World Savvy

Why it Matters

Changing demographics are making communities across the U.S. more diverse, and as the world becomes more interconnected, workplaces are demanding a completely different set of skills to succeed in ta global economy. However, the way we're educating our students, the next generation, isn't changing. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, by 2042, no single ethnic or racial group will comprise a majority. Diversity is our common future. As the nature of our most important issues -- from food security to conflict to climate change -- increasingly span national borders, high on the list of new, necessary skills citizens must possess is global competence, defined as the capacity and disposition to understand and act on issues of global significance. Global learning is no longer a luxury, but is essential preparation for ALL students for a changing world.

The Background

World Savvy was founded 14 years ago in the wake of 9/11 by Dana Mortenson and Madiha Murshed. Following the events of that terrible day, they observed and experienced alarming levels of xenophobia in New York City, and were deeply struck by how quickly the world was changing, requiring new and different skills, knowledge and dispositions to succeed. They both believed strongly that education is the foundation of a thriving society, but we were struck by the fact that, in the U.S., education wasn’t keeping pace with that change. As a nation, we were preparing good test takers, but not necessarily good thinkers and problem solvers prepared to thrive in our increasingly connected world. They knew, as the world changed so dramatically, our approach to educating our future leaders should, too. They wanted to affect systems change – and truly rethink the way education prepared young people for our world. Since the organizations founding, we have reached more than 405,000 students, and 3,000 students, with a geographic focus on the San Francisco Bay area, Minneapolis/St Paul, and the New York City metropolitan area.