Global Citizen Year Information

Global Citizen Year is launching a new generation with the perspectives, skills and networks to solve humanity’s most urgent challenges. Each year we recruit a diverse corps of talented young people from across the globe. Using the formative transition into adulthood, we help them shape their values, identity, and purpose in ways that classroom learning alone cannot. Ultimately — in partnership with colleges, companies, and communities — we are unleashing a critical mass to build a more just, equitable, and sustainable world. Our current program offering is a gap semester abroad called Take Action Lab. While immersing in a new culture, Take Action Lab students apprentice with experienced changemakers addressing global challenges. Students learn to tackle global issues from the ground up by working alongside local experts advancing human rights, sustainability, and more. Through TAL, students expand their awareness of both global issues and their own sense of purpose, ultimately fueling a future of positive impact. Early impact data shows that our experiences shape lives in ways that traditional schooling does not. Our 1900+ alumni are thriving in college and careers. Investments from funders and partners support our commitment to equity and inclusion: >80% of participants receive need-based financial aid, >50% self-identify as BIPOC and >50% come from outside the U.S. We've built a talented global team, advisory council, & board of directors and in 2021 were named the #1 place to work in the U.S. by Outside Magazine. Our work has been featured in forums from PBS, NBC and The Chronicle of Higher Education and by thought leaders including Katie Couric and Nicholas Kristof. In 2021, in recognition of our progress and potential, we received a $12 million gift from MacKenzie Scott. Today, we’re scaling our model to the size of what’s needed: a new rite of passage that equips the next generation with the curiosity, conviction & courage our world needs now.