The Center for Information, Democracy and Citizenship (CIDC) at AUBG has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with EdVenture Partners (EVP) to co-create immersive, project-based experiences that equip students across Eastern Europe with the skills and tools required to tackle complex, real-world challenges.
Signed in Washington DC by AUBG President Dr Margee Ensign and EVP Founder and CEO Tony Sgro, and witnessed by AUBG Chairman Mike Marvin and CIDC Executive Director Dr Jacob Udo-Udo Jacob, the MOU sets the stage for a wide range of collaborative initiatives, co-curricular programming, and joint funding applications and responses to RFPs, all aimed at addressing pressing societal and geopolitical challenges.
Working in partnership with the CIDC at AUBG, EVP will be utilizing its proven and popular programs that reach today’s learners and tomorrow’s leaders to become active participants in providing real-world experiential learning opportunities. These resource rich programs combine academic theory with practical application to bolster the advancement and protection of democratic principles throughout the region.
“Youth focused activities to protect democracy throughout Eastern Europe, Western Balkans and Black Sea countries are of paramount importance. The threats are real, and that is why EdVenture Partners is both honored and excited to be playing a critical role in building democratic citizenship programs with the CIDC at AUBG through the signing of an official Memorandum of Understanding for collaboration,” said Tony Sgro, Founder & CEO of EdVenture Partners. “Participating students will be addressing difficult issues that they identify in their communities and will be creating and implementing credible, authentic solutions to threats democracies face; it is incredible, actually. I have absolute confidence that these young people will rise to address the challenges they see threatening democratic governance.”
“This is an important opportunity for the CIDC to expand its reach and impact. This collaboration is poised to yield far-reaching benefits not just for AUBG and EVP but for the broader educational ecosystem,” said President Ensign. “By integrating AUBG’s academic rigor with EVP’s innovative approach to experiential learning, the partnership is uniquely positioned to equip students across the region with the skills, knowledge, tools and and perspectives required to thrive in an increasingly complex, interconnected world.”
The CIDC and EVP have already co-created Youth-to-Youth: Participation and Information Literacy for Leadership, Awareness, and Resilience (Y2Y: PILLAR), a structured, multifaceted experiential learning program that is poised to empower university students in the Balkan region and Eastern Europe to create dynamic and context-driven projects to counter disinformation and promote democratic participation among their peers.
EdVenture Partners is responsible for creating and managing many of the world’s largest and most important social impact programs for youth and universities, including the U.S. Department of State’s Students for a Unified and Resilient Europe (SURE), Manara Center for Regional Coexistence in Abu Dhabi, Ukraine Russian Disinformation Challenge, ADL’s Innovate Against Hate, U.S Department of Homeland Security Invent2Prevent, the Facebook Peer-to-Peer: Challenging Extremism, McCain Institute Protective Project among others.
Founded in 1990, EVP is a privately held global education agency. Operating in 77 countries and working with in partnership with over 900 universities, EVP’s experiential learning programs address many of the world’s most pressing social issues by engaging youth to be part of the solution in addressing these growing problems and threats.
