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06 July 2007
Inspire, Inform, Involve
Young people reach the wider world in an online community
Maybe you want a place to display your photographs or poems. Maybe you want to talk about the latest news from the United Nations or the United States. Maybe you want some advice on revving up your peers to make your community better.
Point your browser to TakingITGlobal.org (TIG). This Web site, conceived and run by young people, has become an online community where teens and young adults from more than 200 nations are engaged in a virtual exchange, which participants describe as just as real and meaningful as any face-to-face meeting can be.
The talk of TIG is more than chit-chat. This community is aiming high to focus its members on Big Issues — the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, the digital divide, and HIV/AIDS, for example.
TIG has also been a dynamic campaigner in the effort to bridge the digital divide globally and to incorporate those goals in international agreements on information technology.
“We also run www.digitaldivide.net, which is a whole online community dedicated to discussion and action around the digital divide,” says Michael Furdyk, one of the two young Canadians who launched TIG in 2000 under the slogan “Inspire, Inform, Involve.”
“For a young person seeking a portal into global issues or a chance to talk with peers from around the world, this site is a dazzling launching pad,” according to a report about youth online conducted by the Center for Social Media at American University in Washington, D.C.
The site provides powerful tools for young people to express themselves and learn about the world around them — including one of the world’s largest online collections of youth artwork and a vibrant online e-magazine. Schools around the world are also bringing TakingITGlobal into the classroom — tools and resources for teachers at TIGed.org enable interactive global education experiences.
In a 2007 member survey, TIG found that members are exchanging more than dreams. They’re learning information technology skills, discovering needed information and resources, building networks and collaborations, and learning how to effect change in their communities.
“Now I have friends from all over the world, people who care about my well-being and about my happiness even if they’ve never met me face to face, even if they don’t know anything about me except from drawings and writings. But in some ways they know me even better than my family.”
— Yara Kassem, Egypt
“In meeting different people from diverse areas of the world, TIG has helped me to understand situations from another perspective, instead of just from that of my own country. America is such a powerful force throughout the world, and TIG has helped me understand America’s impact from the perspectives of the countries America influences. I have also developed relationships with amazing people all over the world.”
— Trevor Kellog, USA
“Through TIG, I have learned that things can be changed and visions achieved even in scarcity. I am continually surprised to see the incredible extent to which youth can empower other young people to achieve their goals and dreams.”
— Rim Nour, Tunisia
“TIG extended my circle of friends beyond geographic sociocultural, religious, economic, and political borders. Being a member made me think beyond my own culture, and yet it made me appreciate my own more.”
— Morse Flores, Philippines
Quotes used with permission from The Impact of TakingITGlobal, published in 2005 by TIG.
The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. government.
(This is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://www.america.gov)
