Summer 2021 Class Demo Day: Cross-border Teams Tackling Community Issues on Education and Public Health
This August, Community Leaders and Coaches gathered online to showcase the cross-border social enterprises they have built during the 12-week GenDream Summer 2021 program (S21 class). “One word to describe this GenDream class is diverse. Diverse in the students’ backgrounds and geographic locations, and also diverse in the different topics that teams explored for this GenDream class”, said Co-Executive Director Hannah Shen.
The Summer 2021 Class is the largest GenDream class to date, comprising of eighteen incoming Community Leaders, ten Peer Coaches who are returning Community Leaders, and eight Coaches from across North America and Asia. The Class Day speaker, Griffin Gaffney, encouraged GenDreamers to learn from each other’s differences to build stronger teams. “Remember, difference begets change”, said Mr. Gaffney.
Four project teams at S21 class presented social enterprise ideas around solving prevailing issues in both US and China such as education access, gender equality, and health & wellness. Team Affordable Groceries aimed to dismantle the notion that smaller budgets couldn’t afford fresh produce by creating a website that allows users to create affordable grocery produce lists. Team Gender Equality built a platform to communicate accurate information about sex education that teenagers may not have the means to receive from their schools due to the stigma present in these institutions or in their cultures. Team Education aimed to create affordable and accessible language lessons for high school students by developing a program and hosting live lessons on Zoom. Team Mental Health, after identifying a lack of support for youth struggling with mental health, built a website to create a safe space for adolescents to learn about the importance of mental health as well as receive resources to obtain further support.
Outside their common interests in social entrepreneurship, Community Leaders enjoyed some favorite activities such as singing together and sharing photos from their lives. “I have learned about how to collaborate well with my friends from across the world. I am appreciative because in the past I have never had experiences like this” reflects David Zhang, a Community Leader from Beijing, China.
“GenDream has improved my view of the future because I can now say with full confidence that our generation is fully capable of providing innovative products and services, promoting sustainability, and giving hope for the future. Our generation has the ideas, the creativity, and the energy”, reflects Vyoma Patel, a Community Leader from Frisco, Texas.
While the Summer 21 class has ended, the Community Leaders are now fully equipped with entrepreneurial skills to tackle issues they care about. The long-lasting cross-cultural friendships they built will continue to flourish in upcoming GenDream community events this fall and beyond.
About GenDream
Founded by Lauren Dai and Jing Wang in 2019, GenDream carries the mission to foster cross-border friendship among young leaders in different countries, starting with the US and China, through social entrepreneurship. The program selects teens age 14-18 as Community Leaders and forms cross-border project teams to tackle common social issues observed in both countries. Coached by startup founders and top-notch professionals in Silicon Valley and China, every cohort lasts 12 weeks and is conducted via Zoom.