Program Solutions

The Challenge We Face

We live in a complex, diverse, hyper-connected, and interdependent world where we face global challenges relating to economy, social justice and equity.  Deep divides across race, religion, culture, nationality, socioeconomics, and more can inhibit people and communities from working together to address these challenges, create solutions, and develop to their fullest human potential.

What separates us is often fear, mistrust, and  ignorance. What unites us is the recognition of our connectedness, the power of our communal action and genuine respect for our differences as part of  our shared humanity.  When we break through the barriers that seem to separate us and find the bridges that can connect us, we become agents of change.

The United Nations created Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a “blueprint for the future”. These goals target education, health,  environment, security, economy, and equity for  all. To achieve change, the UN calls for radical  collaboration and partnerships among people and across nations.

United Planet Solutions

Since 2001, United Planet has been living the vision articulated by the United Nations, an organization built on the cultivation of trust, respect, understanding, and empathy. United Planet creates true partnerships between individuals, communities and organizations.

The foundation of a true partnership is rooted in shared values, a common purpose, and inclusivity.  Critical thinking, creative problem-solving, systems  thinking, collaboration, digital literacy and cross cultural/global competencies, are essential attributes to build this foundation. Yet, traditional approaches to formal education systems are slow to reform. Students of all ages can lack the  opportunities and pathways to develop the skills for global citizen leadership; this is especially so in under-represented groups.

United Planet builds partnerships across different communities,  cultivates 21^st-century skills,  and engages people as active citizens in building a safer, more sustainable, and United Planet.

At United Planet, we believe that the answer lies first in forging curated relationships between and among peoples – developed around shared purpose and passions as the foundation for a more united  planet. We call this Relational Diplomacy, and it is at the heart of our program developments.

United Planet can trace its roots back to 1949, offering the earliest gap year through the International Cultural Youth Exchange organization.  To date, United Planet has engaged over 20,000 volunteers and leaders of all ages in a holistic range of local, online, and international programs. These committed  people have devoted over two million community service hours, valued at over $57 million dollars.  Even conservatively, we estimate this has a positive impact on more than one million people. We want to do more to reach into and support groups  currently under-represented in our programs.  Scholarships are available to help make our  programs accessible to all.

United Planet Programs

Studies show that just 12 minutes of positive interaction between people can eliminate their stereotypical thinking. United Planet’s programs help create a new vision for our world – one of peace, productive action, and shared understanding.

Quest Programs offer authentic, immersive volunteer, service-learning, internship, gap year, and leadership development opportunities from one week to one year in over 30 countries. Volunteers experience and appreciate the world beyond their neighborhood and join a global community, uniting the planet one relationship at a time. Quests volunteers engage deeply in the community they join and experience its culture first-hand as they learn, work, serve  and collaborate with local people. United Planet provides a high level of support before, during and after the Quest,  ensuring that each Quest is safe, fulfilling and memorable.

Virtual Internships and Virtual Community Projects offer the opportunities for individuals, groups, and classrooms to work directly on important projects with nonprofits and social enterprises in over 25 countries. When students and adult learners apply their learning to making a difference with “real-life” organizations facing an array community challenges, from Mali to Tanzania, Costa Rica to Honduras, Jordan and Iraq, Japan to Vietnam, and beyond, they gain exposure to diverse career pathways, learn about the relevancy of their studies, the importance of their agency, and the critical nature of global collaboration and community. Students not only build soft-skills, 21st century skills, global competency, and become more engaged learners, but they also do better academically and become better prepared for college and career success.

Empowered to Educate™ strives to catalyze women as changemakers in education through empowering the next generation of rising global women leaders in education to make their marks on the increase of girls’ and women’s education globally. This mission is founded on the theory of relational diplomacy which promotes the power of individuals as relational diplomats and change makers. Further, it recognizes the catalytic importance of women’s education and women educators in the global change process.

Context:

Despite extensive international and national efforts, over half of children out of school are girls and of the world’s 774 million illiterate adults, 2/3 are women. Further, among the world’s 123 million illiterate youth, 76 million are female. These gender disparities have remained persistent, with little change over time. Education for women, and the resulting gender equality brought about via increased education levels, has several multiplier effects which impact future opportunities for economic growth, good health, well-being and poverty reduction. If all mothers completed primary education, maternal deaths would be reduced by two-thirds, saving 98,000 lives. If all women had a primary education, there would be 15% fewer child deaths and if all women had a secondary education, child deaths would be cut in half, saving 3 million lives. If all women had a primary education, 1.7 million children would be saved from stunting from malnutrition. If all women had a secondary education, 12 million children would be saved from stunting from malnutrition. If all girls had a primary education, there would be 14% fewer child marriages and if all girls had a secondary education, there would be two-thirds fewer child marriages.  Furthermore, the chance of a young pregnancy drops if the women receive education. Education also narrows the pay gap between men and women and increases the potential for women to find work.

Educators and teachers hold the keys to providing the foundational education that is critical for women and girls. In addition to providing classroom instruction, these teachers serve as role models, mentors, life coaches, cheerleaders and so much more. Female educators can be especially important to girl students, and stories abound of the impact that such leaders have had on the lives of their young protegees. Too often, the important and in fact innovative educational programs which are run by these female teachers stay below the radar screen and never reach the national, regional or global stages. The relative obscurity of the teacher and her innovative approaches mean that the teachers themselves are unrecognized for what they have done, and might continue to do on a larger stage, and have denied the global educational system access to these important programs. RDI aims to address this gap.

Key Assumptions

1. That a network of practitioners, grassroots leaders, academic institutions, change makers, policy makers and leaders in the fields of relational diplomacy and global education can be a force for change.
2. That individuals hold the power for global change and that this power can be accelerated through targeted and strategic recognition.
3. That the foundational work which defines the concept of relational diplomacy is a cornerstone of the movement to support the emergence of global women educators.
4. The three key program elements of recognition, replication and research will be important in accomplishing RDI’s mission.
5. That the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal #4 – Quality Education, Goal #5 – Gender Equality and Goal #17 – Partnerships to Achieve the Goal provide the overarching framework for RDI’s program.

Empowered to Educate™ envisions a world where, through rising women educators, global conditions for women have improved. Empowered to Educate™ recognizes, inspires and mobilizes emerging female leaders who harness the power of education to build a more united planet.