Who We Are
Global Exchange, a non-profit organization, has more than two decades of leadership experience in organizing for justice across a large number of social, environmental and economic issues. We have effectively brought together people of all ages to take action on a large variety of critical issues, including sweatshops, international trade and aid, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, fighting corporate power and climate change.
Global Exchange Core Programs
Community Rights Program
From gas drilling to toxic dumping to water bottling…who makes the rules where you live—corporations or residents? The Community Rights Program assists communities confronted by harmful corporate projects to assert their right to make important decisions that impact them by passing binding laws that place the rights of residents (and nature) above the claimed legal “rights” of corporations. At the heart of the Community Rights Program is the belief that our right to create the kind of place we want to live and reining in corporate exploitation of our communities is the next evolution of the civil rights revolution. This program is providing a framework to transform grassroots organizing to protect people and planet.
Fair Trade Program
We work to promote Fair Trade, end child and forced labor and trafficking in the cocoa industry, as well as educate and empower children and adults to advocate for and purchase Fair trade. Because Fair trade cocoa and coffee provide an economically viable way for producers to protect the forests that shade their crops, this campaign has played an equally important role in protecting forest ecosystems and biodiversity.
We are part of a coalition of organizations targeting Hershey’s, America’s chocolate icon, to “Raise the Bar” and go Fair Trade. Joining together with allies in the Fair Trade movement, we have worked to press Hershey’s to end child and forced labor in its cocoa supply chain and start sourcing Fair Trade certified cocoa. By transforming one company, we aim to transform the industry. We know that if this industry giant goes Fair Trade, other chocolate companies will follow.
Mexico Program
Our goal is to create an honest and public policy discussion about the U.S.-Mexico relationship, particularly as it relates to Mexico’s democracy, human rights, poverty, economic development, migration and military cooperation with the U.S. We work alongside and to strengthen the voice of Mexico’s democratic civil society, using the credibility and knowledge we’ve gained during fifteen years of supporting Mexicans working to build and defend their democracy.
Currently our Mexico Program confronts the rising violence and unrest resulting from the relationship between criminal enterprises, Mexican power structures and U.S. military aid. We seek dialogue and effective advocacy toward bi-lateral military policies, gun trafficking, drug policy and democratic reform. We are building unified cross-border agendas by sharing key viewpoints, organizing grassroots speaking tours and hosting leadership summits.
Green Economy Leadership Training Program
The Midwest region of the United States is at a critical juncture: we must rebuild the economy and the energy systems to be renewable, sustainable and profitable. We use the opportunities that have risen from the failed economy to promote alternative approaches to development that cut carbon emissions, promote clean energy technology and create models for governments and corporations to follow.
In 2010 we launched an innovative grassroots economic development project for young people. The Green Economy Leadership training (GELT) program implements green economy solutions (home weatherization, establishing urban gardens, etc.) while training individuals in how to build, work and live in a new green economy/clean energy framework. GELT is based in Highland Park – a low-income community in Detroit. Dozens of full-time volunteers work side-by-side with Highland Park community members to put energy efficiency and LEED for Neighborhood Development guidelines into practice. Utilizing our organizational expertise and experience in popular education, activist trainings and creative campaigning, we plan to catalyze the people in Michigan to be a powerful voice and vision for a clean and renewable energy future.
Green Festivals
We think of Green Festival as an experiment in building the sustainable community. It began ten years ago with finding solutions to help make our lives socially, economically and environmentally healthier. Individuals, businesses and community leaders come together to discuss critical issues that impact us at home and abroad. Organizations and businesses showcase programs and products that restore the planet and all that inhabit it. Neighbor-to-neighbor connections are formed and skills are shared to empower people to create positive change in the world.
Each year through our Green Festivals, Global Exchange introduces tens of thousands of people to the future green economy. Now in five cities across the nation, these dynamic two-day events bring together inspirational leaders, social entrepreneurs and community members to celebrate and enjoy everything from green energy systems to Fair trade Certified products to organic food. Attendees are able to see, hear, feel, smell and taste the future green, socially just economy.
Politics and Money
Global Exchange will draw on our history of pushing for change in the corporate landscape and promoting government action on behalf of the public. We are embarking on a campaign to get banks out of politics and make Wall Street play by the rules.
Reality Tours
We also continue to run Reality Tours with the vision that meaningful, socially responsible travel, can and does, change the world. By offering experiential educational tours, Reality Tours has connected people to issues, issues to movements, and movements to social change. In 2012 we offer over 65 Reality Tours to 27 countries including Afghanistan, Brazil, Cuba, Egypt, Nicaragua, Uganda and Vietnam.
