Global Washington Programs
Global Washington’s programs are focused on three key objectives:
- Convening members to generate opportunities for growth. We provide opportunities for more than 4,000 beneficiaries to connect, share, and strategize. These opportunities include our annual conference and other events, the Global Washington Development Directory, our monthly e-newsletter, and a statewide calendar of global development events.
- Strengthening member organizations to increase their impact. We offer our members regular capacity-building workshops, highlight their work to the media and greater community, and promote volunteerism and employment opportunities within the global development sector in the state and abroad. Global Washington’s annual conference brings together hundreds of regional, national and international global development experts, practitioners, academics, government representatives and funders. Conference participants learn from the best in the field and engage with potential partners in their work.
- Advocating across key development issues at the local, national, and global level. We bring non-profit, business, academic and government organizations together to advocate for key global development policy reforms. We also promote Washington State as a hub for global development worldwide. Currently, we are focused on strengthening global education and engagement in Washington State; we aim to put global learning at the heart of K-12, community college, and higher education curriculum. We also research and publish detailed reports on the state of global development in Washington.
Recent Successes and Current Challenges
In 2012, Global Washington brought together the largest convening of the global development sector in Washington State at our fourth annual conference, Redefining Development - From Silos to Collective Impact. The event drew 450 regional, national and international members of the global development sector. Our annual conference serves as a platform to promote greater collaboration among Washington State organizations committed to global development by providing the opportunity to share innovative strategies and explore cross-sector, cross-issue partnerships to build a better world.
Global Washington currently seeks greater participation by Washington’s socially engaged businesses and corporations. The private sector is an important part of development community as businesses become more actively engaged in this work through corporate giving programs, through corporate social responsibility programs, or as intentional social enterprises. Our members are increasingly interested in finding ways to partner with businesses in their development work. Global Washington plays an important role in facilitating these connections.