TakingITGlobal

4 Message from the Founders Along with our own milestone, 2015 marked the conclusion of the UN's Millennium Development Goals timeline, which has replaced by the 17 new Sustainable Development Goals providing guiding priorities for development efforts over the next decade and a half. TakingITGlobal's growth and progress has become increasingly tied to the strong role we're able to play as a partner in bringing relevance, authenticity, and depth to education systems through technology, cross-cultural understanding, and real-world problem solving. Our partnership with the Toronto District School Board grew to benefit from our Sprout Ideas programming on Social Innovation, leading us to "sprout" a new accredited professional learning course: Education for Social Innovation. Michael keynoted conferences this year for African and Eastern European networks of International Schools, leading to an expansion of the course with CEESA to schools across Central and Eastern Europe. Educators and students at many these schools were at the front lines of the refugee crisis, and collaborated to welcome and support refugees passing through their countries in their difficult journeys. We are proud to be a key partner in EQWIP HUBs, a program powering sustainable youth livelihoods in Tanzania, Indonesia, Ghana, Peru, Bolivia, and Senegal. Founded by Canada World Youth and Youth Challenge International, TakingITGlobal's learning platform and digital badging tools will play a key role in helping thousands of youth in these countries develop skills and find employment to secure their future. Young people in Canada's remote northern communities face especially challenging circumstances, with nearly 75% not completing high school, and some of the highest suicide rates in the world. To support enhanced education outcomes and foster social connectedness, we have become the lead ecosystem partner of Connected North, a program founded by Cisco Systems. In 2015, we worked to deliver over 200 sessions of interactive programming to remote schools in Nunavut, Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan, and Ontario, including a Global Dignity Day session involving Mrs. Universe. A diverse set of more than 20 supporters including the Samuel Family Foundation, TD Bank, and Scotiabank helped to make the program possible. We believe our vision of actively engaging youth in shaping a more peaceful, inclusive, and sustainable world is a more important challenge than ever, and we're proud of our partnership-driven approach that makes so many of these programs possible with an amazing network of collaborators! If you're reading this, you're probably one of them. Jennifer Corriero Executive Director Michael Furdyk Director of Technology It's hard to believe that 2015 marked 15 years since we established TakingITGlobal in September 2000, and how much has changed in the world since then. Thank you!

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