© 2023 Global Citizen Year. All rights reserved.
At Global Citizen Year we provide innovative and immersive learning programs to young people across the world, equipping them with the perspectives, skills, and networks needed to create meaningful impact on local and global issues.
These collective efforts, spanning the last thirteen years and reaching thousands of young people, have inspired us to launch our newest program: Take Action Lab. This immersive learning program recruits promising future changemakers from across the globe and helps them develop the emotional and intellectual toolkit needed to drive social impact throughout their lives.
Take Action Lab’s first site in Cape Town, South Africa, combines the best of our Fellowship and Academy offerings with a programmatic focus on human rights. When we launched the first Take Action Lab in February 2023, we were optimistic that we’d be able to create even more impact for the students we serve, reach a greater number of students, and help students develop future-ready skills to advance community-centered action locally and around the world. Additionally, because the program was designed to scale and replicate, we can launch Take Action Labs anywhere in the world with new regional focuses such as food insecurity, climate, education, and more.
Today, less than a year later, we are seeing incredible results. Through our partnership with researchers from Harvard University, we are seeing that this program — one intentionally developed with input from both students and a global team — is providing Take Action Lab students with a transformative educational experience that helps them build the skills and perspectives needed to be effective changemakers in a globally connected world. Students are experiencing significant growth in skill areas identified as integral to developing workforce agility, global problem-solving, cross-cultural collaboration, and community-building.
In partnership with the Harvard team, we are gaining new insights to help our organization continue to strengthen our programming, use our data to improve and refine our programming in South Africa and prepare to launch Take Action Lab in new countries with new themes.
We’re proud to share this impact report as a demonstration of what is possible when we bring together globally diverse groups of young people for meaningful and immersive learning experiences.
We are truly grateful to our generous donors, whose support of our work throughout Global Citizen Year’s history has been integral to our shared success. Your giving is catalyzing innovative education and transformative community-building around the world.
We also want to thank our team, partners, students, alumni, and the Harvard research team — it is an absolute honor to support this incredible community of young changemakers and world-builders as they grow and connect to make a positive impact on global issues.
REFLECTIONS FROM OUR CEO & CPO
Together, students learned to approach global issues from diverse perspectives and discovered the interrelatedness of their collective hopes for the future. The cultural, linguistic, and experiential diversity of this student community enriches all aspects of learning.
In February 2023, we launched our newest innovation: Take Action Lab, a hybrid virtual and immersive experience for young changemakers from around the world. Informed directly by young people themselves, Take Action Lab was designed to foster self-discovery and global orientation — skills that are foundational to helping young people prepare to make a meaningful impact on both local and global issues.
In partnership with an external research team from Harvard Institute for Quantitative Social Science's Human Flourishing Program, we studied Take Action Lab’s impact during this first semester of programming.
Harvard’s research confirms the impact of our design. From strengthening skills integral to workplace agility to providing opportunities to collaborate across cultural differences, Take Action Lab is building the foundation on which students and alumni can deliver world-changing impact.
Unlocking the potential of tomorrow’s changemakers
98% could better relate to people of different races, nations and religions
96% felt more hopeful about the future of the world
93% were better prepared to make the most of their higher education
OUR STUDENTS
Our pilot program welcomed a diverse class of 100 students from 30+ countries.
HELP TRANSFORM
GLOBAL EDUCATION
Summary Paragraph of Report for PR
Self-Discovery
Global Orientation
Community
Students demonstrated statistically significant improvement in future-ready skill areas:
Our virtual Foundations Course sparked significant student growth even before students traveled abroad.
The Foundations course, which prepares our students to show up in South Africa with self-awareness, humility, and a learning mindset, created statistically significant growth in:
Self-Discovery
Global Orientation
Over 80% of students report developing skills linked to future workplace agility as a result of the apprenticeships in Cape Town.
During their immersion experience, students apprenticed with organizations advancing human rights issues. The vast majority of students reported growth in skills that are widely recognized as key to workplace agility:
Emotional Intelligence 88%
Creativity 84%
Communication 86%
Teamwork 81%
Adaptability 84%
Over 90% of students reported the following shifts in perspective because of their experience with Take Action Lab:
Take Action Lab students return to their communities and higher education journeys with a new view on the world and what they are capable of achieving within it.
Because of Take Action Lab I actually know how I want to use college and my career to create change in the future. I feel more empowered because I have people who believe in me and I have a community of other young people who are going to change the world in their own ways, in their own countries.”
OUR APPROACH
Virtual Foundations Course
Our month-long Foundations course prepares students to show up in South Africa with self-awareness, humility, and a learning mindset.
Empowering the Next Generation of Global Changemakers
October 2023
44% of worker skills will be disrupted over the next five years — with analytical skills, creative thinking, and technological literacy among those in the greatest demand.
- World Economic Forum’s 2023 Future of Jobs Report
100% of Take Action Lab students reported growth in skills needed in tomorrow’s workforce.
TAKE ACTION LAB:
BY THE NUMBERS
In our pilot year of Take Action Lab, 100 students from around the world joined our semester-long immersive learning program in Cape Town, South Africa. Through a research-backed curriculum, cultural immersion experiences, and apprenticeships with organizations advancing human rights issues, students built foundational leadership and collaboration skills and brought new ways of collective problem-solving to their home communities.
Because of Take Action Lab, I've learned to be more confident in myself and in what I want to pursue for my career. This global community has taught me so much about how to see things from different lenses.”
Celebrating Our Stellar Apprenticeship Partners
AfriSTem
Alfa School
Excella
Academy
Second Chance Outreach
The Refugee Legal and Advocacy Centre
Education is about more than literacy and numeracy.
It is also about citizenry.”
- Ban Ki Moon, United Nations Secretary-General (2012)
87% of students reported that Take Action Lab helped them develop civic awareness and their understanding of global issues.
Connecting emerging changemakers from around the world with the skills, networks and resources to affect transformative change locally and globally
I had the opportunity to be an apprentice at Bush Radio 89.5 FM, the oldest community radio project in Africa. Through it, I’ve discovered the immense power and impact of amplifying others' stories. It's been a life changing experience.”
Madhav & Anita: Voicing human rights stories on community radio
Rayan: Equipping refugees
with the digital skills to
find employment
At my apprenticeship I had the privilege to work with refugees seeking employment. I provided support with job-searching, CVs, and also co-facilitated computer classes. It was a great match because I plan to major in computer science in college.”
Kurt & Anushka: Joining forces with the grandmas of Cape Town to combat HIV/AIDS
My apprenticeship was with Grandmothers Against Poverty and AIDS. I got to work alongside the grandmas on community issues like food insecurity, sexual violence, and lack of resources for the elderly. This experience has really informed the work I aspire to do as a healthcare professional in the future.”
Virtual Foundations Course
Our month-long Foundations course prepares students to show up in South Africa with self-awareness, humility, and a learning mindset.
Global Student Community
Students benefit from a diversity of perspectives and learn to live together in community while in Cape Town.
Apprenticeships Advancing Human Rights Issues
Students get on-the-ground experience working with organizations advancing human rights issues – from food security to girls’ empowerment.
Cultural Immersion & Curriculum
Cultural excursions and guest speakers provide opportunities for students to deepen their understanding of South Africa and all its complexities.
Meaning Making & Reflection
Meaning making and reflection are built into Take Action Lab to support students developing inter-relatedness, community and shared understandings of global challenges and solutions.
Lifelong Alumni Network
Upon graduating, students join our alumni network that provides collaboration and connections to build a more just, equitable, and sustainable world.
98% of Take Action Lab students reported feeling connected to their cohort peers following the program.
As the world faces a new set of global challenges, education systems will become a central part of the solution, helping future generations embrace global mindsets and skill sets.”
- Google for Education: Future of Education Trend Forecast Report (2022)
100% of Take Action Lab students indicate that living and working in a diverse society is a strength of theirs following the completion of the program.
OUR IMPACT
91% felt Take Action Lab contributed to their knowledge of people from different races and cultures
Take Action Lab opened my eyes to a lot of things that you never see in the States. It's sparked a fire in me. I've improved my problem-solving skills and have grown immensely as a person.”
OUR TEAM
The Global Citizen Year staff and board are committed to working with a growing community of learners, supporters, and changemakers to address the most pressing global challenges of our time.
Board of Directors
Apply to join the next semester of Take Action Lab
Learn how you can bring Global Citizen Year’s programs to your college, university, or organization
Make a gift to support Take Action Lab and Global Citizen Year’s educational programs
In February 2023, Global Citizen Year launched Take Action Lab — a hybrid virtual and immersive educational experience based in South Africa to equip young changemakers with the workplace agility skills, networks and global orientation needed to advance human rights causes around the world. Now, through a partnership with a research team from Harvard Business School’s Human Flourishing Program, we’re seeing the results of Take Action Lab’s innovative model. 100% of responding students developed key skills for living and working in a diverse society, 93% could better relate across racial and cultural differences and 96% felt more hopeful about the future. Global Citizen Year recently released a new report detailing their findings and sharing stories from the first cohort of students to participate in this transformative educational opportunity.
100
30+
50+
Students
Countries
Languages
Global Student Community
Students benefit from a diversity of perspectives and learn to live together in community while in Cape Town.
Apprenticeships Advancing Human Rights Issues
Students get on-the-ground experience working with organizations advancing human rights issues – from food security to girls’ empowerment.
Cultural Immersion & Curriculum
Cultural excursions and guest speakers provide opportunities for students to deepen their understanding of South Africa and all its complexities.
Meaning Making & Reflection
Meaning making and reflection are built into Take Action Lab to support students developing a deeper understanding of community and the interrelatedness of our global challenges and solutions.
Lifelong Alumni Network
Upon graduating, students join our alumni network that provides collaboration and connections to build a more just, equitable, and sustainable world.
STUDENTS
PARTNERS
SUPPORTERS
Staff photo taken February 2023
Pictured from left to right: Aziza Musa, Diana Akokpari, Rocio Bravo, Leo Chen, Sophia Ozenbaugh, Marc Seidel, Leah Mesh-Ferguson, Gaby Rodriguez, Ana Peña, David Arenas, Katie Markle, Jennifer Lofing Boyle, Holly Carmichael Djang, Odiaka Gonzalez, Erin Lewellen, Fernando Martinez, Molly Weissman, Carla Emanuele, Archana Rao, Elikem Tomety Archer, Kendall Valentin, Patricia Allen, and Sahar Thomson.
Additional staff not pictured: Dora Lee, Jamie Robinson, Jedial Shalom, Rebecca Warren, Sharon Meyer, and Tessa Ware.
Learn More about our Team
1625 Clay Street, Suite 400, Oakland, CA 94612
info@globalcitizenyear.org
415-963-9293
Press Inquiries: media@globalcitizenyear.org