Global Citizens Circle

Did you know?

1. The students who made these films never met in person.
2. They worked across a seven hour time difference.
3. Most of the footage was shot on a phone.

You do not need a film school or a budget. You need a phone, an idea, and someone willing to listen.

Save this for the young person in your life who has a story.

We’ve had a busy summer at Global Citizens Circle, and there’s so much more to come. 🫶

After a summer filled with collaboration, new connections, and plenty happening behind the scenes, we’re getting ready for a timely democracy Circle this fall.

Save the date: October 14, 2026 | 12–1 PM ET

This October, GCC and MCW Global will come together for Democracy in Practice: U.S. Challenges, Global Lessons, a new series exploring challenges facing democracy in the United States alongside perspectives and lessons from around the world.

Our first conversation, Expanding Opportunity: Making Democracy Deliver for Everyone, will ask how we can better understand who feels left out of democratic systems and what it takes to build a democracy that works for more people.

And that’s not all that’s coming. A refreshed GCC website, a GCC podcast in the works, new collaborations, and more opportunities to connect are all ahead.

For now, save the date. We’ll see you back in the Circle on October 14.

More details and registration coming soon.

Today, on National Nonprofit Day, we’re celebrating the people, partners, and communities who make this work possible.

For more than 50 years, Global Citizens Circle has brought people together across differences to listen, learn, and take action on the issues shaping our shared world.

That work has never happened alone. It happens because of the people who show up, the partners who collaborate with us, the young people who share their voices, and the communities who continue to make room for meaningful dialogue.

Today, we’re especially grateful for everyone who has come together through the Circle and continues to believe in the power of connection to create positive change.

Here’s to the nonprofits, volunteers, leaders, partners, and communities working every day toward a more connected and hopeful world.

Happy National Nonprofit Day!

Better together.

At Global Citizens Circle, partnership is at the heart of how we create meaningful change. The people and organizations we work alongside bring their own experiences, ideas, and strengths to the table, creating opportunities that wouldn't be possible alone.

From our ongoing collaboration with MCW Global to the launch of Life Unmuted alongside Filmbuilding, Lema Marwan, and Breakthrough Manchester, we're grateful to the partners who continue to share in this work with us.

Each collaboration may look different, but they're rooted in the same belief: bringing people together, creating space for dialogue, and building connections across communities.

To our partners, thank you for your trust, your time, and everything you bring to the Circle. We truly are better together.

What a fantastic summer we had together 🫶

“I’m already thinking about next year.”

GCC Board Member David Hudson recently joined MCW Global's Young Leaders Fellowship in Burlington, Vermont, where he led a session on public speaking and communication with an incredible group of emerging leaders.

Dave left feeling just as energized as the young people he worked with:

“What a treat to be in a room with such engaged and thoughtful young people. I’m used to questions from my students, but these young leaders kept me on my toes.”

We’re grateful to Dave for sharing his experience and expertise, and to our partners at MCW Global for continuing to create spaces where young leaders can learn, question, connect, and grow.

Judging by Dave’s first reflection, we have a feeling this won’t be his last visit.

New on GCC Voices: “The Table We Inherited” by Maura Dunfey Hwang

What does it mean to inherit something worth tending?

In our latest GCC Voices, Global Advisor Maura Dunfey Hwang reflects on her family’s connection to Global Citizens Circle, more than 50 years of gathering people across differences, and the often unseen work of inviting, welcoming, and creating belonging.

Through family history, memories, and the story of a slightly wobbly kitchen table, Maura asks us to consider what it means to carry this work forward and make room for others along the way.

As she writes, “Who will help set the table?”

Read The Table We Inherited on the GCC Voices blog: https://www.globalcitizenscircle.org/blog/the-table-we-inherited

Why Life Unmuted?

Because young people deserve the opportunity to tell their own stories.

Life Unmuted brings students from New Hampshire and Gaza together through filmmaking, creating space for collaboration, conversation, and connection across borders. While their lived experiences are very different, this project reminds us that they also share many of the same hopes, creativity, and dreams for the future.

At a time when firsthand stories from Gaza are rarely heard, Life Unmuted centers youth voices and gives them the tools to speak for themselves.

Swipe through to learn more about the heart behind this collaboration.

The film ended. Nobody moved.

Then the room started clapping, and it did not really stop.

A few frames from the Life Unmuted screening: the students who made it, the community who showed up, and the quiet second right before the lights came back on.

Swipe through. Thank you to everyone who filled that room

Did You Know?
There's a lot more behind Life Unmuted than the finished film.

Over the course of one week, students from New Hampshire and Gaza collaborated across languages, time zones, and borders to create something together.

Here's a look at what that process actually looked like.

Swipe through.

This week's Summer Reading With Meaning selection is Counter Culture: Clams, Convents, and Circle of Global Citizens by Eleanor Dunfey-Freiburger.

More than a family memoir, Counter Culture tells the story of the Dunfey family's journey from a small clam shack on Hampton Beach to a legacy rooted in hospitality, social justice, and authentic dialogue. Along the way, it offers a glimpse into the values that ultimately inspired the founding of Global Citizens Circle.

This week's GCC Voices blog, written by Advisory Board Member Dr. Theresa de Langis, reflects on the book's enduring message and why its vision of hospitality, relationship-building, and meaningful conversation remains as important as ever.

We hope this book inspires you to reflect on the power of welcoming others, listening across differences, and building a more connected world.

"Life stories evolve from such invitations."
— Eleanor Dunfey-Freiburger

📖 Read this week's GCC Voices blog: https://www.globalcitizenscircle.org/blog/summer-reading-with-meaning-counter-culture-clams-convents-and-circle-of-global-citizens

📚 Learn more about Counter Culture: https://dunfey.wixsite.com/dunfeycounterculture