10 YEARS OF THEGLOBAL ENGAGEMENT SUMMIT

YOU HAVE IDEAS.WE HELP YOU MAKE THEM HAPPEN.

The GES vision is rooted in developing the skills of the world’s young change-makers. We are one of the world’s only completely student-run social entrepreneurship conferences that brings together student delegates from around the world. The week-long Summit equips them with tangible skills to develop and implement meaningful social ventures.

We connect these students with like-minded peers across the globe as well as with experts in the fields of social innovation, international development and social entrepreneurship.

We invest our resources in getting the best possible staff, delegates and facilitators, and it pays off. The result is an international family of student change-makers who have gone on to lead their own non-profits, pioneer change-based projects and thrive as globally-conscious citizens.

Through GES, students connect to share challenging ideas, explore social entrepreneurship and community development and equip themselves with the tools needed to take their social ventures beyond good intentions.

10 YEARS.53 COUNTRIES.450 DELEGATES.1 SUMMIT.

The summit is a week-long conference held every April at Northwestern University. Delegates from around the world arrive with social ventures that touch on everything from education to healthcare to sustainability. If their project is in the ideas phase, we help them make their plan a reality. If it’s already up and running, we help them become more impactful.

Delegates attend workshops customized to their needs, attend insightful short talks from speakers, connect with mentors from the field and receive post-summit outcome opportunities to help advance their project financially or otherwise. We talk about big ideas and how to make them happen. The energy is electric.

Delegates leave the summit with tangible skills and newly learned strategies to improve their project and create change in the most effective way possible. Past projects include a creative arts education center in Cambodia, a marketing NGO for small businesses in Egypt and an organization that connects local food pantries and college dining halls to minimize food waste in the U.S.

10 YEARS.53 COUNTRIES.450 DELEGATES.1 SUMMIT.

SUMMIT SCHEDULE

DAY ONE: OPENING BANQUETMeet fellow delegates and GES staff over a gourmet dinner! After eating, delegates will hear the opening keynote speaker discuss how to live an engaged life, and will then get an opportunity to meet and bond with everyone during icebreakers and introductions.

DAY TWO: BUILDING A SOLID FOUNDATIONDay two is all about getting your project started. Delegates will attend workshops and short talks about pitching your project and securing funding. After eating dinner with small groups, delegates will attend the OpenShutter show, an art-for-social-change exhibit that communicates the human experience through photography.

DAY THREE: GROWING YOUR ORGANIZATIONDay three will focus on expanding the impact of your project. Delegates will attend workshops and short talks about effective storytelling, marketing and recruiting. After meeting with personal mentors from the field and applying for post-summit Outcomes opportunities, delegates and GES staff will attend the Story Slam. One of the most powerful moments of the Summit, the Story Slam

is an opportunity to share personal experiences and get to know GES delegates and staff on a deeper level.

DAY FOUR: SCALABILITY/SUSTAINABILITYOn day four, delegates attend final workshops about scaling your project and making it sustainable. After attending a short talk on being an effective leader and wrapping-up with small groups, GES will head to an Ethiopian restaurant in Chicago for a night of food, dancing and fun!

DAY FIVE: OUTCOMES & CLOSINGAfter an interactive wrap-up activity, delegates will attend the closing keynote speaker. Outcomes will be awarded and the Alumni team will discuss how to stay involved in the GES family and resources available to Summit alums.

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT:ZOE CONDLIFFE

2013 International Delegate Zoë Condliffe is the Cambodian Country Manager of Mayibuye, a youth-led community organization that uses performing arts to facilitate educational opportunities for young people. Mayibuye aims to develop positive role models through performances which promote healthy decision making about issues relevant to the community. Originally from Australia, Zoë has spent a great deal of time working in Cambodia, and developed the idea for Mayibuye Cambodia during her time at the School for Social Entrepreneurs.

Since the Summit, Zoë has worked to make Mayibuye Cambodia more sustainable by focusing on local ownership of the project. With Cambodian staff members taking the lead on the ground, Zoë continues to run large-scale operations from Australia. After raising over $5,000 in a wildly successful crowd-funding campaign, Mayibuye Cambodia has plans for a new community center and is in the process of finalizing funds for its construction.

“I’m more confident because I know there are people as crazy as me doing wonderful things in this world. I’m not alone.”

YANG YANG2014 DELEGATE, HONG KONG

DHRUV GULATI 2013 DELEGATE, INDIA

“The summit helps you redefine your project variables and values — and more importantly — it makes you question yourself and the ideas you carry.”

FACILITATORSAlumni often tell us that GES is able to acheive such a

personalized and impactful result because it’s a conference designed for students and run by students. But as students, we don’t always have all the answers. That’s why we find professionals from the field and bring them to the Summit to connect with delegates. Our facilitators have years of experience in a wide range of industries, and are able to provide delegates with valuable feedback on their projects.

During the Summit, all delegates have the chance to interact with facilitators in a variety of settings. Delegates work in smaller groups with workshop facilitators, who give relevant advice such as building an organizational brand or raising funds. All delegates attend keynote and short talk speakers, who are well-established social change experts who share their journey in the social change world and give advice to students looking to create a positive impact in the world.

The most unique and personalized interactions with facilitators during the Summit are one-on-one mentorships. Each delegate works individually with a mentor who has experiences and insights specific to that delegate’s project, and is able to provide feedback and recommendations through a professional lens. These relationships often last long after the Summit ends, providing each delegate with a long-term resource to utilize throughout a project’s evolution.

FACILITATOR SPOTLIGHT:MEGHA AGRAWAL

Megha is a Senior Associate at the Design for Change department at IDEO, a human-centered design firm that believes in creating impact through thoughtful and informed design. Megha works specifically on design projects intended to make a positve impact in the world. More than creating efficient products and systems, human-centered design is responsible, intentional, empathic and community-focused. Megha graduated from Northwestern University in 2010, and she’s a GES staff alum — she served as co-director during the 2010 Summit.

As a short talk speaker at the 2014 Summit, Megha discussed “Design with a Purpose.” She described the human-centered design process and gave us an idea of how IDEO keeps community interests a priority in every project. Her advice to anyone looking to effect positive change: approach communities with empathy, seek honest feedback and communication, and never let the fear of failure hold you back.

“Don’t hide in the lab or in the office when creating, because you won’t get that honest feedback,” Megha says. “Ask the right questions. Understand core needs. Protoype. Get feedback. Iterate. Repeat.”

PAST DELEGATE PROJECTS INCLUDE:• Measuring the impact of NGOs and other social

organizations in Uruguay• Connecting local food pantries and dining halls

at college campuses to minimize food waste in the United States

• Developing a micro-credit program for women in Rwandan villages to start their own businesses

• Promoting creativity and an entrepreneurial spirit in student groups at Asian universities

• Producing poultry and livestock feeds that are cheap, nutritional and increase the income of rural farmers in Nigeria

• Transmiting basic personal finance knowledge from entrepreneurs to low-income families in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

WHAT KIND OF IDEAS ARE WE LOOKING FOR?

GES accepts applications for projects of any topic, any size and any stage of implementation. Some delegates come with an idea for a project that they’re hoping to start in the future, and some delegates come with an already exisisting organization that they’re trying to make more effective and impactful. Delegate projects cover a wide range of topics — from healthcare to education to microfinance to the environment. We’re open to any type of idea that strives to create a positive impact in the world.

The Summit is able to accomodate such diverse projects because the programming is customizable to each delegate. Once accepted, delegates will apply for and be placed in workshops relevant to their project and goals they wish to accomplish. We believe that a wide range of projects and backgrounds allows allows delegates to be resources to one another.

Your idea and proposal must be well thought out. All the details don’t have to be figured out, but show us that this is something you care about and have put a lot of thought into. We’re looking for social entrepreneurs and innovators, but most importantly, we’re looking for critical thinkers.

OUTCOMES: WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

A lot of delegates ask us what happens after the Summit. We believe that the creativity and entrepreneurial energy doesn’t have to stop once delegates leave the conference. Not only are delegates connected to a wide range of GES alumni resources after the Summit — including a global network of GES alums — delegates also have the chance to apply for and receive post-Summit Outcomes opportunities to further develop their projects after GES.

Past examples of Outcomes awarded include grants and investments to fund delegate projects, free marketing and recruitment services, and fast-tracked application processes to prestigious conferences and fellowships such as Echoing Green. Some Outcomes are customized, like grants for artistic projects, but most Outcomes are open to all delegates who submit an application.

The Outcomes application is a short questionnaire about your project that delegates will complete during the Summit with their small groups. Delegates will only be eligible to receive Outcomes if they have submitted a complete application and have attended all Summit programming.

PAST EXAMPLES OF OUTCOMES AWARDED INCLUDE:

• Grants and investments to fund delegate projects • Free marketing and recruitment services • Fast-tracked application processes to prestigious

conferences and fellowships

APPLY:

theGES.orgInternational applications due Nov. 14, 2014American applications due Dec. 9, 2014

OUR PARTNERS

JOEY LAUTRUP

ANISA MIAN

THOUGHT PARTNERS

INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERS

MESSAGE FROM THE CO-DIRECTORS

JOEY LAUTRUP

ANISA MIAN

directors@theGES.orgfacebook.com/globalengagement@theGES

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We can’t begin to explain how thrilled we are to celebrate Global Engagement Summit’s tenth birthday! Ahead of us lies a year of reflection, hard work and a better opportunity than ever to reach our fullest potential as an organization. Our student staff — the seventy-one ultra-passionate undergraduates responsible for making the summit come together — has already been hard at work ensuring that GES 2015 is the most impactful Summit yet!

GES was founded with the belief that young people with a desire to create positive change are capable of doing so, and for the past ten years, our delegate attendees have continually proven us right. Our mission for GES 2015 is to provide each delegate with the most relevant experience possible — leaving the summit with a global network of like-minded young people, tangible skills for project development and a renewed enthusiasm for the future. With that, we invite you to make your dreams of positive change a reality. Join us for the Global Engagement Summit 2015, and find your place in the next generation of young change-makers.

www.theGES.org