The Global Youth Village started in the summer of 1979 with 20 participants and has grown over the last 40 years to include 5000 alumni from over 105 different countries. Can a summer program change lives and perspectives? Absolutely! Here are some of the highlights.
1979 – Legacy International founded and Global Youth Village starts
1980’s – Global Youth Village grows; alumni draft honor system, cabins and classrooms built. Youth leadership and cross-cultural relations curriculums developed. Many young people from Israel, Palestine, Northern Ireland, Vietnamese and Cambodian refugees join us. Youth- driven musicals In Our Hands and Peace Child Middle East produced and performed. Youth Environment and Service program launched. Yes Changing Tides in the Mediterranean Conference in Cordoba Spain in 1986 leads to s documentary. Another documentary produced called “Planting Seeds for Peace” featuring the stories of Israelis Jewish and Palestinian teens traveling to 3 summer camps in the US for dialogue discussions with American teens. Both of these documentaries aired on the Discovery Channel.
1990’s – The Berlin Wall comes down. Anonymous donations coupled with funding from the Open Society Institute brings young people from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, Moldova, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Bosnia- Herzegovina, Albania, Kosovo, and Macedonia to GYV. We take the youth leadership curriculums to NYC schools and Global Youth Village includes more and more young people in environmental and youth engagement activities. Over 300 students from across Nigeria get their first taste of the USA and social responsibility. The Dialogue curriculums begin to go deeper as young people join us from the Balkans. Interfaith Dialogue is a key theme. The Global Music Workshop features young ethnomusicologists teaching new rhythms.
2000-2013 – GYV builds bridges to Muslim majority countries. GYV hosts 350 students from Indonesia and 400 students from Iraq. Universal values becomes the bedrock for building common ground. We build stronger partnerships with US organizations such as Summer Search, St Labre Indian School, Centerpole Foundation, Commonwealth Catholic Charities, and inner city schools across country. The LivingSidebySide® curriculum (LSBS) codifies our dialogue and community building curriculums and new Training of Trainers Programs are developed and implemented abroad.
2013-2018 – The artist in residence program begins and Charles Williams Vocal Coach and a primary contributor to the In Our Hands Musical comes back to GYV. GYV starts hosting groups of students from Saudi Arabia and expands the ESL workshops. Twenty-Six Yemeni refugees join us for 9 weeks in the summer of 2017, as they are unable to return home due to war. GYV teams up with US Embassies in Algeria and Egypt to provide leadership training to Access program graduates. Legacy expands its youth programming off campus with TechGirls, American Youth Leadership Program Cyprus and Social Cohesion exchange with the U.K.
2019 – BUILDING A BRIGHT FUTURE – GYV age span increases to include 19 year olds and a special session added to include 13-14 year olds. We are inviting alumni (over 18) to come and teach short workshops as part of the Global Faces of Leadership anniversary series. Join us in 2019