Global Neighborhood Project
The Who and What
More than 15 years ago, teachers from Azerbaijan visited San Diego with U.S. State Department support, and one of them stayed in our neighborhood. We knew nothing about his country, but liked our visitor as a human being, a citizen diplomat, if you will.
When the group returned to Baku, we contacted the Azerbaijan Embassy in Washington and the Azerbaijan Consulate General in Los Angeles, and proposed the following: Give us a “neighborhood” anywhere in Azerbaijan, and we will work in a collaborative way on cultural and educational projects. Today, the Global Neighborhood Project (GNP) and our friends in Azerbaijan have collaborated on more than 50 projects, including the 7th Annual San Diego-Azerbaijan Youth Chess Tournament at the Coronado Library with a Grandmaster from Azerbaijan.
GNP then looked for other “neighborhoods” that are off the beaten path and today we have several global partnerships that focus primarily on photography/videography, storytelling/journalism/news deserts and chess, along with the arts and sports. In addition to Azerbaijan, we’re in Botswana, Latvia, Mongolia, Morocco, Romania, Uruguay and Uzbekistan with efforts underway in other countries across the globe.
GNP is a journey, not a destination. The three goals that we envisioned in 2007 were: 1. Connect with 10 countries in separate regions of the world that are off the beaten path; 2. Connect those 10 countries with each other, and finally 3. Connect with international organizations. All in the spirit of citizen diplomacy.
GNP also offers a wide variety of internship opportunities and provides mentoring for students, whatever their career path. Please join us on this journey.
Martin Kruming
Global Neighborhood Project
