IVU was launched at an International Vegetarian Congress in 1908, in Dresden, Germany. They were then initially annual, but soon changed to every 3 years. By the mid-1950s the name had changed to the World Vegetarian Congress, held every 2 years. Everything vegan since 1996.

For all events before 2012, see: IVU 1908-2010

From 2012 we began the changeover to an annual IVU World Vegfest- with 40th in 2012 designated as a Congress/Vegfest. The Vegfests are being rotated around IVU's six regions, here's the complete list :