"I have been involved in Global Justice since its founding months in 2001 serving both as its Chair and Honorary Chair of the Board. During this time I have watched the organization grow into the largest student network focused around the dual crises of HIV/AIDS and child health...Global Justice has quickly earned the respect of many through its policy victories and progress in building a student movement." -Jeffrey Sachs Director, Earth Institute at Columbia University Special Advisor to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan |
What is Global Justice?A vision.An organization. A movement. Young people have the unique capacity to reach across false boundaries of nationality, race and economic status to affirm our common humanity and work toward a shared vision. By uniting the creative energy and courage of young people with the knowledge and expertise of academia and professionals, Global Justice (GJ) empowers youth and students to be informed activists. Today there exist greater linkages between nations and across continents than our planet has ever known – a truly global exchange of people, of ideas, of goods and services. Yet we live in a world that faces an ever-increasing divide between rich and poor. As the face of communications, business, and international relations changes, so must our commitment to ending this disparity. Making globalization work for all—particularly the poor—represents the greatest challenge of our generation. To work towards this end, Global Justice operates on two fronts: On the one hand, Global Justice acts as the umbrella organization for a growing number of student advocacy campaigns aimed at promoting a more responsible and engaged US foreign policy. Each of these campaigns operates through a national steering committee and chapters organized on a campus by campus basis, with chapters engaging in independent projects as well as participating in collective national initiatives. To date Global Justice has been the flagship for two functioning campaigns, the Student Global AIDS Campaign and the Student Campaign for Child Survival. In its other incarnation Global Justice works to promote greater cooperation within the broader student advocacy movement for global justice, seeking to unite a fragmented movement of like minded individuals into a more cohesive whole, better able to mobilize resources to create change. This involves organizing concrete, cross-organization, advocacy efforts, but also acting as a venue for promoting informed advocacy through trainings and support for infrastructural development. Mission Statement GJ mobilizes a powerful movement of students and young people in the U.S., in partnership with youth internationally, to promote solutions to the world’s most pressing social problems. We produce an immediate impact by promoting policies that strengthen global communities, and long-term change by empowering young people to become global justice activists for life. We achieve these goals through student owned and led campaigns, leadership development, advocacy, and education. Vision Statement Uniting the courage of young people with the expertise of academia and professionals, Global Justice believes that young people must be at the forefront in the struggle to overcome the global challenges of our generation by creating a new world in which every person is empowered to control his or her own destiny; a world in which an awareness of our interdependence coupled with a basic respect for every human life impels us towards greater equity and justice. While there exist greater linkages today between nations and peoples than our planet has ever known, we see all around us an ever-increasing divide between the rich and poor. Young people have the limitless potential to bridge this divide and work toward a shared vision of human dignity, freedom and basic security. We envision a world where the worth of every human being is affirmed and globalization works for all--especially the poor and marginalized. |