EMPOWERING ALL THE WORLD’S YOUNG PEOPLE

• I Can • I Choose • I Accomplish • I have Positive Impact

In order to empower ALL two billion young people in our new age,

we need to go beyond “learning-in-advance”…

“Learnng-in-advance” no longer delivers what our two billion kids need.

All over the world, the cries for education reform are growing louder.

Reforming “learning-in-advance,” will not get us where we want to go, because the world now needs something new.

We are victims of our own success.: The entire world now has a very fixed idea of what an “education” is—years of learning-in-advance—because sthat is what we all got. We will not change that idea meaningfully by trying to fix it incrementally.

We need to move past it, understanding it is outmoded for our kids’ future (leaving some of the old in place, perhaps, for those who still demand it.)

We need new ends for kids and new and different language to describe those ends.

… to Empowerment, Accomplishment & Impact.

Today “learning-in-advance,” once very useful, now stands in our way.

Nelson Mandela’s 20th century cry that “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” is now outdated thinking.

Like horses for transportation, we need to think of “learning-in-advance” as an old concepts left over from a time of lesser human capabilities. It was useful for a long time, but it no longer is.

Ironically, in the 21^st century, the more we pursue “learning-in-advance”, the worse off we will be — because “learnèd people” in the 20th century sense, is not what we need.

We need to empower all our youth …

Learning-in-advance in classrooms does not empower. It helps only some, in some situations.

But everyone needs, and benefits from, empowerment….and so does the world.

We must bring up our young people to understand that when they see a problem—or see something that is not right in their world—they can not only figure out why it is is wrong, but join or build a team, and fix it.

We need to show adults that they CAN empower young people in this new way, and not just tell they what we think they should know or do.

… to become good, effective, world-improving people …

We now have less of a need for people who are “educated” in the old academic sense (although we do need some academic researchers.)

What we need now is billions of good, effective people who do things that improve their world.

We must tell our young people their goal is not to “be educated” but to become “good, effective world-improving people who can get things done.” • I Can • I Choose • I Accomplish • I see my Positive Impact.

We need to show adults how to help young people do this.

… who accomplish positive, real-world projects, and “get stuff done” in the world.

The best way to empower kids to get stuff done and become good, effective world-improving people is through accomplishment of real-world projects.

Completing real-world projects lets kids understand not just that they CAN get things done, but HOW to get things done.

This understanding comes from doing real, world-impacting projects over and over, hundreds of times, as the means of becoming an adult. We need to guide each young person in the direction of finding projects meaningful to them, and getting those projects done successfully.

The metric for these projects–Measurable Positive Impact (MPI)—seeing a “before and after difference—is far more meaningful than any grades, degrees, or competencies.

All kids should grow up building a resume of real-world accomplishments.

We need all our 2 billion young people to believe:

I CAN

When I see a problem, I can begin fixing it—by forming or joining a team and taking action.

I CHOOSE

I choose to becvome a “good, effective, world-improving person.” I choose to work on realizing my dreams, fixing problems I see, and helping others I care about.

I ACCOMPLISH

I will no longer be deprived of my power to accomplish in the real world—at any age. I can do things now. Years of learning-in-advance is not a pre-requisite.

I HAVE IMPACT

I see the results of my accomplishments as actual improvements in the world. Because of my actions, things are better—as you can see!

Many of the powerful beliefs we want them to have are captured in this book:

Our first message to young people is about their own power.

We have created and published this free, online book.. You can read it online by clicking on the button.

The book is also available in hard copy in English, and exists online in Spanish, Portuguese, Hebrew, and Mandarin.

Our offerings are both online and offline. They are aimed at young people of all ages and backgrounds, in all languages. Many are created by young people.

We also have actions, contests, and partnerships with organizations for young people.

READ BOOK ONLINE

**We have a database of real, world-improving projects that today’s young people have already accomplished.**

We have created, free, online, a browsable curated database of over 100 world-improving projects that young people of all ages all over the world have accomplished. It is intended to inspire young people to create and do new ones.

Why we can’t just reform Learning-in-Advance

Doing that will make no difference, because Learning-in-Advance ITSELF is the problem. Reforming it by adding incremental changes is only “putting new icing on a stale cake.” That is why so many “reformers” fail—or succeed only in tiny measure—and are so frustrated.

Today, too many people are invested in the continuance of Learning-in-Advance. Too many make their living (or good profits) from it. Too many parents still think their kids need it.

The world’s Learning-in-Advance systems have built up very strong defenses for self-protection. And reforming “Lerarrning-in-Advance,” will not get us where we want to go, because the world now needs something new.

The entire world already has a very fixed idea of what an “education” is — i.e., Learning-in-Advance — because so many went through it. In a sense, we are victims of our own success. We cannot change that belief meaningfully by trying to fix it incrementally.

We need to move past Learning-in-Advance, i.e., beyond “education” as the world now knows it. To do that, we promote an alternative, more empowering system for young people growing up—Empowerment, Accomplishment & Impact, that is now emerging around the world.

(The current system can remain in place for those who still want it.)

MANY ARE ALREADY CREATING AN “EMPOWERMENT, ACCOMPLISHMENT & IMPACT” ALTERNATIVE TO LEARNING-IN-ADVANCE. OUR MISSION IS TO CONNECT THEM AND AMPLIFY THEIR WORK.

PLEASE VISIT:

THE GLOBAL INSTITUE FOR EMPOWERMENT, ACCOMPLISHMENT & IMPACT BY YOUNG PEOPLE

Our Partner Organizations

The Two Billion Kids Project’s aim is to include as many organizations as possible who are moving in this new direction of empowering, (and not just educating) young people.

As each group continues its work under its own brand, we want to be the “umbrella” or “meta” organization, supporting and promoting the entire alternative “Empowering Kids for the Future” movement for all 2 billion kids.

Supporting Individuals

The following individuals support the work of empowering the world’s 2 billion kids:

Kiran bir Sethi

Justiyna Pietrzak

Asha Kanwar

Nieves Segovia

David Engle

Esther Wojcicki

Our Initiatives

About Us

The Two Billion Kids Project emerged from the observation that—despite huge amounts of worldwide effort by huge numbers of well-meaning people, and despite the spending of huge amounts of time and treasure—education was not delivering on its promise, nor providing what most of the 2 billion kids in the world now need for the future in which they will live. Nelson Mandela’s “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” is, in the 21st century, outmoded. What the world needs now is not more education, but 2 billion empowered kids.

Over several years, a group has come together round the conviction that the world needs something BEYOND education. The people and organizations in this Project have started creating it on their own. But they have been very fragmented, each promoting their own good work, limited success and individual brand.

Our goal is to pull them all together into a movement—named, but “unbranded and belonging to no one”— that parents kids and employers)can consider as an equally valid—or better—alternative to academic education for growing up. Not a “vocational track” but an ‘accomplishment track,” whose goal is to produce “good, effective, world-improving people who can get things done. ” Won’t that be different!

To analogize, we hope to be the “industry association” for this new movement, lobbying everywhere the world’s 2 billion kids (and not, for example, for “education reform,” as many are doing.) Our position is that ‘education” as we have known and gone through it in many cases) is over. It was good for its time but will fail our kids for their future. Changing or “reforming” it incrementally—which will by needs happen slowly, piecemeal and differently everywhere — is no longer an acceptable way to proceed.

We begin as a small minority, but we know we are right for the kids and will eventually prevail. We welcome anyone who wants to move over from the education of the past and present to something beyond.”education.”

But move we must.