Connecting communities so they can learn from each other’s breakthroughs.

In this work, “global village” doesn’t mean a single, uniform culture. It means a living network of communities that can see each other, learn from each other, and strengthen each other without losing their own identity.

It Takes a Global Village focuses on building connections where there is something real to share—new ways of learning, new approaches to work, new forms of participation, or new uses of human+AI tools that make life better for people.

The goal is not to create one big program everyone must follow, but to make it easier for communities to borrow and adapt each other’s best ideas.

Each Global Village connection is built around a simple idea: two or more communities agree to learn from each other in a focused way.

• 1. Identify a focus. Communities choose a shared theme—such as youth opportunity, education, or civic participation.
• 2. Share what’s working. Each side documents real practices, tools, or programs that are making a difference.
• 3. Use human+AI tools. Partners use human+AI collaboration to compare approaches, explore adaptations, and design low-risk experiments.
• 4. Try small steps. Each community runs its own experiments inspired by what it has learned.
• 5. Share back. Results—good and bad—are added to a shared pool of examples that other communities can learn from.

Over time, these connections create a richer “global village memory” that others can draw from when they face similar challenges.

It Takes a Global Village is for people and organizations who see value in cross-border learning:

• Schools, universities, and learning networks building real-world, globally connected experiences for students.
• Nonprofits and community organizations that want to compare notes with peers working on similar challenges elsewhere.
• Local leaders and innovators who want to show what their community is doing—and learn from others.
• Global partners and sponsors who believe in practical, people-centered collaboration across borders.

Early Global Village pilots will help define templates and tools that additional communities can adopt during D2026 and beyond.

It Takes a Global Village is one of the three named initiatives within Democracy 2026 (D2026), alongside Your Journey in the AI Economy and Making History.

Together, these initiatives link personal growth, nonprofit impact, and global collaboration into one story about democratic renewal in the age of AI.

• Personal empowerment: Individuals build skills and agency through Your Journey in the AI Economy.
• Local impact: Teams and nonprofits Make History by tackling real challenges in their communities.
• Global learning: It Takes a Global Village connects those efforts so communities can learn from each other.

You can learn more about the broader effort at D2026.org.