Student-led International Learning & Volunteering Educational Resource (SILVER)

The SILVER Project was founded with the vision of making the world a better place by educating students to become global citizens and to combat socioeconomic inequality through education. The project empowers all of its participants to make impactful contributions to their society.

The education that fosters global citizenship and broadens perspectives is crucial in the culturally diverse society that we live in. Moreover, it is significant that students are capable of using English as a tool for global communication. While some students worldwide have access to quality academic education, it often does not put emphasis on social awareness and intercultural communication. In order to address this need, SILVER is designed to directly teach global citizenship and English to students around the world via technology by pairing them with dedicated US high school student instructors. We also believe that peer education provides unique opportunities for teachers and students alike, with greater enthusiasm and more purposeful exchanges on both sides.

We accomplish our goal of cultivating global citizens with English proficiency through the two unique modules developed by and for students. The English Module aims to boost our students’ ability to acquire knowledge by reading thought-provoking books, to go beyond the text by asking questions, and to use English as a tool to comfortably and confidently share ideas about topics. In the Global Citizenship Module, students learn about the history, culture, and current issues facing countries around the world and create innovative solutions to those issues by asking and answering questions. SILVER uses the educational platform SMILE and the books from the 1001 Stories Project, which are both initiatives of Seeds of Empowerment’s projects.

SILVER provides opportunities for the students to put their activism into practice. Tuition and donations are used to provide access to education for underserved students through Seeds of Empowerment. Based on the positive feedback the project has received from the teachers and students, it will continue to expand to create a meaningful impact in the world.