The One Globe Kids program is made by Globe Smart Kids, an American 501c3 non-profit organization with the mission to make the foreign feel familiar to children worldwide. We translate intergroup contact science into practical, scalable solutions designed to move children beyond prejudice and toward mutual liking and friendship outside their familiar bubbles.
Implicit biases are formed in children as young as 6 years of age, influencing choices throughout a lifet ime: whom to befriend, whom to help, whom to trust, whom to hire, whom to e lect. In adulthood, amplified by economic and security concerns, biases feed division, hatred and inequality worldwide. US organizations spend $8 billion annually on diversity training, however companies are not more diverse and hate crimes continue to rise. All while the most pressing issues that the world is facing today can only be solved together. More and more educators recognize the need for intercultural dialogue to raise global citizens. However, they often don’t start until kids reach teenage years.
One Globe Kids is evidence-based, built on over 70 years of research into inter-group contact theory, which has found that having a friend in a different group is the most powerful way to overcome prejudice. Young age is a formative phase where biases are formed, and also where imagination and imagery are key components of how kids learn about the world. By intervening in the early years, with an approach proven to help children be excited about interacting with diverse others and in global contexts, One Globe Kids prepares students to cross cultures and work collaboratively across boundaries .
We partner with the University of Kent (UK) to increase and evaluate the impact of the program.
