Background

Volunteering is one of the most powerful yet underutilized tools for promoting global citizenship and building empathy in young people. Although, structured service programs provide opportunities for students to be engaged and participate as active citizens, this participation is inequitable as only 15% of working age adults around the world reported volunteering in any given month (United Nations Volunteers, 2022: State of the World’s Volunteerism Report); engagement would be even less in low and middle income countries without an established volunteering ecosystem. For young people in countries like India who come from marginalized communities, this intervening gap is exacerbated. Students in higher-income countries have the opportunity to engage in global service programs that are designed to promote civic awareness and leadership; however, students in schools with limited resources are often seen as beneficiaries of service rather than active participants.

At the same time, the global volunteering ecosystem as a whole has faced criticism for being extractive rather than collaborative. Many short-term service programs reinforce hierarchies, often without intention, to promote charity instead of reciprocity. When ethically designed, cross-border volunteering can promote meaningful mutual learning, both empowering underserved communities and increasing young volunteers’ understanding of the global inequities. To contribute to this mutual learning, volunteering needs to be contained within partnerships that emphasize shared ownership, priority for local knowledge, and institutional collaboration.

GYAN (Global Youth Action Network) was created as a response to this need - a bridge between two student communities that are separated by distance but united by purpose. GYAN was developed with Charterhouse and is ongoing in partnership with organizations like The Akshaya Patra Foundation. It envisages an equitable exchange model of service, which is not a one-way service. Students who attend public school in India gain long-term academic and logistical support through the volunteer networks, while the Charterhouse students learn about the socio-educational context of Indian communities through sensitization workshops, cultural immersion, and structured reflection.