Equity in Global Education Coalition in Pittsburgh

We’re in this one little space, and the whole world is out there, and we should experience it all.

The Problem

Global education and service-learning are directly associated with increased civic engagement levels, improved academic achievement, and future employment opportunities. However, there is a significant access gap in terms of the youth who get to participate in these experiences, allowing more well-resourced youth to become more globally connected and professionally competitive.

The Idea:

To cultivate globally engaged and civically active youth in and around the Allegheny county area through a neighborhood-wide movement that will engage a groundswell of teenagers in international, reflective, and experiential global experiences. 

Program design and overall benefits for youth

Current Projects:

The Hill District Global Engagement Coalition

The Hill District Global Engagement Coalition builds on 4 years of pilot projects and collaborations with organizational partners at the Hill House Association, Center that CARES, the Ujamaa Collective, the Hill District Consensus Group, Milliones University Prep High School, and the Hill District Education Council. To date, we’ve hosted over 100 young people from all over the world in the Hill District through service and learning, and we’ve sent over 50 youth from the Hill District to communities in Northern Ireland, Jamaica, and Ghana.

2019 will see the launch of the first official Hill District Global Engagement Coalition cohort. Through partnerships with Ujamaa Collective, Reaching Back, and Center that CARES, Amizade will take 30 young people and 6 community-based mentors to Ghana, Jamaica, and Trinidad for immersive global service-learning. These young people will then return to their communities and use what they have learned to design and implement community-based projects.

Please keep a lookout for our program updates and participant spotlights!

The Pittsburgh Global Engagement Project

The Pittsburgh Global Engagement Project will enable underrepresented young people throughout the Allegheny County area to gain access to global educational and volunteer opportunities previously denied them due to the disparities in global education between the wealthy and the poor.

Building Community Bridges

Building Community Bridges breaks down network-barriers through a series of workshops with young adults from urban and rural communities and provides them with a safe space to explore issues of identity, power, and privilege together. The open dialogue will give students the opportunity to explore their biases, and the biases expressed in the media, that often define who they and their communities are. The participants volunteer in each community and then engage in an Amizade service program outside the confines of Pennsylvania, as a way to encourage them to continue to travel, learn, and experience communities beyond their home.

Media

Blog posts:

A week of service and learning in Pittsburgh

Amizade wins grant to bridge rural and urban communities

Amizade brings another group of young people from Northern Ireland to the U.S.

Amizade helps foster Ujamaa and KVDPA partnership

Press:

Going Abroad – And Bringing Lessons Back Home | October 2016 | Remake Learning

Pittsburgh Students Asked to Rethink Volunteering | February 2016 | Next City