Partners That Matter
At the heart of Global Explorers is our commitment to long-term relationships with partnering organizations around the world. Here are some of our key strategic partners.
Afar Foundation
Global Explorers and the Afar Foundation are working together to bring travel opportunities to low income students in New York City and San Francisco. The Afar Foundation is the philanthropic affiliate of Afar Media. Its mission is to promote cross-cultural exchange by sponsoring international travel and study for students who cannot otherwise afford to experience another part of the world. Greg Sullivan, Afar Media’s founder, has made the foundation the primary beneficiary of his estate. “At Afar Media we believe that travel can change lives for the better,” Sullivan says. “Not only does travel expand your understanding of the world, it also can increase your understanding of your place in the world.” The Afar Foundation-Global Explorer program starts with a yearlong classroom program designed to prepare students for the trip. Teachers take students through a structured curriculum that focuses on leadership, service, cultural tolerance, and conservation biology. The Afar Foundation-Global Explorer program, called Learning Afar, will initially work with two high schools in New York City and San Francisco, providing scholarships for five underserved students in each area to make group trips to Costa Rica for ten days in the spring of 2010. Students will be encouraged to document their travels through writing, photography, and videography, and to enter those materials in a contest sponsored by Afar Media. The Afar Foundation plans to expand its partnership with Global Explorers and consider similar programs after the completion of the pilot program.
Pearson Foundation
The Pearson Foundation is the nonprofit arm of Pearson, a leading international media company with 37,000 employees in more than 60 countries.
Pearson people and businesses feel the growing demand for effective education and high-quality information, and share a common purpose to serve the citizens of our brain-based economy wherever and whenever they are learning—old or young, at home or school or work, in any pursuit, anywhere.
Pearson aims to make a difference by promoting literacy, learning, and great teaching. They do this by collaborating with leading businesses, not-for-profits, and education experts to share good practice; foster innovation; and find workable solutions to the educational disadvantages facing millions of young people and adults across the globe. We Give Books is one of the leading campaigns put forth by Pearson to support this cause.
Schlumberger
The Schlumberger Foundation is the philanthropic extension of Schlumberger, the international leader in oilfield services. Dedicated to recognizing the links between science, technology and socioeconomic development, the Schlumberger Foundation seeks to support the major role that education plays in individuals’ realization of their maximum potential. Schlumberger provides opportunities for its employees to volunteer and contribute to their local communities through corporately supported initiatives. At their U.S. headquarters in Houston, Texas, Schlumberger has partnered with local school districts to make a lasting impact through ongoing efforts to support education beyond the traditional classroom.
Schlumberger has over 105,000 employees worldwide, made up of more than 140 different nationalities working in approximately 80 countries.
Girl Scouts
We work with the Girl Scouts Destinations Program to provide international programming for girl leaders. We help girls Discover, Connect and Take Action as they build their leadership skills, self-awareness and service commitments. In addition, through the Girl Scouts Include All Girls Initiative, we plan to offer Leading the Way Girl Scout Programs beginning in 2010.
Hear the World Initiative by Phonak
Hear the World, a global initiative by hearing system manufacturer Phonak, has combined forces with Global Explorers to offer the first Hear the World Sound Academy. The 2011 Hear the World Sound Academy: Amplifying the Grand Canyon will integrate students ages 15-20 of mixed hearing abilities for the learning adventure of a lifetime in the Grand Canyon. The Sound Academy will foster awareness about hearing loss and sound preservation while equipping students with the tools needed to step up and make a difference in the world. To learn more, visit the Hear the World Sound Academy.
Roots & Shoots
Roots & Shoots, a program of the Jane Goodall Institute, is a youth-driven, global network of more than 8,000 groups in almost 100 countries. The goals of the Roots & Shoots, Tanzania project ,that GEx has funded in the past, are to provide 150 students and 6 teachers in 3 rural communities with skills, knowledge and practical approaches to help their communities conserve the surrounding Mt Kilimanjaro Forest Reserve. Roots & Shoots has accomplished this by establishing a permanent two hectare field educational site adjacent to the reserve where they will host monthly field training sessions and create a tree nursery for native seedlings. The monthly trainings include teaching students how to build and use fuel efficient stoves, various water retention schemes and how tree nurseries can be used as alternatives to deforestation.
Colorado Travel Health
Colorado Travel Health provides comprehensive and specialized preventative travel medicine advice for Global Explorers. Expert travel advice, tailored to your exact itinerary and medical needs, is based on the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.
CONAPAC
The Civil Association for Conservation of the Peruvian Amazon Environment (CONAPAC), is an NGO formed in July of 1990, in Iquitos, Peru, by a group of teachers, forestry engineers, and employees of the Travel Agency Exploraciones Amazonicas S.A. -Explorama Lodges. Through CONAPAC’s , the organization provides educational materials and supplies for schools in rural Amazonia.
The Churchill Northern Studies Centre
Founded in 1976, the Churchill Northern Studies Centre is an independent, non-profit research and education facility located 23 km east of Churchill, Manitoba. Their mission is to:
- promote and facilitate northern research toward an understanding of the physical environment, social issues and economic development including sustainable resource development and use
- promote and facilitate university credit education and public interest educational opportunities
- promote and facilitate north/south understanding by providing a forum for dialogue on significant northern issues
- provide accommodation, logistical, and service support for independent researchers
Ensight Skills Center
Ensight’s mission is to provide clients with low vision the opportunity to enhance their life skills, independence and self-confidence in a safe environment through adaptive technology and training. Ensight provides an annual scholarship to a Colorado student interested in participating in our Leading the Way Programs. To learn more, visit:
