortly before the event via the organiser's official source.

Last updated: August 2026.