It’s Fall Quarter of Senior year. And what does that mean? That every conversation we have (whether its with your friends, whether its with your parents, whether its with the lady who cuts your hair) boils down to one question - what are you doing next year. The undergraduate experience at Northwestern University is supposed to be about challenging the intellectual aptitude of its students, encouraging us to explore new disciplines, provoking our core beliefs. Yet after four years of debating, ...

At GES, we tend to focus on ideas. Big ideas. After all, why not? Big ideas change the world. We tend to focus less on hard numbers, data, and statistics, and more on individual stories and communities. While an understanding on the individual level is key, numbers can also help tell our stories.  But as much as some of us might hate to admit it, data and statistics lie behind these changes. Hans Rosling presents an engaging way to look at ...

NPR’s Frank Langfitt shares his experience during a recent reporting trip to Taiwan with NPR’s News Blog, The two-way.  For GES Staffer Brian Chen, a Taiwanese American himself, he sees both sides of the argument.  In the globalized world today, a friendlier economic situation with China will be helpful for businesses in Taiwan. However he is proud of Taiwan's democratic ideals and hopes that as these two governments work together towards a better and brighter future, Taiwan will stand strong ...

Although most famous for their innovative ice cream flavors (Rocky Road, Phish Food, and Cherry Garcia to name a few), Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, founders of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream, are equally as concerned about fulfilling their commitment to social change. In a speech hosted by College Democrats at Northwestern University on November 17, 2009, the ice-cream super couple spoke about their business and lifelong commitment to giving back to the community. The international company began its journey in Burlington, ...

Please join us on Friday, November 20, 8pm at the Portage Theatre for the Chicago Premiere of 'Rebuilding Hope' a documentary about the Sudanese 'Lost Boys' and their quest to find surviving family-members and rediscover and contribute to their homeland; it also sheds light on what the future holds for South Sudan in its precarious struggle for peace, development and stability. GES's Sarah Freeman, a sophomore at Northwestern University and Co-Chair of the Media and Marketing team for the Summit, worked as ...

The Co-Founders of our new pipeline partner the Unreasonable Institute, Daniel Epstein and Teju Ravilochan, discuss how their fellows are selected.  In this video interview Daniel and Teju share the background story on why they started The Unreasonable Institute to provide training and mentorship for young social entrepreneurs. Learn about The Unreasonable Institute’s Fellows Program, who they are looking for, how to apply, and more. Applications opened November 15th and run until December 15. Twenty five high-impact young social entrepreneurs will ...

Two weeks ago I had the privilege of meeting Hakim Belabbes, a Moroccan filmmaker who currently divides his time between Chicago and Morocco.  As I watched his documentaries, it became immediately apparent that his primary interest in filmmaking was showcasing the people whom he filmed.  By virtue of their humanity and their hopes and fears, they were natural stars for Belabbes.  More than once he emphasized his belief that what many perceive as ordinary is actually extraordinary. Through his films ...

Global Engagement Summit is now accepting International Delegates Applications until December 15, 2009 and American Delegate Applicants until December 30, 2009. APPLY TODAY If you are an international citizen and are currently enrolled in, recently (within 1 year) graduated from, or will soon (within 1 year) be enrolled in an international university, please apply to be an International Delegate. Contact international@theges.org or american@theges.org with any questions.

The Global Engagement Summit was born from an email.   It was the longest email Jon Marino ever received.  While Jon Marino was studying abroad in South Africa during his junior year at Northwestern, his friend Nathaniel Whittemore asked Jon to help him create an organization that would mobilize students’ energy to contribute to positive global change.  For the next year, they brainstormed, planned and co-founded GES. (Then known as the International Youth Volunteerism Summit.) In February of 2006, with the support ...