Greeting from Iraq, I had the honour to be part of the amazing team of the International Reporters and attend the week seminar at The Global Experience office in Münster. I learnt a lot from the hard working staff and gained a lot of friendships which had a positive impact on my personal growth and the perspective I have on the world today. In my opinion, The Global Experience transmits the message of tolerance and understanding between individuals which, however miniscule it may be, is a fundamental obstacle which people from all around the world struggle with. I really hope that The Global Experience continues to grow and provide young people with the opportunities to make the world a better place

The Global Experience gave me an unforgettable social and intercultural experience and opportunity to meet people I never believed I'd meet. I heard stories that I had never heard before, learned the words of languages that I thought were impossible to learn, tasted the food I had never tasted before, gained the knowledge that I could freely share and much more.

Hatem did a 3 month media internship at The Global Experience in Münster, Germany in summer 2013. This is his video report :)

Many people have opinions about other cultures, strange people, religions, - but what do they really KNOW about them? I know a tiny bit about it, because I learned. But not from a book, not from the world wide web, not from a movie - I learned from being part of The Global Experience Community. I took part in the yearly seminars which started in 2005. Since then, I got to know people from many different countries, with different believes, different opinions... but I learned one really important thing: in the end, we´re all the same, just in a different way. Without The Global Experience, I would have had to travel all the countries by myself. But even then I would never have seen a Vietnamese guy talk to a Mexican girl and a guy from Poland standing besides them laughing. Where else can you experience this? Learning by living, sharing experiences. Thank you for this unique and global experience!

I actually arrived at the Youth Peace Forum in the summer of 2010 without knowing anybody from The Global Experience. In all honesty, I just saw it as a cheap way to spend an extra couple of weeks away as part of my trip around Europe! But two seminars and many reports, articles and language videos later, I’m sat here in Münster doing a one year internship with The Global Experience! I am in regular contact with people from different cultures who I hope to still call good friends in another ten years’ time. As a member of this global community I have enjoyed fantastic trips to Poland and Namibia, however my most satisfying feeling came when Daniel, Martyna, Aga and Diana visited me in England last year. As new international friends came to visit me and see my everyday life, I saw this as confirmation that my two week “cheap holiday” in the summer of 2010 had given me so much more.

Menna is an IT developer and graphic designer from Egypt. In summer 2013 she spent 3 month in Münster with us. At the end of her stay she produced this video for us to share the experience she gained through her life and work in Münster :)

My internship abroad with The Global Experience made me realize the true meaning of freedom.

The Global Experience gave me the opportunity to share my culture and learn from many others around the world.

I consider myself lucky and privileged that during my three month internship with The Global Experience in Münster I was able to participate in two seminars. The first conference hosted school pupils from Namibia, Poland, Germany and Oman. The second seminar was called Youth Forum on Digital Media – an awesome gathering of brilliant minds from Europe, Asia and the Middle East! My internship also gave me the opportunity to lead more than 20 workshops across Poland and Germany in different schools and different ages groups. The pupils were generally engaged and curious and it was enjoyable for me to tell people from other countries about my culture. My time in Münster with The Global Experience really was a global and unforgettable experience.

To explain in simple words. The Global Experience is a life changing experience. Due to the Global Experience I am a licensed doctor working in the heart of Berlin.

The Global Experience gave me the opportunity to leave Egypt for the first time. For me it was a chance for travelling and exploring, a chance to explore yourself and know more about your capabilities. I am so grateful for having experienced this wonderful opportunity. It was an amazing 2 months working as an intern getting to know different people, making from all around the world. I have now friends from India, Pakistan, Germany, Spain, Poland, England, Scotland, Morocco, Tunisia, South Africa, Kenya, Austria and even Egypt. This opportunity of relating to people from different cultures is fundamental for bridging cultural divides which often creates tension in our world.

I've been part of the DPC organized by The Global Experience for 2 consecutive years. The first year I was 5-months pregnant, travelling for my first time to Europe, and all alone. The experience was an eye-opener to me. I really discovered the potential I had in myself, above all, that life is all about keeping our fears and presumptions aside. Thanks to The Global Experience, I met with amazing passionate people from all over the world, sang in front of an audience after 10 years of not doing so, had some of the most interesting discussions in my life and mutually broke stereotypes! I love you The Global Experience people !

I have dedicated big part of my life in volunteering and giving back to the community, advancing technology and education for humanity hoping for a better world. The Digital Participation Camp was one of the biggest experiences I have had. Not only for the content and enthusiasm from everyone for a great output, but also for finding many people from everywhere on the planet having the same mission giving back to the world, and hoping for a better future for everyone else. The DPC was a turning point for myself, especially when I went back to my community and found that everyone else was applying for the same experiences we shared together and everything we learnt through such an amazing journey. I am looking forward for a brighter future for the whole World having initiatives like this everywhere, as this is the real essence of giving back to the world in a professional and organized Orchestra named: The Global Experience.

In 2014 I took part in Digital Participation Camp & Summit in Munster that was organized by The Global Experience and that was a moment when my life completely changed. Thanks to The Global Experience I met so many interesting, friendly, talented, energetic, enthusiastic and kind people, who are so passionate about the work they do, and who are all together making the world a better place. After the DPC my ideals and values changed. I managed to challenge previous stereotypes and prejudices that I would have otherwise had if I hadn’t participated in the DPC. The knowledge and passion for social justice that I acquired there helped me to work on several projects at my university. As a consequence I feel more active and brave and energised by the positivity which fuels the DPC. I feel like I could change the world! Think global, do local – that is what I learnt there!

The Global Experience gave me the opportunity to participate in the Digital Participation Camp & Summit for 3 consecutive years. For me, it has been a wonderful experience meeting different people from different cultures and skills. The hard work and unique atmosphere involved in developing the different projects is unforgettable.

Through the Global Experience I have met really nice people from other countries and I have become a lot more open to other cultures. I have become more confident about speaking to other people who do not speak my language. In the last years I have travelled a lot and I believe that this is a direct consequence of the Global Experience.

I have been connected to The Global Experience since 2007, and in this time I have had a unique opportunity to meet a lot of people from all over the world. This has given me wonderful experiences and long-term friendships.

You always hear about people saying that a moment or a person changed their lives forever... I never believed that was possible. I never believed that a single moment or just another person could have such a big impact in somebody's life. Well... that was pretty much what happened to me in the summer of 2010 when I first came to Europe for the Youth Peace Forum organized by The Global Experience. My life in Colombia until that point in time was very simple and normal: I was a young friendly Colombian, getting up every day to go to study. The world for me was a big place but only as seen on the news or television. I never got the chance to experience its greatness from first hand, but just through the eyes and ideas of others. The Global Experience gave me the chance to open not only my mind and eyes, but myself to a world full of diversity, new people, new ideas and mentalities. Eating food from the Middle East, listening to music from Africa, learning about Asia and visiting Europe... how could all that NOT change your life?

During my time with The Global Experience I have gained so many great and inspiring experiences. Getting to know people from all over the world, learning about their way of life and their perspectives broadens your mind. Even if you think you are thinking and acting globally, there is always more to learn and know! Our annual seminars bring so many great people together and provide a basis for excellent workshops, new friendships and fun times. I got to know many of my best friends through The Global Experience and I am very grateful for this. And where inspirational and motivated people come together there are always new ideas and projects to be created. That’s what I love about The Global Experience!

As my parents left me when I was a child, I know first-hand how necessary love is for every childhood. Working with The Global Experience gave me a great chance to listen and understand the children as much as possible. I want to be a part of their lives and share smiles with them. Each child deserves to have love from society.

Through the Global Experience I have managed to take my poetry abroad and help others understand and appreciate the circumstances I live in. I am happy that I have been able to contribute to promoting tolerance.

Through The Global Experience I managed to gain many different experiences. I learnt how interesting and funny it could be producing languages videos, met people from other countries and learn a lot about their cultures. But the best experience with The Global Experience was the exchange program to Namibia in 2013. During the internship I discovered many new things and I was surprised about the openness and kindness of the people. I made a lot of friends there, especially Chalet! And when I came back to Namibia in 2014 I was very happy to see her again.

It was a rare privilege spending a week with the Global Experience in Munster in 2013, during the Digital Participation Camp. The program brought together social entrepreneurs from all over the world. I refer to it as "global talent on parade". You could find diverse people from various creative fields; software developers, designers, photographers, the very ingredients for a strong digital project. The workshops and speed mentoring sessions were very educative and enlightening. To me it was an opportunity to share and learn from others culture, connect with like-minded people, who I’m still in touch with and who are assisting my projects in Ghana. The Global Experience is really a change instrument, leveraging on the talents of young people across the world, and creating various opportunities to solve real world problems.

Getting to know & work with change-makers from 30 nations on social impacting projects was an unprecedented experience for me. Thank you The Global Experienceand, keep up the good work!

The Global Experience (former SolarNet), gave me the unique opportunity to meet wonderful people from all over the world. Sometimes I find myself not believing that a "simple" language video (Easy German) in the internet could give a complete different direction to life, and saying that, a direction that I am immensely happy to have followed. Joining the The Global Experience activities was, and still is, a great joy for me. If I had to resume in a sentence what The Global Experience means for me, I guess I would say: There is a lot out there to be learnt. I cannot express in words the gratitude I have for the team, but I can surely say that they were a game changer in my life! Muito obrigado por tudo.

I was one of the lucky people who had the opportunity to participate in the DPC which is organized by The Global Experience. It was life changing, and the days I spent in Germany, working with real projects, having fun with skilled, smart, amazing people from all around the world, were one of the best days in my life. I am very thankful for the work that The Global Experience invested into this event. I met so many inspiring people, who now I can call my friends. Thank you and keep up the amazing work.

Due to the Global Experience, I got the chance to be part of an exchange programme with a Namibian school. After this wonderful experience a lot of other life changing projects followed. It was a privilege to meet, work with and learn from amazing people from all over the world. The first thing The Global Experience taught me was that the best way of shaping your personality is by being surrounded by people who are inspiring. Meeting, working and living together with people who have another cultural background, beliefs and other life experiences widens your horizons and will teach you things you will never learn at school or even at university. I have grown through these experiences and friendships that I will never forget.

Meeting and collaborating with young people who are driven, creative and unafraid to change the world is truly inspiring and energizing. It can be easy to be overwhelmed by the multitude of problems in our world, but The Global Experience made me realize that I am not alone in championing digital technology for social good. I am extremely grateful to have gained lifelong friendships, to broaden my understanding of different countries and cultures, and to learn that we truly live in a global village.

In 2012 I completed a 3 month internship with The Global Experience in Münster. I was given the opportunity to learn a lot about the development policies of North-Rhine Westphalia, to put into practice my cultural management skills, and to discover new directions in terms of creative projects. It was also an enriching experience to represent my country's political, social and artistic dimensions in several german intitutions and to bring the muslim culture closer to my western friends - and all this in the fantastically green and modern city of Münster!

I joined The Global Experience in 2007 when it used to be called solar net. I met Cari, Janusz and other students from Germany and Poland, when they came to Namibia to shoot a short film called “Those Two”. I can still recall the day when I got an invitation to join The Global Experience. The Global Experience has seriously been an impact on my life. It was my first time to go overseas and through this opportunity I have molded and shaped my current temperament and ideals. Words aren’t enough to thank The Global Experience Team.

I have been a member of The Global Experience Polska for the last four years and it has given me an amazing opportunity to travel and explore. The Youth Media Lab on Diversity in 2012 helped me to grow up, as I stopped to look stereotypically and started to see that teenagers from other nations are exactly like me.

I happened to find out about The Global Experience years ago when I was looking for my summer volunteer activities. During my time as a member of The Global Experience, I have met many interesting people from different cultures; especially Taku, who I met at an International Reporters Youth Conference 2011. We talked about our stories with The Global Experience, our dreams, our families, and he taught me one big life-lesson: sharing brings happiness.

I have to say that attending The Youth Peace Forum in 2010 is one of the best things that has happened in my life. The Global Experience gave me experiences I will never find in a textbook or by searching the internet. I was given the opportunity to connect one-to-one, face-to-face with young people from 22 different nations! The language videos on Youtube have helped me learn Polish to a good conversational level – something I never thought I would do! The Global Experience has given me friendship and connections in the world that would last for a lifetime! I have later visited my friend Marcin in Lublin several times since getting to know him, and he has been here in Oslo as well. I visited my friends in Tunisia in both 2011 and 2012, where I even got to experience Ramadan. What’s more, The Global Experience has upgraded me to a global citizen!

I have always heard about self-discovery, the strength of sharing, being inspired by others.... but I have never felt the real meaning of these expressions until the day when my life took a new turn with The Global Experience. This experience allowed to live unforgettable moments, allowed me to discover a better version of myself, helped me to get my self-confidence back and has driven me in many aspects of my life. Through The Global Experience I have met wonderful people, people who know how to love and how to share.

The activities and the team at The Global Experience have been an inspiration to me over the years. Throughout my nine years of involvement with social development institutions, The Global Experience is and will continue to be the only place where changemakers exist. Those changemakers have not settled for less and have always inspire me through their constant enthusiasm, creativity and innovation. Personally and professionally The Global Experience has helped me to change considerably, it expanded my networks with changemakers and helped me develop various projects for social and political development in Egypt and the MENA region. If anyone is looking for an investment in an authentic change making organisation, The Global Experience is the place to invest your time and effort in making a positive impact to, not only your society, but to the entire world

For me, The Global Experience is all about the people. I’ve always been interested in languages and other cultures, but it wasn’t until my first The Global Experience (formerly SolarNet) seminar in 2009 that I actually got the chance to go abroad and experience a foreign culture for the first time. And it wasn’t just one culture, either. At the seminar, I met people from almost every corner of the Earth all in one place, and I made memories and friendships that will stay with me forever. And the most surprising thing I learned wasn’t about the differences between cultures; it was about the way in which we’re all so similar, and the way that shared experiences can create a bond that spans oceans. Through The Global Experience, I have become a better person, and my understanding of the world has fundamentally changed. My experience with The Global Experience has instilled in me the belief that one of the best hopes for peace in this world is through international friendship. It’s one thing to read about the world in a book or an article, but when you’re able to meet with someone face to face and have the chance to learn with them, work with them, laugh with them, and form a relationship with them, you gain real understanding. And that is what The Global Experience is all about.

The Global Experience gives me the feeling of being a world citizen. It’s amazing to know so many young people with progressive social and cultural ideas, and be a part of a global community making the difference! We bring mutual understanding and respect in action!

"Going abroad has been eye-opening to me. It is these experiences that I love to share with others!"

My life can be divided to before and while being in TGE. What makes this time so special? Friends, travel, workshops, professional success - all these things are very important and enrich my everyday life. But above all TGE changed my perception of the world. My new friends have made me more empathic towards others, have taught me to accept diversity and to look for similarities behind everybody’s differences. Participating in and organising projects with The Global Experience has helped me become a professional teacher and a good educator. These skills are now enabling me to pass on the key values I have learnt as a member of an international community. Although my words may give the impression of being a part of a sect, I can safely say that The Global Experience is the most peaceful ‘sect’ in the world! It may look like we’re just having fun, but we’re actually making people happy and creating a better world, not just dreaming of it.

I regard my internship at The Global Experience office in Berlin as the opportunity of a lifetime. Traveling for the first time to Europe, meeting people from nearly all over the world, working on passion-driven projects that affect the international community, getting to work on certain tasks I’ve never done before including shooting a video clip for a song, working in an office with passionate, professional, awesome and lovely people from different parts of the world with different cultural backgrounds, facing the real world of work yet having fun at night after finishing the work, working on a project you always dreamt to work on and finally getting to practice my German, all this together should be called the opportunity of my life. I would like to thank some people for making this happen, first of all Carina and Janusz who believed in me and still do, the DPC organizers and participants and last but not least my internship mates Eman, Ahlam, Alice and Wassim. I learned a lot from you, even more than I could say. Thanks a lot.

The Global Experience has been a bolt of positive energy for me. The Digital Participation Camp is a boot camp for life. It inspires, motivates and challenges me. The Global Experience has allowed me to see beyond borders and dream beyond constraints.

Over the past 6 years I have grown into this world community. These kind of friendships are life lasting.