High Resolves

High Resolves
Founded2005; 20 years ago (2005)
Australia
TypeNonprofit
INGO
HeadquartersSydney,
Australia
Location
ServicesYouth empowerment
Co founders
Mehrdad Baghai, Roya Baghai
Website[1] HighResolves.org

High Resolves (or the High Resolves Initiative) is an International non-governmental organization for young people.[1] The aim of High Resolves programs are to educate high-school aged students in the meaning of being a global citizen.[2][clarification needed] High Resolves programs emerged from simulations developed by co-founder Mehrdad Baghai and Nobel Laureate Thomas Schelling at Harvard University.[3]

History

High Resolves was founded in 2005 by Mehrdad Baghai author of The Alchemy of Growth[4] and his wife Roya.[3] High Resolves started as an experiment in Baghai's son's school in Sydney, Australia, and had expanded to at least 350 Australian schools by 2018,[3] having engaged more than 200,000 Australian students since its inception.[5]

In 2014 the Australian Council for Educational Research conducted an independent evaluation of the programs and found:[1] "High Resolves is meeting its intended purposes, namely it is effectively engaging and helping to empower young Australians to take part and be active in their communities".

Program

Collective Action: a series of High Resolves programs for students, which teach personal decision-making skills and encourage critical thinking about social change.[6]

Collective Identity: an investigation of cosmopolitanism.[7][8]

Justice: an exploration of fairness, especially in the distribution of wealth and poverty.[7]

Awards and honours

Author and venture capital entrepreneur Mehrdad Baghai, a member of the Initiative, was short-listed as a finalist for the first Aspen Institute, John P. McNulty Prize in 2008,[9] and ultimately was the winner of the award in 2018, the prize's eleventh year, citing extraordinary leadership.[3][5][10]

High Resolves won the 2015 Patrons Prize in the national Good Design Awards.[11]

Videos for Change Challenge

High Resolves created Videos for Change in 2015[12] to help students to take action and feel empowered to create change in the world.[13]

The challenge is for young people from high school years 7 to 12 to create a one-minute video on a social issue they feel passionate about. Past participants have covered issues such as social inclusion, racism, domestic violence, gender equality, LGBTQI rights, and bullying.[14]

Charity status

High Resolves has the charity status of Deductible Gift Recipients (DGR) in Australia[15] and High Resolves America has 501(c)(3) status in the US[16] which allows for US federal tax exemption of nonprofit organizations, specifically those that are considered public charities.

References

  1. ^ a b "High Resolves". Australian Charities and Not-for-profit Commission. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  2. ^ Tavangar, Homa Sabet (2009). Growing Up Global: Raising Children to Be At Home in the World. New York: Random House (Ballantine Books). pp. 69–70. ISBN 9780345517005.
  3. ^ a b c d "McNulty Foundation". Impact. McNulty Foundation. Retrieved 17 November 2018. As intolerance and extremism increase, High Resolves teaches high schoolers to rise above.
  4. ^ Baghai, Mehrdad, et al. (2000). The Alchemy of Growth. Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-7382-0309-2
  5. ^ a b "McNulty Foundation". Ideas. McNulty Foundation. 24 October 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2018. High Resolves and Mehrdad Baghai win the 2018 McNulty Prize
  6. ^ "Collective Action". International Grammar School Sydney. 13 August 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  7. ^ a b "High Resolves - The Forest High School". theforest-h.schools.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  8. ^ "Gleneagles Secondary College » Year 8 High Resolves Program (13-15/3)". www.gleneagles.vic.edu.au. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  9. ^ "McNulty Prize Finalist: Mehrdad Baghai, High Resolves Initiative, Australia". The Aspen Institute. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  10. ^ "McNulty Foundation" (Press release). globenewswire.com. 24 October 2018. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  11. ^ "Good Design Awards 2015 Patrons Prize 2015". good-design.org. 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  12. ^ "Videos for Change Challenge". Videos for Change. High Resolves. 27 November 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  13. ^ "How a one-minute video changed Platypus Shoes". www.ragtrader.com.au. Rag Trader. 11 September 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  14. ^ "Videos for Change Challenge". videosforchange.org. High Resolves. 27 November 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  15. ^ "Appendix A: Policy decisions taken since the 2018-19 Budget" (PDF). p. 127.
  16. ^ "501c3 letter". IRS.

Further reading

  • Representation of High Resolves activities at one high school — "High Resolves". Chatswood High School P&C (Parents & Citizens) Association. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  • Forrest High School, NSW "High Resolves".
  • Generic Youth Development Framework, "A Discussion Document" (PDF).