Our Approach

World Learning’s approach to international development begins with a fundamental belief that change begins within communities and must be driven by people who live in those communities. The most effective path to change is to help people in communities harness and enhance their own potential change.

World Learning defines community in a variety of ways. It might be a village or town, a neighborhood, or an informal collaboration among local institutions, NGOs, and community members. For example:

  • In Ethiopia, World Learning works with parents and teachers from almost 2,000 schools to help ensure that HIV/AIDS affected orphans and other vulnerable children stay in school.
  • In Indonesia, World Learning works in multiple regions to bridge differences among ethnic and religious groups, and strengthen the rights of women and minority groups.
  • World Learning provided training for a group of Bulgarian social workers in Slovenia and Hungary, yielding immediate results: children were taken out of institutional care and placed into foster families.

Every international development program that we design begins with a comprehensive understanding of the issues faced by the people who live and work within a community. By partnering with people at the community level, World Learning designs programs that take into account the full local context for effecting long-term change.

With our historic emphasis on education and a belief in local solutions, World Learning programs focus on training and education, rather than on direct service delivery. Our programs work through three primary channels to address critical global issues:

Community Projects – Working on the ground in more than 20 countries with community partners and local NGOs to educate, support, and build capacity to address some of the most critical global issues of our times – Civil Society and Governance, Education, Children at Risk, and HIV/AIDS.

Capacity Building Services – Developing a wide range of capacity building programs and services for individuals, groups, or entire institutions. These programs offer training to tens of thousands of people each year from more than 130 countries, improving their capacity as effective agents of progress and social change.

Visitor Exchange Program (formerly known as Delphi International) – Bridging cultures and promoting citizen diplomacy and understanding across nations through the design and delivery of customized adult and student exchanges and observational study tours.