Rob McLean
Originally published September 8, 2020, 11:31 am
at DailyRasp.com
What is the Global Shapers Community?
Exclusive of science fiction novels, you have probably never heard of Global Shapers. However, they do exist; just not as alien beings. Truth is there is a large well-organized group known as the Global Shapers Community (GSC).
But what is this Global Shapers Community (GSC) about?
It is important to understand Global Shapers created in 2011 and is a product of Klaus Schwab and his World Economic Forum (WEF). The WEF usually gets a mention in lamestream media for its annual meeting hosted in Davos, Switzerland. So, yeah, more globalism, right?
Global Shapers’ members gather in a hub. Hubs are the city or regional focus of that area’s membership. The collective of Shaper-hubs is the international community. The GSC claims some 9600 members in 430 city-based hubs, across 148 countries.
Members are highly educated and bring a varied talent-stack to each hub and project. Work experience is common in politics, tech, sustainability, media, finance, and more. Lawyers, doctors and IT professionals are members in many hubs. The work they do is local, regional, and global.
Members must apply and be nominated for membership. Members must be under 30 and may remain a member for up to 5 years or until age 33 whichever occurs first. Members must commit to create a new project or join work on an existing project.
Each hub organizes to create projects that “address the needs of their community.”
Generally, these projects focus on changing society and breaking down existing social and cultural infrastructure. Most often and this will surprise virtually no one, a “project” manifests as a social program. My research reveals some members are founders or senior members of a nonprofit, a society, or foundation. Depending on the country location, a hub may also be a registered nonprofit.
The strongest thread among members, indeed the primary commitment of each member is to community-level activism. Activism can take many forms. Much of the activism we see today tends toward disruption of norms.
“No, Global Shapers isn’t a shadow organization or cult. We’re not Illuminati.”
GS projects span the spectrum. from the Los Angeles Neighborhood Councils. The Shaping Fashion project started by GS Amsterdam and later adopted by 30 GS hubs worldwide. In addition, a hub in Latin America promoting Youth Entrepreneurship. In the UK, the hub in London has a project on intersectionality to “eliminate inequality based on an individual’s demographics or background.”
Projects’ thematic focus tends to revolve around resilience, sustainability, and something called “global public interest,” a warm sounding phrase not accidentally lacking objective definition.
Shapers look for opportunities to have impact on a global scale by joining forces with other hubs.
The Charlotte GD hub in North Carolina states the WEF wants the GSC to “impact our community in a positive way.” Again, this is virtue-speak meant to soften the edges of a very broad social-justice anti-democratic objective. In my view, the goals of both the UN and WEF are, to put it mildly very much in lockstep.
Several hubs have used the COVID-19 crisis creating the M.A.S.K. Project: Make and Sew Kindness. Participants include member hubs in Abu Dhabi, Katmandu, Bangalore, and more.
“Global Shapers is an international network of young people connected in our commitment to improving the world, starting with our own communities.”
Hubs form an international network with common features. Each hub elects a Curator who serves a one-year term. Hubs are limited to a maximum of 50 total members. All members must work on a local project.
Given its genesis out of the WEF members embrace ideas and actions seeking to upend the status quo. A reasonable way to look at the work of the GSC is as a volunteer army assembled to activate at every level of society the objectives of the United Nations sustainable development agenda. Upending Western society is fair game.
Why create the Global Shapers anyway? Simple answer: demographics. Today, more than half of the world’s population is under the age of 30.
The GSC itself says, “With the largest youth population in history, there is an unprecedented opportunity for young people to take an active role in shaping the future …”
New members must be under the age of 30 at time of application for membership with a term limit of five years or to age of 33, whichever comes first. This ensures that the Community continues to represent young people.
“We believe in a world where young people are central to solution building, policy-making and lasting change.”
Members are able to gather informally, regionally, or as part of World Economic Forum meetings.
Broadly speaking, Shapers are anything but grassroots, they are foot soldiers for technocracy.
Next up, Part 2: A dive into the Global Shapers?
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