YL APPROACH
Today’s young generation is different.
The idea is not to turn us into your kind of adults. But into better adults than you have been.
Adora, age 14
From age 13-18
At age 13
Since age 9
Craig has action teams at 16,000 schools, healing local communities, raising millions for partner villages abroad, building fair trade bridges. It began with a 3 min talk in class, asking who will help, and 12 hands went up.
Since age 12
Since age 6
Since age 9
Since age 13
YOUTH LEADERSHIP
“(Training) Young people as agents of change in their communities”
has been part of civic education in North America for 50 years, is present at school, in public space and media. In action, it means changing lives, laws, industries, learning, laws and industries, often at record scale and outperforming adult organizations.
In today’s context of global learning, social media and escalating crisis, teen hero*ines pop up by the 1,000s all over the continent! The examples above are not anomalies. YL tells you 100s of stories with model solutions replicable by teens everywhere – even together with these hero*ines, connected via video, workshops and summer camps.
It’s exactly what the world needs, what makes our hearts sing, and trains an entire young generation as able, active, caring citizens of the emerging collaborative society. Rejoice, learn more about it and be part, activate youth around you.
We make it simple, swift, enjoyable and rewarding!
“I knew that young people are doing stuff, but this is sensational. I am floored by the potentials. This should be at all schools.”
Our Mission
OUR MISSION is to spark and amplify Youth Leadership
“(training) young people as agents of social change in their communities”
by making it omni-present in our daily lives at home, school, online, in media and public, in close partnership with today’s outstanding young and adult changemakers;
to bring their uplifting solution stories, methods and support services to our global young generation;
and to their adult allies : citizens, parents, key professionals like teachers, journalists, librarians, city councillors and civil society sharing our core purpose of activating able, active, caring citizens;
so that they can get started taking action with flying banners – their hands, hearts and minds full of vision, tools, coaches, community and project partners from day one;
and make high tangible impact to protect what they love, restore the world a peace, bliss and abundance they wish to see, and change lives, land, learning, laws and industries at record pace and scale;
like their hero*ine peers – and together with them, in real-time collaboration;
thereby also giving today’s grand changemakers the support that they deserve to take their initiatives to greater inter/national scale.
Our Name
Youth Leadership has been part of civic education n North America for 50 years. En masse, it is a game changer for civilization. We want the phenomenon to unfold its greatest potentials for humanity and Life on Earth, and that people do not dilute like they did with the 60s, with sustainability, social entrepreneurship and social business, or to confuse it with youth participation, youth voice, protest or “inspirational speakers”. Youth Leadership changes lives, land, learning, laws and industries through projects with immediate tangible trackable change. That is the benchmark. Anything less is chickenpoop, sustains unnecessary suffering and extinction of 150 species every single day. Hence, we emphasize that YL stands for High Impact Youth Leadership, which entails the upgrade to the needed next-level citizen model of Able Active Caring Citizens that learn and implement humanity’s finest solutions at local level.
Hence, our name – YOUTH-LEADER
… in service to the cause; expert practitioners call our work “the epitome of youth leadership”
… in service to support those who masterfully embody it and fire all of us up to unlock our Inner Hero*ines like they do. We seek to help young hero*ines featured in our media by boosting their reach and activating people to contribute to their ventures.
… in service to all their adult allies to activate youth and make impact beyond their wildest dreams, harnessing all their resources and relations.
... in service to all youth wishing to turn their love for people and planet into massive action, honoring their commitment with all sorts of awesome benefits.
– – – –
YL activities, badges and certificates stand for true grit and the noble, virtuous, bold and badass character required to achieve humanity’s grand common dream – a world of peace, bliss and abundance for all – as embodied by the finest spirits walking the planet today, true to their slogans.
“We set out to change the public image of the young, angry activist – to giving all that we have, and all that we are, for everything we love.” – Ocean Robbins, co-founder of YES! Youth for Environmental Sanity, 1990
“Banish the terms hopeless and impossible from your vocabulary. We can change the world.” – Craig Kielburger, WE
“Stop being boring. Start being awesome.” – Kid President
“No matter what color, gender or creed, all honorable people belong to the same tribe.” – Tubulls Chaliha
Now get up, take your role and live why you have come to this planet at this special time.
We have a planet to save, and we have not come to fail. #bemoreawesome
REACHING ALL YOUTH
… and involving them in changemaking activities – in the one place where all youth gather daily for ten years. The only space and time in their lives that they can learn to create a good world and upgrade as a generation of able, active, caring citizens by the time they graduate, en masse.
§1 The Purpose of Schooling
The purpose of schooling is to unfold all of students’ precious talents, and to nurture an excellent degree of faculty of judgement, sound knowledge and skills.
The goal has to be the education of personalities that are able to strongly resist the ideology of nazism and all political ideologies aiming at a rule of force, and to form societal life on the basis of democracy, peace, liberty, human dignity, gender equality, and in harmony with nature and environment.
These personalities must be aware of their responsibility towards the general public, and their demeanor must be defined by the recognition of equal rights for all people, the respect of all honest conviction, and the recognition of the necessity for continuous development of societal conditions, and the peaceful agreements between peoples.
Antiquity, Christianity and the essential societal movements for development of humanism, liberty and democracy shall be incorporated.
How are adult generations doing ... after 70 years of 'subject teaching'?
Here is the answer.
The numbers
upcoming
… and they have no clue how to really change it.
Or do citizens know? So why don’t they do it? Maybe, because they don’t have the Heart to do it. And that is the worst ‘number’ of all. And this differs the new young generation. And they have to become different from adult generations (that just emerged from millenia of slavery and subjugation in monarchies and dictatorships and of violent parenting).
This is what YL and youth leadership en masse achieve. Your Heart, the greater brain, knows what to do. Just obey and do it. Follow _ Your _ Heart.
The new, succeeding model of the able, active, caring citizen is obviously embodied by today’s teenage hero*ines. The factors nurturing the mind- and do-set are known, proven and common sense. Many of them live it at school at student clubs.
The solutions exist. Even the support networks are in place. What’s needed now is the demand. The problem is, the people don’t know. even governments don’t.
Can you imagine that students grow up in real-time cooperation with today’s Gandhis and Gryffindores,
implementing high impact solutions, change lives, laws, industry and learning culture at record pace – like their hero*ine peers, and with them?
WE Days unite students from 18,000 schools taking local and global actions, generating $100 million € value each year. Craig and WE have demonstrated how to make ‘creating a good world for all’ part of learning culture at 18,000 schools, powered by students. It’s simple.
“Never in human history have teachers been this important.”
“Teachers are young people’s most important ally. They decide, if we get a chance to learn how to create a good world for all, or not.” – Craig Kielburger, WE
“Craig and WE have demonstrated that this mix of Global / Service Learning works at all schools. With YL, we help each of you make this happen at your region’s schools and beyond, adding social entrepreneurship, self-organization with 100+ hero*ines, and more – with ease, fun, aligned with the Purpose of Schooling, rich benefits for learning culture, for everyone involved – and with enormous impact like today’s teen hero*ines make.” – Eric Schneider, YL
AT SCHOOL, TEENS ORGANIZE AS
CHANGEMAKER STUDENT CLUBS
Teachers use activities in class to inspire and create worldview.
But 90+% of action happens self-organized by students.
Ana’s Watershed Warriors teach 7th graders at 5 schools to restore a watershed, like they did as a 7th grade biology project, from research to field trip
Role Models
form 80% of human behavior. They are your greatest asset in trans-formational learning.
Did you know?
Are you using it?
“The most inspirational videos I have ever seen. They make me feel I want to get up and do something, too.”
High Impact Student Clubs
… are no lame obligatory clubs “where you chill”.
Changemaker Students Clubs are formed with the intention to change lives, laws and industries. They unite youth on fire to do good for people and planet, set ambitious goals, and act with passion like “athletes”. Typical is a wide scope of causes, activities, partners, media work and FUN!
This is a special “Sport”. Not everybody wants to play it, but like all passionate ATHLETES, EVERYBODY respects them. People like to watch, cheer, hi5 and support them – in this case, by buying the world’s best self-made lemonAID, brownies and participating in activities on occasion. They also ask them for help with class projects.
In North America, student clubs mean action! #MakeSchoolAwesome
Student Companies,
or Entrepreneurial Clubs,
as they are called in Scandinavia, are much appreciated by teachers and politicians. However, options to run relevant business ventures are rather limited, and little inspirational for many youth. In contrast, Social Business und Social Entrepreneurship offer a practically unlimited scope of causes, activities, partner constellations, use of art and creativity. And the experience of progress and impact is pure bliss!
NAMASTE NEPAL run holistic develop-ment programs for Gati, in the Himalaya, with schools, reforestation, health camp, new crops, and annual work visit. After an earthquake, only the school remained intact, as an icon of hope for the entire valley. NN are building schools in all 7 villages now, and call on you to join the adventure!
TEAM UP WITH ADULT CHANGEMAKERS
to take their solutions to inter/national scale.
Project Partners
We can help Raabia and rangers protect the Serengeti, support development programs, and ex-perience progress and success.
- fundraising, activate partners
- live meet-ups
- bring in own ideas
- achieve milestones
- guest and volunteer visits
Changemakers
collaborate in real-time with schools and youth that contribute their superpowers, spirit and TIME.
- Mary “Top 10 landscape designer of all time” boosts biodiversity with simple steps
- Holly leads the global Stop Street Harassment campaign
- Ocean plays with White Sharks and unites us to protect them
- John restores devastated ecosystems
- Polly and Jojo make Ecocide a Crime Against Peace
78% of Teachers
in WE Schools programs feel professionally more fulfilled.
82% discover new leadership skills in their students.
89% of students experience higher self-confidence.
%
OF WE STUDENTS VOLUNTEER after school
Fascinating.
Such youth are rare on the planet. But whoever sees it loves it, and wishes to see it in their own city. All of us can learn from 40 years of know-how from North America, ace role models, ressources, methods and partners from 10 years of UNESCO’s World Decade Of Education For Sustainable Development.
Getting started is simple,
like with a new sport or music.
One learns to feel the spirit, make basic moves, wield the tools. You practice playing humanity’s finest master pieces, inspired by world class players, enjoy progress, score, and your performance uplift others. One shares, inspires thousands via media, jams with others, freestyles, composes own projects and realizes them, supported by the inspired public #trythisathome
A FLYING START
#BEMOREAWESOME CRASH COURSE
Newbies age 8+ can experience all essentials of youth leadership in an 8-step session series. Inspired youth can self-organize follow-up, equipped with 400+ actions and global changemaker community.
#1 inspiration
#2 instant actions
#3 project development
#4 inspire online
#5 inspire locally
#6 high impact starter actions
#7 positive news publication
#8 documentation
= scores a YL Course Badge
- new to them
- highly inspirational
- important for their generation
- should exist at their school
An ONLINE TUTORIAL enables to guide the course
5+% are willing to join a team, for constant action
1 per class = 20-100 at a school
75+% are willing to get involved on occasion
The group experience
of shared passion for doing good for people and planet, of respect for hero*ines, shared priorities for life and our future, and willingness to contribute forms positive worldview and sparks a Changemaker Student Club respected by teachers and students. No longer will peers call caring youth eco-sluts or teachers tell them there was no time for this at school! Instead, the vast majority will join FUNdraisers, lifestyle challenges, and their favorite activities.
Get your Crash Course Set
GIFT ONE to a school, a public library, a crisis region, refugee camp, community organizer in Africa, India …
Take your personal Crash Course
- online or local
- self-guided and self-paced
- or guided, coached
Discover youth leadership, YL, how to activate youth, to take year-round action like and with today’s grand changemakers + learn to bring this extraordinary experience to others by guiding Crash Courses!
Adult Training + Certification
Learn with YL Master Coaches and get certified by YL, competence partner of RCE-Ruhr, United Nations University
SET UP SPACES + HQs
PERPETUATE PRESENCE with a space to inspire and involve the public, where fired up youth gather to (self)learn solutions, plan and realize projects, to meet coaches …
Well equipped
The LEARNSPACE PACK
with beautiful posters to create ambience, flair of adventure, with Crash Course toolset, fit for 400+ actions, to find local allies, team up with global expert and hero*ine partners and shape the future of entire regions near and far.
We unite all caring youth and adults under one banner to
EMPOWER THE CHANGE GENERATION
in your ways, aligned with your passion, profession and lifestyle.
YOUTH
CITIZENS
PROFESSIONALS
VOLUNTEERS
inform, inspire, network in their region
ONLINE VOLUNTEERS
PARTNERS
ALL OF THIS IS AT YOUR DISPOSAL
The young generation is yearning for ways to make robust impact, and for help, hope, meaning, allies, opportunity to be awesome, protect and heal people and planet. To #bemoreawesome and entirely different from earlier, failing adult generations.
You now have resources and support to evoke cascading changes and can activate 1,000s of people with simple steps – backed by the world’s finest changemakers. WHAT ELSE CAN YOU WISH FOR?
We have a planet to save! Your time of waiting for someone else to save the kids and Life on Earth is officially over. #bemoreawesome
