Peace Corps Week

February 28 - March 6, 2021

Peace Corps Week commemorates President John F. Kennedy’s establishment of the agency on March 1, 1961, and celebrates all the ways that Peace Corps makes a difference at home and abroad.

Theme: 60 Years of Service

Peace Corps Through the Decades: Photos and timeline

Sixty years after its founding, the Peace Corps’ mission to promote world peace and friendship remains more relevant than ever. The Peace Corps, at its core, is about celebrating diversity around the world, building relationships and opportunity, and fostering equity and inclusion.

Since 1961, more than 241,000 Americans have served our country and the global community as Peace Corps Volunteers, living and working alongside local leaders to catalyze change. After Volunteers complete their service, they return to the United States with new sets of skills, deep knowledge of other cultures and global issues, and long-lasting relationships with people from their host countries.

Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) continue their service by promoting awareness of other cultures and global issues with friends, family, and the American public; maintaining relationships with colleagues and friends from the countries where they served; and sustaining their commitment to volunteerism and public service.

This Peace Corps Week, we invite the world to celebrate six decades of the Peace Corps, and we call upon RPCVs to reaffirm their commitment to service, to building bridges between individuals of all backgrounds, and to inspiring a new generation of global citizens.

We also invite returned Peace Corps Volunteers - and those who know them - to tell the story of how RPCVs usher in innovative solutions to collective problems in their communities at home in the United States. See below for ways you can join the celebrations and share your stories of service.

Press release: The Peace Corps Celebrates 60th Anniversary

Attend an event

See all Peace Corps Week events

Make it social

RPCVs
Share on social
Post your photos of faces and places from service and tag #RepYourDecade #PeaceCorpsWeek.
RPCVs
Share on social
Share how the knowledge, skills, and abilities you gained during your Peace Corps service have impacted your career and community here at home. #RPCVImpact #PeaceCorpsWeek

Create the leaders of tomorrow

RPCVs • Educators
Speakers Match
Inspire the next generation of global citizens! RPCVs can visit classrooms and community groups to introduce young learners to customs, beliefs, and adventures from around the world.
Educators
Teach a lesson plan
Use our resources to bring the Peace Corps experience to life for your students and help build their global competence.

Explore stories of service