GES has blown up this year in a way that we’ve always hoped for.  We have some pretty accomplished alumni, facilitators, staffers, and partners.  Just scroll down below and you’ll see how awesome some of associates are.  We’ve finally made our mark in the “global change” sector.

But just because we’ve gained greater visibility in the field doesn’t mean that GES is only for the most advanced delegates.  GES values diversity – and we don’t mean just ensuring cultural diversity (although we have that, too).  We’re talking about diversity of perspectives.  We want people from big schools, and people from small schools; people with a lot of experience, and people with none; people with well-developed projects, and people with only the spark of a good idea.  We construct everything from our curriculum to our outcomes opportunities with this diversity of perspectives in mind.  Last year, we offered workshops on fundraising and webtools at the beginner and advanced level.  Our outcomes opportunities were similarly multi-tiered, targeting projects at the idea, planning, or implementation stage.

We believe that everyone who’s passionate about and committed to global change should have a seat at the table. And that everyone, from the delegate who started her own NGO, to the delegate who took a class on refugees and decided to do something about it, has something to contribute and learn from each other.

So the bottom line is this: don’t be intimidated!  There are sure to be some pretty notable delegates at GES 2010.  But there will also be delegates who you haven’t heard of.  Yet.