Our Mission
To connect youth around the world to each other and to their purpose.
At GYEC, we believe that youth have a two-fold, moral purpose.
Contribute to their own development as productive human beings in society. Youth do this through education, the result of which, we hope, is that they find meaningful and engaging work that allows them to earn a living wage.
Contribute to the betterment of their local and global communities. Youth become less concerned about how much and how fast they’ll earn their living and become more oriented to how they might offer their time, talent, treasure, and training in service to humanity.
What's in a name?
For us, a lot. While "Global Youth for Education and Change" doesn't necessarily roll off the tongue, it speaks to the heart of our work. We serve youth globally—everyone from our next door neighbors to our friends across oceans and on different continents. (That doesn't mean we try to serve everyone. Nor do we try to serve them all at once.)
We serve youth using education as our intervention of choice. But for us, education isn’t about setting up schools, colleges, or universities. Our definition of education starts at the root of the word, educe. We seek to "draw forth" or "bring out" the potential in all of the youth we serve.
We believe all youth have the inherent capacity to fulfill their two-fold purpose. They are endowed with the potential to improve their lives and the ability to make the world a better place. And it's our job to help them do both.
As far as change is concerned, again, we return to purpose. If youth are to improve their lives and better the world, then the change we wish to see must be focused on both the individual and community spheres. That said, the measure of our success is the extent to which youth contribute to their own well-being and the well-being of the communities in which they live and work.