In 1997, young people and leaders in the fields of human rights and genocide prevention gathered together, intent on finding new ways to prevent the crimes against humanity then ravaging the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, and other zones of conflict around the world. As a result, a group of international young leaders bonded together to build an organization whose goal would be to prevent such atrocities from occurring in the first place.

The answer was clear: the key to preventing massive violations of human rights and protecting basic freedoms lies in organizing the world's youth to take action. Thus, Global Youth Connect (GYC) was born. Today, our programs and activities are challenging youth to work to transform the world around them.
With the help of a planning grant from the Dart Foundation, a steering committee of 15 young people from 10 different countries, including the former Yugoslavia, Guatemala, Cambodia, Nigeria, and the United States -- spent two years building the organization's foundations.

In August 1999, Global Youth Connect began operating as a fully incorporated 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Since then, we have developed and implemented programs that are supporting and inspiring the passions and lives of youth and helping to create change on a wide variety of human rights and social justice issues around the world.

GYC's mission is to build and support a community of youth who are actively promoting and protecting human rights, and to educate and inspire the next generation to work for peaceful change.

We believe educated, compassionate and empowered youth are the key to achieving tolerance, peace and justice. Our programs encourage young people to work together to stand up to abuses of human rights. GYC practices a holistic approach to youth education and action which is grounded in a commitment to the principles of human rights, community-building, reconciliation and peaceful resolution of conflicts.

"We must be the change we wish to see in the world..." --Gandhi

Our human rights education programs are focused primarily on serving youth and young adults ages 14-30. We support youth who are already leaders in their community and who are looking for ways to strengthen their skills, deepen their understanding and build a network of supportive allies. We also connect with youth who are at an earlier stage in developing their understanding of human rights and how they can best engage their unique talents and experiences on behalf of human rights.

The youth we work with come from all backgrounds – from the poorest communities to the wealthiest, from the “developed” world to the “underdeveloped” world, and from a wide range of ethnic, national, and religious backgrounds.

Our Goals and Objectives Include:

Increase understanding of both the context and practice of human rights. In particular, we aim to better understand how the promotion and protection of human rights can be used as an effective tool to help prevent conflict, minimize the potential for mass violence and eliminate the threat of genocide

Build the skills, knowledge and confidence of youth to raise awareness, take action and work collaboratively on projects to promote and defend human rights

Facilitate meaningful dialogue, enable critical thinking and analysis of complex issues and encourage joint problem solving to address shared human rights concerns.

Foster personal and emotional growth by testing boundaries and limitations, reflecting critically on our own cultures, exploring how the choices we make affect the lives of others, building strong cross-cultural connections and finding positive outlets for service to promote human rights

Create, inspire and nurture both new and existing youth-led projects aimed at promoting and protecting human rights