This edition is organized around the four virtual conferences Actionable Innovations Global is running this fall — each section below pairs the conference with resources that connect to its theme. Full details on all four (registration, proposals, volunteering, sponsorship) are in this post.
THRIVE2 2026 — A Virtual Democracy Activation Experience
When: September 10 & 17, 2026 · For: civic leaders and educators strengthening democratic participation · Learn more & register: events.ringcentral.com/events/thrive2
The resources below connect to THRIVE2’s focus on democracy, civic infrastructure, and community engagement.
House Rejects Amendment to Eliminate Fulbright Funding
On July 15, 2026, the U.S. House voted 348–79 to reject an amendment that would have defunded the Fulbright Program. The Fulbright Association credits grassroots advocacy — calls, emails, and social media — for the win, though the Senate still has to act before the funding package is finalized.
Why it’s useful: A timely, real-world example of how contacting representatives can directly shape legislation — good conversation material for classrooms or community groups on how federal funding decisions actually get made.
How You Can Protect Democracy — Protect Democracy
A resource hub featuring “The Democracy Playbook” — over 20 concrete actions organized by category (Learn, Connect, Advocate) and time commitment, plus four learning modules on democracy vs. authoritarianism, organizing, and advocacy.
Why it’s useful: A ready-made action bank if you or someone in your network wants a concrete first step into civic engagement, without having to build a plan from scratch.
New Research: Americans Want Civic Education. Let’s Give It to Them. — icivics
The 2026 Civic Values Survey finds 83% of adults believe all students should study American history, and 62% say democracy “needs to be taught because it is not implicitly learned” — even as over 40% couldn’t recall a Bill of Rights protection unprompted.
Why it’s useful: Useful data if you’re advocating for civics funding or curriculum time locally — shows the public appetite for civic education is real even where knowledge gaps persist.
Digital Equity Is a Key Enabler to Public Participation and Stronger Communities — NTEN
NTEN’s statement on the Digital Equity Act, defunded around May 2026, urging Congress to reject a proposed FY2027 budget that would eliminate it entirely — noting roughly 30% of Americans still lack adequate internet access or skills.
Why it’s useful: A concrete advocacy angle for anyone doing digital-access work — useful context if you’re writing to representatives or building a case for local digital-equity funding.
Who Stands to Lose in the Current E-Rate Debate? — Benton Institute
Analysis of a proposed FCC rulemaking that could scale back E-Rate, the program subsidizing broadband for schools and libraries, arguing low-poverty and rural districts stand to lose the most.
Why it’s useful: Directly relevant to any school or library watching E-Rate funding — worth sharing with administrators or board members tracking the debate.
Democracy Stories Lab — People Powered
A creative call inviting individuals or small teams to submit short videos, illustrations, or graphics reframing democracy in hopeful, human terms. Four winners receive $1,000, five honorable mentions receive $500. Deadline: September 14, 2026.
Why it’s useful: A fun, low-barrier way for creatively-minded readers — students, teachers, or community members — to contribute to civic storytelling, with a shot at a small prize.
Out Front: Announcing the Be The People National Leadership Council
Announces a National Leadership Council for “Be The People,” a 10-year civic engagement initiative with 50+ leaders and organizations across sports, business, faith, philanthropy, and academia.
Why it’s useful: A high-profile civic initiative worth knowing about if you’re looking for coalition partners or models for long-horizon community engagement work.
GLOW 2026 — Global Learning for an Open World
When: November 18–19, 2026 · For: educators and organizations committed to intercultural understanding and sustainability · Learn more & register: events.ringcentral.com/events/glow-2026
The resources below connect to GLOW’s focus on intercultural understanding, global citizenship, and sustainability.
Youth for Peace: UNESCO Intercultural Leadership Programme
A UNESCO initiative developing emerging leaders (ages 25–45) in intercultural dialogue and social cohesion, with $10,000 in seed funding per selected leader for local dialogue initiatives. This year’s theme: “Human Connection and Dialogue in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.” Deadline: July 19, 2026, 23:59 CET — tomorrow.
Why it’s useful: A well-funded, credible leadership opportunity — worth flagging immediately to anyone in your network with a track record in intercultural or social-impact work, given the very close deadline.
Postgraduate Certificate in Global Citizenship Education — Maynooth University
A part-time, one-year certificate in critical/decolonial global citizenship pedagogy, hybrid delivery. Application deadline: August 2026 for a September start.
Why it’s useful: A structured, credentialed option for educators who want to deepen their global-citizenship teaching practice, especially those able to do hybrid/part-time coursework alongside their current role.
Introducing the C³ Lab: Character. Culture. Change.
Shelby Clark and Lynn Barendsen’s new initiative at The Good Project, Project Zero, Harvard, building on three decades of scholarship on character, purpose, and ethical development, including culturally grounded educator development.
Why it’s useful: A source worth following for educators, school leaders, and non-profit partners interested in character education and youth development.
Reflection Prompts — Re-Imagining Migration
A new series of reflection prompts, built on Veronica Boix Mansilla’s (Project Zero) framework, designed to spark honest conversations about migration, belonging, and the stories that shape who we are.
Why it’s useful: A ready-made discussion tool for classrooms, libraries, or community groups wanting to open up conversations about identity and migration without building a guide from scratch.
Who Are Students Becoming? — Erik Walters, with companion story on Rory Goss
Erik Walters’ reflection from the Apple Distinguished Schools Global Summit on student identity and belonging, paired with Apple’s profile of Rory Goss, a student who kept studying and earned top grades after losing 95% of his vision, using accessibility tools.
Why it’s useful: Together, these two pieces make a strong case study on accessible technology and student agency — the essay gives the big-picture framing, and the profile grounds it in a concrete example of what “removing barriers so students can keep becoming who they’re meant to be” actually looks like.
Global Education in Ireland — GENE Peer Review Report
A rigorous national-level assessment of Global Citizenship Education in Ireland, praising the country’s “Secondment Model” for education officers as a leading practice.
Why it’s useful: A useful model if you’re interested in how a national government structures and coordinates global citizenship education across a whole system.
Playing for the Planet Alliance — UNEP
A UNEP initiative with ~50 video game companies pledging environmental action and embedding climate messaging into games young people already play.
Why it’s useful: An interesting angle for reaching kids who are gamers first — worth knowing about if you’re looking for climate-education tie-ins that meet young people where they already are.
11th Annual Global Teaching Dialogue — U.S. Department of State
The U.S. Department of State’s Global Teaching Dialogue runs online July 21–22, 2026, bringing together primary and secondary educators worldwide to explore American best practices on Freedom 250, AI in Education, Workforce Readiness, STEM Education, Sports Diplomacy, and School & District Leadership. Workshops are led by Fulbright Teacher Exchanges alumni and other education experts. Free to attend, registration open. Note: this happens this week — July 21–22, 2026.
Why it’s useful: A free, easy way to connect with a global community of educators this week — worth sharing with your network right away given how soon it starts.
MapMaker Launch Guide — National Geographic Society
A free interactive digital mapping tool built by National Geographic and Esri for teachers, students, and Nat Geo Explorers, with curated lesson collections on world cultures, geography, and earth science, plus an FAQ to help educators get started.
Why it’s useful: A ready-to-use way to bring hands-on geography and global-inquiry activities into any classroom — no special training needed to get started, and the lesson collections make it easy to slot into an existing unit.
CREATE Summit 2026 — Positive Technology for Learning at Home and in School
When: December 2–3, 2026 · For: parents, teachers, and school leaders exploring creative tech applications · Learn more & register: events.ringcentral.com/events/create-summit
The resources below connect to CREATE Summit’s focus on technology’s role — for better or worse — in kids’ learning and creative lives.
New Research Finds Girls View AI as “Friends” — Girl Scouts of the USA
Research on girls ages 5–13 finds 65% of those using voice-assisted AI devices see them as friends, and 51% of 11–13 year-olds have turned to AI when sad or anxious — alongside a large gap between parents’ awareness and kids’ actual use.
Why it’s useful: A useful data point for classroom AI-literacy discussions or parent-facing programming — grounds the “kids and AI” conversation in real numbers rather than anecdotes.
Co-Design with Kids — Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop
A toolkit for practitioners designing products and programs collaboratively with children rather than just for them, with techniques, philosophy, and case studies.
Why it’s useful: Useful for anyone designing a program, app, or curriculum meant for kids — a concrete framework for involving young people as genuine collaborators rather than just end users.
Opinion: The School Screen Debate Is Asking the Wrong Question — AACTE EdPrepMatters
Liz Kolb (University of Michigan) argues the real question isn’t screen time limits, but when screen use improves learning versus replaces good teaching.
Why it’s useful: A useful counterpoint for schools currently debating screen-time policy — reframes the conversation around instructional quality rather than device presence alone.
In “Toy Story 5,” Tech “Invades” Playtime. It Also Threatens Human Connection. — The 74
Examines how Toy Story 5’s portrayal of a tablet displacing imaginative play sparked child-development experts to discuss tech’s real impact on kids’ attention, creativity, and connection.
Why it’s useful: An accessible, pop-culture entry point for talking with parents or students about screen time and imaginative play — easier to discuss than a straight research summary.
Digital Inclusion Fellowship — NTEN
A year-long, fully-sponsored fellowship for nonprofit staff building digital literacy programs, including $1,000–$5,000 in project funding. Early deadline: August 31, 2026.
Why it’s useful: A strong option for non-profit staff who want funded, structured support to launch a digital-equity initiative rather than building one from scratch.
Charter for Compassion Global Youth Conference — Radical Compassion in Action for Justice
When: September 23–24, 2026 · For: young changemakers and activists (free) · Learn more & register: events.ringcentral.com/events/2026-cfc-global-youth-conference
The resources below connect to the conference’s focus on youth-led compassion, justice, and community belonging.
3 Lessons from the Next Generation of Changemakers — Digital Promise
Takeaways from student panels at the 2026 YouthMADE Festival: meaningful change takes time and skill-building, solutions must center empathy and community needs, and innovators should pause to celebrate progress.
Why it’s useful: A good source of real student-project examples if you’re looking to inspire a service-learning or innovation-challenge unit.
Global Innovation Challenge 2026 — Social Shifters
Grants up to $15,000 plus founder support for 100%-youth-led (ages 18–30) social ventures already delivering measurable impact aligned with the UN SDGs. Deadline: August 31, 2026, 5pm UTC.
Why it’s useful: Worth sharing with young social entrepreneurs in your network who have an existing venture and need funding plus mentorship to scale it.
Panther Skate Plaza: Third Spaces — Hopelab
Examines how “third spaces” outside home and work support young people’s mental health and belonging, profiling Oakland community spaces increasingly threatened by cost and policy pressures.
Why it’s useful: A grounded case for why informal community spaces matter for youth mental health — useful for anyone making the case for funding or protecting spaces like this in their own community.
Global Classroom Internship (Hybrid) — One To World
Contact: leeza@onetoworld.org (application by cover letter and resume)
A Fall 2026 internship (15–20 hrs/week, $275/week stipend) supporting One To World’s Global Classroom program, where international “Global Guides” facilitate intercultural workshops with K-12 youth across NYC.
Why it’s useful: A strong hands-on opportunity for an upper-level undergraduate or recent grad interested in international/intercultural education — worth forwarding directly to any students or early-career contacts in your network.
“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” ― Mahatma Gandhi
Have a resource to include in the next edition? Reply or send it along.
Find all our links, including registration for THRIVE2, GLOW, CREATE Summit, and the Charter for Compassion Global Youth Conference, at linktr.ee/actionableinno.
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