Village to Raise a Child is a program established by the Harvard Social
Innovation Collaborative (SIC) that identifies and nurtures five young entrepreneurs from around the world.
These five students—called “Global Trailblazers”—are invited to come to
Harvard to attend and present their ideas at the annual Igniting
Innovation Summit, giving them the tools, skills and resources they need
to execute their community-based projects.
Village to Raise a Child was established because we believe that all ideas and all students
should have the potential to grow and succeed, regardless of where they
come from. We believe that giving young people the tools and skills to
think about problems creatively, devise solutions, and execute them
successfully will empower not just these youths but the entire
communities in which they live.
WHY IS IT CALLED ‘VILLAGE TO RAISE A CHILD’?
Taken from the old adage “it takes a village to raise a child”, this name signifies three important aspects of our program:
Community-wide effort.
We believe that, just like it takes a village to raise a child, successfully using social innovation to improve communities does not rest on one individual but requires a collaborative, community-wide effort.
Youth involvement.
Just as a village hopes that investing in its youth will help it grow and prosper in the long-run, we believe that the youth should be actively involved in the process of improving their communities.
Youth empowerment.
We strongly believe in the capacity of today’s youth to use innovative techniques and solutions to better the villages that raised them.
We believe that, just like it takes a village to raise a child, successfully using social innovation to improve communities does not rest on one individual but requires a collaborative, community-wide effort.
Youth involvement.
Just as a village hopes that investing in its youth will help it grow and prosper in the long-run, we believe that the youth should be actively involved in the process of improving their communities.
Youth empowerment.
We strongly believe in the capacity of today’s youth to use innovative techniques and solutions to better the villages that raised them.
Eligibility
The Village to Raise a Child program is open to any student or group of students (from any country)
who is currently enrolled in a high school or its equivalent.
Applicants must have an innovative idea or recently initiated project
that attempts to solve a community-wide problem. Ongoing projects must
be less than two years old. Applicants do not need to speak English
fluently, but familiarity with the language is preferred. Students
applying as a group must choose one leader to represent them for the
subsequent steps of the application.