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Project Proposal: the NOW JourneyIntroductionThe global challenges the world faces today lead to an educational impasse: Are young people learning the skills and attitudes they need to navigate life in the 21st century? We strongly believe that learning should focus more on “how we learn” as opposed to “what we learn,” and enable young people to create positive impact in the world. We created NOW to make that happen.The NOW Journey is a modern learning program that responds to the way young people learn and connect with the world today. We bring together young people from diverse backgrounds to embark on a personal quest for social change – discovering their own talents, interests and potential to generate positive impact in the world. Through our strong focus on peer-to-peer learning and diversity, the NOW Journey boosts solidarity and mutual understanding across borders - which will then be multiplied by our participants in their local realities.

1. The NOW Journey The NOW Journey is a half-year inter-diversity learning and empowerment program for young people aged 18 – 25. Each Journey brings together a group of 20-30 participants from different countries in a given region of the world. During the program, they get to know and learn about each other, discuss global issues and how they affect their different local realities, and explore solutions to these challenges. Each participant will implement one of these solutions in a social change project in their own community. Their learning will emerge from their needs and experiences during the process, from finding a team to raising the resources they need.

The NOW Journey is built upon the following six pillars: What are we educating today’s youth for? Education has traditionally been about turning young people into functioning elements in our society. At NOW we aim higher than that: we want our participants to become NOWers, responsible citizens who see the present as the right time to become changemakers and have a positive impact on their local communities. This idea of having an impact in the world resonates very strongly with the young people of today. They are often referred to as “Generation Y”, where Y stands for “why”, which links to

their need to have a reason behind their doing. Our Learning Journey gives young people tools and a framework to take responsible choices and create impactful projects in their personal and professional life.

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Education is no longer only about knowledge acquisition. New generations are interested in actively developing skills that relate to their own interests. They also value having their individuality’s respected and being able to learn on their own pace and according to their own needs. That is why the NOW Journey is based on personalized learning. Participants learn by designing and implementing their own projects, and by reflecting on their

challenges and successes together with their peers and a personal coach. Being in constant communication, the group of coaches will be able to respond to learners’ needs in a fast and customized way.

Today’s technologies offer revolutionary solutions for education. Yet young people do not necessarily want to just attend online courses (Falck 2015). They do care about personal contact and guidance in their education. That is why the online elements of the NOW Journey are highly interconnected with the elements of in-person learning events. Going online allows us to have each participant immersed in their own local realities to implement their projects, while staying

connected with the rest of the group as a support structure and sounding board. Our goal is to bring the best of the two worlds together: offline and online.

Intercultural learning has been used for decades as a tool to foster understanding and tolerance across differences. Yet, most approaches focus almost exclusively on national cultures. We believe that today’s reality is more complex than that. That is why NOW is based on “inter-diversity learning” – a new and deeper approach to diversity that explores each person’s identity and unique experience as a starting point for the personal development of each group member. It allows us to not only foster our participant’s

understanding for diversity, but also their solidarity, responsibility and tolerance for ambiguity.

Working with diversity also means being aware of different learning and communication styles. It also involves being aware of different levels of language skills and of comfort to speak in front of others. We want to give all of our participants many different tools to express themselves and make their voice heard: both within the program and in their communities. That is why we include many artistic approaches (from body expression and dancing to drawing and printing) and give participants tools related to storytelling both online and offline.

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The NOW Journey is purposefully global. Our participants have grown up in a globalized world

and we want to give them tools and perspectives that help them understand the highly interconnected world they live in. We will be using guided reflections, simulations and other experiential learning tools to stimulate our participants to link their local experiences with the global context. While we organize our Learning Journeys in regions, we do use the global network of NOWers as a resource and space for interaction for our participants.

2. An overview of the program

FAQ: What’s new and unique about the NOW Journey?

There are wonderful youth networks, empowerment programs and intercultural learning journeys out there! We are not trying to reinvent the wheel. Instead, we are combining the elements that we find most relevant in what is out there and adding our own perspective and approach to them to empower changemakers and foster solidarity. We have already established first collaborations with some of the organizations in our market analysis and hope to establish even more contacts in the future.

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The NOW Journey combines offline and online elements during the program. Find them described in more details below.NOW Encounter: All 20-30 participants start the Journey at a 10-day in-person gathering within the focus region – i.e. East Africa – of the program. Besides getting a glimpse into the local community and culture, this event will focus on: teambuilding, learning about each other’s realities and experiences, reflecting on global issues, idea-development for social impact projects, and competence-based training. After the Encounter, participants will go back to their home communities to start implementing their social impact projects.

FAQ: Isn’t a 10-day in-person meeting rather short? It is! But the first 10 days are only the starting point. NOW is a 6-month journey that offers innovative experiences for youth, being accessible to people who are not able or willing to dedicate full-time to a semester of intercultural exchange. Coaching & peer-to-peer learning: During the online learning period, participants will gather in peer-to-peer learning labs, attend webinars, and deepen their knowledge on changemaking and project management. Additionally, each participant is paired with a coach1. Weekly coaching sessions will focus on further developing the skills acquired during the Encounter, reflecting on their learnings, and implementing their impact projects. FAQ: Will participants have enough skills and resources to make their projects happen?More than the introductory session at the NOW Encounter, it’s the coaching and peer-to-peer sessions that will empower participants to succeed in their projects. Our approach is to accompany each participant in a challenge fitting to their experience and possibilities. During the online period, we provide access to our network to gather all the information they need. We also guide them to use and improve their skills. A typical coaching question will be: “So what do you need to move on with your project / solve the problem you’re facing?” This kind of guided reflection will empower participants to overcome obstacles themselves.Buddy exchange: In order to intensify the peer-to-peer learning element of the program, participants will be paired up with a buddy (another participant). Halfway through the program, they will visit each other. The visits will focus on getting to know each other’s reality, family and

1 NOW coaches will be trained by a team of experienced personal coaches and will incorporate approaches such as positive psychology and goal focused coaching.

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culture, as well as helping each other in implementing the impact projects. Coaches will support participants to plan and reflect on the buddy exchanges. Future Forum: The learning journey culminates in the 3-day Future Forum within the region of the program edition. There, participants will present the projects they implemented, talk about their challenges and achievements, and reflect on their key learnings. The event will also prepare participants for the post-program period, discussing the next steps they can take to continue having a positive impact in the world. Finally, in the Future Forum participants will be introduced to the option of joining the organizing team for the next editions of the NOW Journey and how to stay engaged as alumni.

FAQ: How will participants who are socioeconomically less advantaged be able to implement their social impact projects since these might require financial resources?Some of the projects implemented by participants will need financial support. Our goal is to use this as a learning opportunity for participants. We will give each learning cycle a fund of 5’000 EUR that they can distribute according to their own criteria. They will learn that it is easier to receive funds in some countries and that costs vary a lot from one reality to another. They will also learn about creating budgets and reporting. Discussions on these topics will be facilitated by our coaches, but the group will make their own decision on how to distribute the funds. Our pilot learning journey The first pilot of the NOW Journey started in July 2016 and includes 29 young people from Europe and Northern Africa. After the 10-day Encounter in Switzerland in August 2016, participants are currently in the online phase oft he program. In December, participants will meet for the Future Forum in Serbia to evaluate their learnings and make plans for the future. We are accompanying the pilot Journey with impact measurement and evaluation in order to improve our program for future editions. Besides planning another Journey in Europe in 2017, we are currently building a local team in Latin America and would like to do the same in Eastern Africa in early 2017.

FAQ: Why not staying on Europe?We believe that in today’s world, solidarity and understanding are needed locally, regionally and globally. That’s why the NOW Journey creates connections and learning opportunities on all of these levels. We want to respond to young people’s hunger for travel and new experiences, which is why our programs are offered regionally and not at the local level.

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However, unlike most other international programs for youth engagement, NOW participants implement their impact projects in their own communities instead of trying to solve problems in other regions of the world. Our participants will connect globally through our network and by offering each other support across continents. 3. Our Social Impact We see the impact of NOW on different levels: Impact on individuals: the NOW approach boosts personal development, leadership skills, awareness of diversity, solidarity and social commitment, not only of our participants but also of our team members;

“The NOW learning process is flexible and understanding.There are no barriers and no judgement. I feel I am supported and empowered to create the social project I have always dreamed to. I have a buddy, a coach and a small reflection group. We learn by doing, we understand by experiencing and we take actions NOW!” Ghizlane Akourim, NOW participant from Casablanca, Morocco “Being part of NOW made me realize how fulfilling it can be to dedicate your time to something you truly believe in and to work with team members who continuously inspire you. NOW is a transformative experience for me: it gave me the courage to quit my job, the curiosity to discover new fields and the trust that there is a better and sustainable future.” Johanna Huber, NOW team member from Zurich, Switzerland

Impact on the NOW Community: we are building a community around NOW that is drawn to our values of horizontality, positive thinking and changemaking. Having made the NOW Journey happen inspired others to follow their dreams as well;

“Seeing how the creators of NOW made this project happen and got everyone involved during the Crowdfunding campaign really inspired and motivated me to also move forward with my ideas. In the last months I have co-created the organization SINAPSES, that sparks debates and exchange of ideas linked to important topics of our time.” Andrés Peñaloza Lanza, NOW Community member and student in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

Impact on our participants’ communities: each of our participants is creating impact in their own surroundings. Through the social impact projects they are developing(from workshops in schools against bullying in Romania to a platform to bring Greeks and refugees together), they bring the NOW spirit to their communities. One example of the impact our program has had on local communities is the city of Artvin, Turkey which – thanks to one of our participants – now offers free English classes for their people. Having joined the program with very limited English skills has given this participant the motivation to study hard and be able to speak fluently with the other participants at the final event of the program. This motivation and her experience of leaving this remote city is now also benefiting other young people.

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NOW is also gaining a lot of visibility and recognition both in the NGO world and academia for its youthful and value-driven approach. Besides articles written about NOW – some of which can be found on our website – we have also received a request from Professor Kathryn Sorrells, chair of the Department of Communication Studies at the California State University, to include NOW as an case study in her upcoming book. 4. Evaluation and TransparencyOur social impact is of high importance to us. To really understand it and ensure that our approach is meeting our objectives, we are conducting a yearly evaluation of all NOW activities (for a more detailed plan see page 12). The NOW Board will be in charge of the monitoring activities. In cooperation with our partners, we are currently developing detailed and measurable indicators to verify our goal at the end of each project phase. As these numbers are not capable of showing if and how the project has had an impact on the social setting, we are adding qualitative, participatory methods to the quantifiable data. The qualitative approach aims at learning about our stakeholders’ perspectives (participants, coaches, partner organizations etc.) on how they experienced the process. Moreover, our participants are asked to document the impressions of their local community regarding the impact their project had. There will be interview guidelines developed by our experts for this data collection. The analysis of the data will help us on an ongoing basis to reflect on our programs and make changes needed.Transparency is another important aspect of our work. Therefore, we are planning on publishing our entire statutes, list of funding sources, and usage of funding received, amongst other information, on our website in accordance with the guidelines of Transparency International. Additionally, we will publish an Impact Report, which will not only focus on our social impact, but also inform our stakeholders about financial standings of the organization as mentioned in the M&E plan in the appendix on page 12. 5. Organization and NetworkNOW is registered as an association in Zurich, Switzerland since March 2016 and is currently finishing its process for tax-exemption as organization for the public good. The organization has been built up fully on volunteer commitment of its founding members. We are a group of educators, entrepreneurs, consultants, and changemakers from different parts of the world. NOW is the result of on-going discussions and reflections on our professional and volunteer experiences in the field of education for social change. Many of these experiences have left us frustrated and thinking that so much more could be done to make intercultural education

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inclusive and with a strong imperative for change. Together, we bring in extensive professional experience in intercultural learning, youth empowerment, social entrepreneurship, non-formal education, social impact measurement, organizational development and social justice, among many more. Find the profiles of our founding team below: Annina Schlatter has a background in comparative religious studies. She has gathered many years of experience in facilitating learning experiences for young people around the topics of identity, religion, sexuality and interculturality. Annina is currently studying to become a high-school teacher in Zurich, Switzerland.Elis Motta is based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Zurich, Switzerland and currently works as consultant on organizational and volunteer development for AFS international - one of the largest volunteer-based youth exchange NGOs in the world. She has a background on non-formal education, diversity and social justice, and has several years of experience in intercultural experiential training and facilitation all around the world.Fenna Oldendörp from Bremen, Germany has a degree in Cultural Anthropology focusing on Human Security and Development. As a volunteer she has been conducting trainings and developing concepts on intercultural issues for many years. At the moment, she is working for a small NGO in Buenos Aires, Argentina, that is supporting rural towns to create opportunities and gain capacities to fight depopulation.Guto Veloso Leão has been facilitating intercultural learning experiences for more than 10 years in AFS Intercultura Brasil and is an avid learner himself. His current work focuses on the integration of migrants. He is a PHD candidate in public policy regarding migration in São Paulo, Brazil.Omer Ongun: Omer has a long track-record as intercultural trainer both in Turkey (i.e. teaching at Özyeğin and Ku ̈ltu ̈r University in Istanbul) and globally. He has worked with both grassroots and international NGOs and complements his experiences with body expression and dance, what he considers a great tool to bridge cultures and connect people beyond language. He’s responsible for Intercultural Learning and Volunteer Development at AFS Turkey.Rahel Aschwanden: Having several years of experience in incubation for social entrepreneurship at Impact Hub Zurich, Switzerland, Rahel is now focusing on managing NOW and bringing the different founders together. She has a background in institutional and intercultural communication as well as education for social change. As a long term volunteer for euforia, AFS and small NGOs, she does not only have a vast network in Switzerland and globally, but also brings in extensive experience in coaching and facilitation.

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Zlatica Niznanska is a Slovak national based in Germany. In her academic work she has analyzed the work and life of - especially highly-skilled – migrants. She is now developing and implementing projects hand in hand with different migrant associations in Heidelberg. She’s a people’s person and has highly developed skills in bringing different actors onto the same table, bridging public and private interests, and offering reflection opportunities beyond personal interests.The following people serve us as additional pool of experts as volunteers: Adrian Miu (education and integration, Romania), Ana Mihaljevic (economics and politics, Croatia), Claire Rozier (youth organizations, France), Elif Serbest (inclusion and diversity, Turkey), Eva Vítková (youth exchange, Czech Republic), Malte Jasper (logistics, Argentina), Marcelo Lopes (international relations, Mozambique / Brazil), Marín Björt Valtýsdóttir (volunteer development, Iceland), Sara Pres Dias (sustainable development, Portugal), Wouter Toulkamp (coaching, Netherlands).

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Appendix:

A) Our educational approach The NOW Journey’s learning goals include a wide range of cognitive, but mainly affective and behavioral competences. These span across four thematic foci: Diversity, global interconnectedness, change and transformation, and collaboration. The prime NOW Journey learning goals consist of the following competences:

● Inter-diversity competences: A combination of learning about different living realities and perspectives, and reflecting about one’s own identities and place in the world will allow NOW participants to have a more positive attitude towards diversity, become better at dealing with differences, and to consciously become more inclusive in their daily lives.

● Awareness of global interconnectedness: NOW participants will reflect on different global issues, their personal realities, and how these two are linked to increase their awareness of the different levels of global interconnectedness: How we are connected to global issues, how issues are connected to one another, and how the local is connected to the global.

● Skills to change and transform their realities: The NOW journey will strengthen participants’ belief that change is possible. They will reflect on the impact they can have in the world and learn how they can address local and global issues, leading and implementing changes that can transform their realities.

● Skills and attitudes for collaboration: NOW believes that everyone in the NOW journey can learn and teach. By learning from and with each other, supporting, empowering and sharing with their peers, reaching out for help, and being actively part of a solid network of changemakers, NOWers will take on a collaborative mindset and become real team players.

When facilitating our participants’ learning experiences, we pay special attention to connecting new content with previous knowledge and experiences, and to create opportunities for participants to actively try out and practice newly acquired skills and competences. With this approach, we hope to prevent the formation of inert knowledge, and instead foster competences that participants will be able to use far beyond the end of the program. In building our program, we draw on constructivist theories of learning, experience- and problem-based approaches, as well as collaborative and peer-to-peer learning. They will be guided to reflect about these experiences with their peers, in addition to learning content and new skills with the facilitators and coaches. In their projects, participants will have the opportunity to directly apply new knowledge and skills. Depending on their experiences, needs and requests, the learning content can be adapted to each participant. Participants will thus be supported in their individual development, and learn a wide range of competences which are useful to them.

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Sources:Falck, Libby: How Would Today’s Smartest Teens Overhaul Education? We Asked Them. http://singularityhub.com/2015/11/17/6-tips-on-the-future-of-education-from-singularity-youth/ Intermundo (2015): Wirkungskompendium Jugendaustausch.http://www.intermundo.ch/infothek/publikation