Global Up is a research-based, blended learning programme that develops tangible global skills essential to live, work, and make a real social impact around the world.
The teen-friendly version features a closed, minors-only platform for connecting and sharing with other learners worldwide. Teens learn skills to understand and active intercultural concepts.
With the Global Up Educator programme, educators will learn to collaborate effectively across cultural differences and foster global competence in their students.
2- 27 March 2026
(Live sessions on Zoom one night per week, dates t.b.c.)
“I’ve learnt there are many proficient ways to cope with difference, struggles and being part of a whole. This programme taught me heaps that I am applying to my life every day. You created a safe and honest space for each of us to express ourselves and our thoughts.”
“It has taught me about different cultures, equality, and how to be a better person in general. Thanks to the modules, I definitely feel like I have made progress in understanding different cultures and how I can manage conflicts.”
Participants in the 2025 NZ cohort of Global Up Teen
Develop key 21st-century global skills and build bridges across cultures with this 5-week interactive virtual exchange programme.
Open to teens (aged 14-17) anywhere in the world.
12-week interactive virtual programme, developed by AFS in partnership with the Center for Social Impact Strategy at the University of Pennsylvania.
Open to teens (aged 15 – 17.5), young adults and educators anywhere in the world.
At the end of your Global You programme, you’ll receive either the AFS Global Competence Certificate from AFS (Global Up, global You Adventurer) or the Advanced Certificate on Global Citizenship for Social Impact from AFS and the School of Social Policy & Practice at the University of Pennsylvania (Global You Changemaker).
Your achievement will also be recognised through a Credly Digital Badge, which you can add to your resume, university and job applications.
Virtual exchanges have a meaningful immediate impact on the development of global competence among high-school aged youth around the world, an AFS study found. The “AFS Global You Virtual Exchange Impact Study” conducted by independent researchers, and funded by a grant from the Stevens Initiative implies that it is crucial for students to have meaningful intercultural exchanges, which can be virtual, to develop global competence.
The results of the study demonstrate that short virtual programmes, such as the five-week AFS Global You Adventurer, provide immediate growth in aspects of youth global competence, especially in terms of having a more positive view of peers from other cultures, being able to actively withhold judgement of others, and their cross-cultural communication skills.
