Selected from nearly 180 applicants, Global Nomads Group was one of only three groups to receive a top prize of $50,000 in the Designing for Digital Thriving Challenge, powered by Riot Games, IDEO, Fair Play Alliance, and Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop. This award recognizes the revolutionary youth-led approach of Global Nomads Content Creation Lab and will help scale this powerful program to reach more young people around the world.

The Designing for Digital Thriving Challenge issued a call for proposals to create online spaces that foster feelings of well-being, accomplishment, belonging, and meaningful relationships in individuals, groups, and communities. Enter Global Nomads Group.

Global Nomads Groups Content Creation Lab uses a transformational “for youth, by youth” approach to digital program and content design that taps into Gen Z’s sense of agency and activism and addresses their desire for authenticity. We’ve radically shifted the roles in our design processes, positioning and trusting youth as digital learning experience designers and content creators.  

Another compelling aspect of this work is Global Nomads Group’s deep commitment to recruiting youth who represent the identities most often impacted by the social justice issues that our programming explores – those whose voices and perspectives are traditionally marginalized in learning content and digital spaces. This lived value aligns with a key theme of the Challenge: ‘Welcoming and Supporting Underrepresented Voices.’

The funds from the prize will allow Global Nomads Group to meet the growing demand from youth applicants eager to participate in the Content Creation Lab. For the current cycle, we had more applicants than spots available. Additional funding will support training, coaching, and internship stipends – which are especially critical to enabling the participation of youth from low-income backgrounds for whom unpaid internships are unfeasible.

Global Nomads Group will also expand the engagement of youth interns as collaborators with our staff to test and implement new dissemination strategies to realize the scale we envision. We aim to leverage the digital know-how and networks of young people to market and distribute the learning experiences they create to increase their reach and impact. 

“The prize money, expertise, and exposure from the Designing for Digital Thriving Challenge will be game-changing,” says CEO Courtney Welsh, “It will help us to scale our innovation and impact, while still centering youth leadership, learning, and safety.”