We are looking to target the tens of millions of American teen students who are the wealthiest, most connected and most diverse generation in our history. They control literally billions in spending annually and represent nearly every country, religion, and language on earth. Over 95% of this country’s teens make regular use of the Internet to chat, email, and connect with friends and family worldwide and are uniquely poised to tackle the world’s greatest problems.

Our proposition is that this generation has the power and will to leverage their collective influence to support grassroots initiatives around the world, and through their successes (and some failures) gain a deeper understanding of their power for change and of the role of America and its citizens in an increasingly interconnected and interdependent world.

Giving for the Global Goodis an idea whose time has come. We feel that it can be a brand embraced by a small kernel of the American youth who feel engaged by the need to be proactive and do something about creating a sustainable future for the world. There are many kids out there who have desire, the resources and the drive to engage in supporting microfinance initiatives utilizing the viral communication channels of the Internet and the rapidly growing social networks.

It is possible, by getting the information on the potential of global change using MicroFinance, that these kids could become bankers to the ‘unbankable’, and in doing so help the worlds working poor.

This site is a simple visual and link based aggregator, enabling both kids and adults a single place to find out about the ideas of microfinance, microloans and the concepts behind becoming a social entrepreneur.

Please contact us if you would like us to include a visual, a link and an ‘about’ for your site, to help you get found in this keyword space

I was searching Flickr to find a photographer based in Katmandu Nepal to do an assignment for me, and in my keyword search using Flickr’s tagging search engine I found the Panos Network. Wow ! Blew my mind, wanted to use ‘Giving for the Global Good’ to get the word out.

Panos in not one site, but 9 individual sites, all across the world, each with a unique look, feel and message.  In writing this post I realize that this site, Giving for the Global Good, actually could help get the word out and inspire people to dial into Planet Earth and help out.

Panos’ mission statement is clear, and yet so sophisticated – the understanding that to get the message out there needs to be a dynamic conduit for, what I call the 3 Ds – the desperate, disenfranchised, and the diaspora, get get their voices heard to the global community.

Twenty years after the creation of Panos, the vision of a global network of institutes striving towards a common goal – ensuring that information is effectively used to foster public debate, pluralism and democracy – has become a reality.

In 1974, UK journalist Jon Tinker started Earthscan, a unit of the International Institute for Environment and Development which offered journalists (and later NGOs) objective information on key global issues and on policy options for addressing them.

By 1986 Jon had transformed Earthscan’s Southern media programme into a new independent institution: Panos.

From the outset, as part of its commitment to Southern-led development, Panos aimed to build a network of independent institutes around the world.

During the late 1990s offices opened in Zambia, Haiti, Nepal, Ethiopia and India, among others. In 2000 West Africa became the first autonomous Southern institute, and six years later Eastern Africa completed the transition.

It was Gordon Goodman, then head of the Stockholm Environment Institute, who proposed that we take the name Panos – meaning ‘beacon’ in the Doric version of classical Greek.

Today, in Nepali, a panas is an oil lamp around which people gather to discuss important issues, and in Amharic the word means a torch.

Appropriately enough, the prefix pan means ‘all’ or ‘universal’ in modern Latin, resonating with our global approach.

Panos

Panos South Asia

Panos France

Panos Caribe

Panos London

Panos West Afrika

Panos Southern Afrika

Panos Canada

Global Agents for Change is a fellow traveler with their GFAC fund The group’s vision is to create the world’s largest youth built, youth led microcredit fund and connecting youth with developing world entrepreneurs, providing a crucial tool in the fight to escape poverty. In 2007 they did a 7 week 3000 kilometer ride from Vancouver, Canada to Tijuana, Mexico to help build the fund. They will be doing it again May 31, 2008.

TakingITGlobal

Our world is increasingly global and interconnected. Many threats face our common humanity, such as global poverty, war and conflict, HIV/AIDS, and environmental degradation. TakingITGlobal provides access to the information required to understand and act on global issues. Our mission is to provide opportunities for learning, capacity-building, cross-cultural awareness and self-development through the use of Information and Communication Technologies. Because once you have the information, you can share it.

Young people are most powerful as co-owners in our own development process. That’s why TakingITGlobal is focused on encouraging involvement. By leveraging the power of social networks and digital media, we’ve created a tool for learning, collaboration, dialogue and action that is completely interactive.

Our flagship program, TakingITGlobal.org, has become the most popular online community for young people interested in connecting across cultures and making a difference. Hundreds of thousands of people visit the site each month to share their unique knowledge, perspectives and experiences.

Throughout all of our online and offline programming, TakingITGlobal aims to:

* Strengthen the capacity of young people as leaders and citizens
* Foster cross-cultural dialogue and understanding
* Increase awareness and involvement in global issues

As a charity, we work with global partners that include United Nations agencies, major companies and youth-focused organizations. Our projects with these partners provide additional opportunities for our members to engage in a range of global issues.

Act Now !
What is ActNow?

‘ActNow is an awesome website for young people. It gives us information on important issues and makes them easier to understand. It’s also a great place for people to get inspired on taking action.’
Melissa 20, ActNow volunteer

How do you use ActNow?

ActNow knows that the more you understand about an issue the more you’ll feel empowered to do something about it. Use ActNow to find information on social, political, environmental, lifestyle and topical issues for a non-judgemental and factual snapshot of the bigger picture. All the content you find on ActNow is written by ActNow members who are young people just like you.

You can take action on issues any way you like. The important thing is to have a go and let the ActNow community know what you did, how you did it and what you think the impact was. Sign up as a member and you’ll be able to add your own content to the site such as a ‘thing to do’, a story, an interview, a video, a blog entry or a comment. Get published online!