Women and girls play a critical role in advancing both peace and development.

 

Research shows that families, communities and nations prosper when girls have the opportunity to participate fully in every aspect of society. Empower Peace’s Women2Women International Leadership Program (W2W) builds a network of promising young women (ages 15-19) from around the globe, engages them in the issues that define their lives and provides them with the tools, relationships and opportunities required to lead.

 

"The Global Impact Apprentice Challenge, or GIA, is an opportunity for American high school students to collaborate with a partner school in the Middle East or North Africa on a service-learning project addressing an environmental issue of mutual concern in each of their communities. Through digital communication, joint service-learning initiatives and cultural exchange, GIA provides a unique forum for youth to collaborate on issues of both local and global concern."

 

GIA 2010-2011 Environmental Challenge

 

This challenge will feature three American schools each paired with one school in the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region for an intercultural and international environmental leadership competition. Through a series of three videoconferences taking place throughout the 2010-2011 school year, teams will learn about each other's environmental concerns and will be tasked with collaborating on several joint challenges and projects. Environmental experts will serve as judges who will rate each team's presentation and project during each videoconference. After the third and final videoconference, the judges will award the winning team with a cultural exchange. Representatives from the American half of the winning team will have the opportunity to visit their teammates abroad and representatives from the MENA portion of the team will have the chance to visit their teammates in the United States.

 

Number of Teams for the Challenge

 

Three (3) teams, each team comprised of one American high school and one Middle Eastern or North African high school - six schools in total. The six participating schools have been paired into three teams. The teams are:

Team 1 - McDowell High School - Erie, Pennsylvania & Modern Montessori School - Amman, Jordan

Team 2 - South Royalton School - South Royalton, Vermont & Shevah Mofet High School, Tel Aviv, Israel

Team 3 - Beaver Country Day School - Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts & Sadat City Languages School - Sadat City, Egypt

 

Participating Countries in the GIA 2010 Challenge

 

Egypt, Israel, Jordan and the United States.