Young people reach the wider world in an online community Meee photographs or poems. Maybe you want to talk about the latest news from the United Nations or the United States. Maybe you want some advice on revving up your peers to make your community better. Point your browser to TakingITGlobal.org (TIG). ‘This Web site, conceived and run by young people, has become an online community where teens and young ‘adults from more than 200 nations are engaged in a virtual exchange, which participants describe as just as real and. meaningful as any face-to-face meeting can be. ° ‘The talk of TIG is more than chit-chat. This community is aiming high to focus its members on Big Issues — the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, the digital divide, and HIV/AIDS, for example. ‘TIG has also been a dynamic campaigner in the effore 1 bridge the digital divide globally and to incorporate those goals in international agreements on information technology. “We also run wivundigitaldivide.net, which is a whole online community dedicated to discussion and action. Cathy. Courter ofa around the digital divide,” says Michael Furdyk, one of the ‘wo young Canadians who launched TIG in 2000 under the slogan “Inspire, Inform, Involve.” “For a young person secking a portal into global issues or a chance to talk with peers from around the world, this is a dazzling launching pad,” according to a report about youth online conducted by the Center for Social" ‘Media at American University in Washington, D.C. ‘The site provides powerful rools for young people to express themselves and learn about the world around them — including one of the world’ largest online collections of youth artwork and a vibrant online e-magazine. Schools around the world are also bringing TakingITGlobal into the classroom — tools and resources for teachers at TiGed.org enable interactive global education experiences. Ina 2007 member survey, TIG found that members are exchanging more than dreams. They'e learning information technology skills, discovering needed information and resources, building networks and collaborations, and learning how ro effect change in their ‘communities. “Now I have fiends from all over the world, people ‘who care about my well-being and about my happiness even if they've never mec me face to face, even if they don't know anything about me excepr from drawings and Socmry & Varues = i fou USA Scanned with CamScanner