So, you’ve decided to come to GES 2012. Great! Now, you’ve got some questions about what to expect. Here’s a quick guide to everything you need to know before the summit. Who will be there? We have around 70 delegates in total, from schools around the U.S. and 15 other countries, attending the summit this year. Each GES delegate comes with a project for sustainable social change. Some of them are already being implemented in places like Haiti, Guatemala, and India. Others ...

Pro-noia: the belief that the world is conspiring towards your success - As defined by Jeff Pinzino, Closing Keynote speaker On February 25th, Northwestern students, GES staff and alumni, and community members gathered for GES Day 2012, a miniature version of the April summit. This all-day event incorporated four hands-on workshops on different aspect of social change, a lunchtime photo exhibit from Open Shutter, and a closing keynote address on “"Integrating Social Change Into Your Life" with Brooke Estin of InSTEDD and Jeff ...

Although I am sure most everybody has experienced career phobia to some extent in their lives, I have literally never been certain about what I want to be when I grow up. It has always made me feel a little unfocused and scared, but the whole concept of social entrepreneurship has changed that for me. I realized that whatever I do, in the grand scheme of things, I want to make an impact that transcends money and glory. ...

This last week, on Tuesday January 17, 2012, the GES staff had an ardent discussion about the role of politics in GES. Should we be spending time discussing and interpreting politics with the GES delegates, or should we be focusing on service-project development? This is an issue I had never before considered, and I listened to the opinions of my fellow staffers as I attempted to create my own stance. After hearing many arguments supporting several different ...

At the MLK Day vigil on Monday, Tim King, a pioneer of education reform and the founder of Urban Prep Academies, spoke about his organization’s commitment to develop its students’ intellect and character. Urban Prep runs a network of public charter schools in Chicago for young, underserved, black men to counter the huge disparities they face in academic success and job opportunity. Tim King drew on this principle of balance, of providing knowledge and building the ethic to use it, ...

GES. Global Engagement Summit. It’s a term that I had often heard thrown around campus but not something that I had ever really understood. I knew that a bunch of my friends were always busy for a week during spring quarter when students from all over the world came to Northwestern for some sort of conference. I knew that it had something to do with discussing projects. And I knew that the people in it worked really hard and seemed ...

This week Northwestern's Conference on Human Rights kick off with an opening keynote speech by Rose Mapendo, "a global activist for peace and reconciliation, The 2009 United Nations Humanitarian of the Year, CNN Hero and Volvo for Life Award Recipient."  To read more of her incredibly story visit http://mapendonewhorizons.org/node/34 The conference is themed Human Rights in Transit: Issues of Forced Migration and also includes a closing keynote speech, "Cessation: Uganda Style" by Dr. Barbara Harrell-Bond of Oxford University. According to the Cultural Orientation Resource ...

GES is proud to announce a Fast Track Partnership with Echoing Green. As a Fast Track Partner, GES now has the opportunity to name 1-2 promising social entrepreneurs from the GES community to proceed directly to the second round of the Echoing Green Fellowship application. Since 1987, Echoing Green has provided seed funding and support to nearly 500 social entrepreneurs – including the founders of Teach For America, City Year, College Summit, SKS Microfinance, and Genocide Intervention Network. In Spring 2011 ...

Anything is Possible from The Canary Collective on Vimeo. There are no words to describe how thrilled we are: Brian Bordainick will be the opening keynote to GES. He will speak at the opening banquet, in front of GES staff, delegates and everyone who has collaborated with the realization of the Summit, including Northwestern’s President Morton Schapiro. Why Brian? The opening keynote should give delegates a taste of what GES is about, what they should expect from the Summit and above all, it ...

There's still time to apply! International Delegates Application Deadline: DECEMBER 15, 2009 American Delegates Application Deadline: DECEMBER 30, 2009