mission statement

our mission:

inspiring connections…

all youth | all places | all experiences

…one story and one friendship at a time.

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a place for youth to be seen and to see one another, to experience “walking in each other’s shoes.”

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A message from our Co-Founder:

In Spring 2015, my daughter and I traveled to Namibia. While there, through the sharing of simple commonalities, commonalities that transcend groupings and boundaries, my daughter, who was then 15 years old, experienced immediate connections with Namibian youth. From sharing about the number of siblings in their family, to challenges in fixing their hair that day, to a lack of data access for their phones, I witnessed surprisingly powerful connections being formed. Sharing at this basic level seems so simple, almost trivial, yet it was through these very discoveries that the eyes of the youth lit up and they responded to each other, “You, too?!”

Over the course of the year following the visit to Namibia, my daughter and I continued to hear first-hand accounts from others around the world visiting the Seattle, Washington area. The importance of youth seeing and connecting with each other as a necessity for understanding one another, of caring for one another was a message consistently shared. More and more, we began hearing global youth expressing the need for a venue where pieces of their life story might be heard. We also began hearing more and more stories even within the United States of youth feeling unseen, unknown. Concurrently, my daughter and other youth, began discussing a desire to better learn the stories of youth with stories different from their own in a personal and experiential way, rather than through third person accounts alone; they began looking for a means to engage with youth near and far through a directed and meaningful, yet informal and ongoing, exchange.

Belong International was birthed to create such a place. Through virtual exchanges, a collection of global faces and stories is growing, connecting youth through both the discovery of similarities and the learning of differences. We desire this to be a place for youth to pause and see each other, to experience “walking in each others’ shoes.”

We believe justice and peace can grow when we lean in, seeking to understand and have compassion for each other, even as we might look, live, or believe differently. Feelings of isolation or a sense of being forgotten, unseen is the reality for innumerable youth in all parts of the world. By creating a place for youth to see and experience each other’s lives, we hope to inspire youth to grow in considering how their words and actions impact each other. Belong International exists that voices may be heard, lives understood, friendships forged, and ultimately peace grown through acts of justice …that all might experience “you, too?!” moments and discover there really is no “other.”