05 Oct
Global Solvers Accelerator Projects, Melton Community News, News, Senior Fellow Initiatives

Reflections From the Co-Lab

What Ghana Taught Me About Social Change In July 2026, I had the opportunity to travel to Accra, Ghana, to take part in the Global Solvers Co-Lab, the week-long in-person component of the Melton Foundation’s Global Solvers Accelerator. The program brings together emerging social impact leaders from around the world to strengthen their leadership, refine their projects, exchange knowledge, and explore how collective action can contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals. For me, however, the Co-Lab became much more than a professional learning experience. It was an opportunity to listen, question, connect, and reflect on what it truly means to work...

Continue reading

Read More
18 Aug
Global Solvers Accelerator Projects, Melton Community News, News, Senior Fellow Initiatives

Stitched with Purpose

There is a bag sitting on a table somewhere in Accra right now. It was made by hand, stitch by careful stitch, by a woman in the West Bank of Palestine. She made it at home, between the school run and dinner, between one responsibility and the next. She never met the person who would carry it. She may never know that it travelled across two continents to become part of a gathering of young global leaders. But she made it with full attention, full skill, and something that I can only describe as insistence: the insistence that what she produces...

Continue reading

Read More
13 Aug
Melton Community News, News

Looking Beyond Boundaries: Two Years of Learning Beyond the Law

For many Melton Fellows, the impact of GCLP doesn't end when the program does  it continues to shape the work they build, the collaborations they seek out, and the way they see their role in creating change. We caught up with Yeashoo H Vardhana to hear how his GCLP experience reshaped the way he approaches law, leadership, and global challenges.The GCLP Effect? As a law student, my experience with GCLP was quite different from what I initially expected. I was the first law student from India to join the program, and entering a fellowship centred around global citizenship, the SDGs and...

Continue reading

Read More
13 Aug
Melton Community News, News

Weaving Change: From a GCLP Project to The ReWeave Collective

For many Melton Fellows, the impact of GCLP doesn't end when the program does  it continues to shape the work they build, the collaborations they seek out, and the way they see their role in creating change. We caught up with Thembani Ngwenya to hear how her GCLP experience has evolved into a lasting commitment to social impact. The GCLP Effect? Looking back, the impact of the GCLP program on me has extended far beyond the program itself. It changed the way I think about problems, the way I understand my role in creating change, and, perhaps most importantly, the kinds of...

Continue reading

Read More
26 May
Melton Community News, News, People and Culture, Press

Reflecting on the Launch of the People and Culture Analysis: A New Era for Melton Foundation

Introduction At the Melton Foundation, we are deeply committed to building an inclusive and thriving community that embodies the values of global citizenship. As part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen our organizational culture, we are proud to announce the launch of our People & Culture Analysis. This report marks a significant milestone in our journey toward creating a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment for all members of the Melton Foundation community. In this blog, we will reflect on the key findings of the report, the significance of this analysis, and the path forward as we continue to evolve and grow as...

Continue reading

Read More
27 Nov
Melton Community News, News

Paving the path for a reimagined future : 2017-21

Key Highlights --The 2017 Global Citizenship Conference was Ashesi University’s first chance to host the event! We also made a very special documentary led by Senior Fellow Jerome Bailey Jr. - this film portraits how Melton Fellows from across the globe discover Ghana, their role as global citizens, and an affirming image of Africa.Innovations in conferences - 'Samagra' was born - A jubilant celebration of Technology, Sustainability, and Social Innovation, in Bangalore, India! The advent of the Global Solvers Co-Lab with Co-Lab: 489 UN-limited, a convening of the brightest minds to advance the SDGs! As a result, today we have a new entry into the Melton Fellowship, the 'Global Solvers...

Continue reading

Read More
20 Nov
Melton Community News, News

A new vision on the horizon : 2012-16

The year 2012 is special for the Melton Foundation. It was the first year the Global Citizenship Celebration (later Global Citizenship Conference) was conducted. Side by side, a new mission and strategy, affiliated with global citizenship, was adopted for the organization.The first Global Citizenship Celebration (replacing the decades-old symposium) took place in Jena, Germany.   There were diverse thematic backgrounds for workshops and site visits, covering topics such as 'multiple identities', politics and media, business and economy, sustainable lifestyle and ethics and responsibilities. Julia Maier reminisces : "At the GCC 2012, I was responsible for the TEDxJenaParadies, the former Springboard. We were...

Continue reading

Read More
13 Nov
Melton Community News, News

Global Citizenship Innovation for a new decade (2007-2011)

The 2007 Symposium at FSU, Germany marked a shift in the topics dominating the conversation. It kicked off a series of broader conversations about the future of the Melton Foundation. Facebook and Twitter were slowly taking over the world and promising an increasingly connected world.The symposium explored how the Melton Foundation could lead the way over the course of the next decade.Melton Fellow Divya Tyam shares:" The 2007 Symposium in Jena was my first one as a senior fellow. It was also my first time in Jena, so it was great to see the city and campus I had heard...

Continue reading

Read More
05 Nov
Melton Community News, News

Unlocking avenues of collaboration and growth (2002-2006)

It was the year 2002. It was also the year the Melton Foundation continued its tradition of Symposiums, with Dillard University playing the host this time. Organized under the banner, "Reimagining a Global Leadership for the 2001 century ", this symposium offered United Nations workshops, expert panel talks, and cultural presentations. Take a look at some of the moments from the 7-day long conference below!The next year, the FSU campus took the responsibility of conducting the annual Symposium, with the overarching theme of Getting closer - reaching out. With the intention to produce more bonding amongst the fellows, the Melton Foundation...

Continue reading

Read More
28 Oct
Melton Community News, News

Reminiscing the dawn of a new millennium (1997-2001)

The Melton Foundation derives its strength from organic growth, deep collaborations, and most significantly, its ever-expanding community of Fellows. Beginning in the late 90s, Junior Fellows embarked on a cathartic experiment that soon transformed into an innovation: local Social Service Projects. The first campuses to implement these Projects were UFRO (Chile) and ZU (China), followed by all our other partner regions. Opting for education as a field to focus upon, Fellows at UFRO worked on a project involving the construction of a greenhouse in a rural school. In addition, they channeled their newfound energy to provide medical and dental care...

Continue reading

Read More
22 Oct
Melton Community News, News

Relive the genesis of the Melton Foundation (1991-1996)

The Melton Foundation was founded in 1991 by entrepreneur William (Bill) Melton and activist Patricia Smith. As the decade was marked by crucial events worldwide (economic and social change in India and China, the end of the dictatorship in Chile, the fall of the Berlin Wall, etc.), Patricia and Bill took the step to build an organization that would help bridge gaps on intercultural communications, to enable a cross-cultural collaboration towards the worlds’ shared social, political and economical challenges: The Melton Foundation.In the same year, Westmar University (WU) in LeMars, USA, and the Friedrich Schiller Universität (FSU), in Jena, Germany,...

Continue reading

Read More
29 Sep
Melton Community News, News

A decade and more of learning and growth with the Melton Foundation

"Hi There! My name is Vigneshwar Shankar, and I am a Senior Fellow of the Melton Foundation from Bangalore, India. Way back when I joined the Foundation, we were both still in our teens. Looking back over the years, to me, the Melton Foundation is the organization with which I have been associated for the longest period of time, completing one decade this year, and I'm eagerly looking forward to the next many decades as well. In my early days as a Junior Fellow (JF), both the Foundation and I were still figuring out our purpose, vision, and calling. After...

Continue reading

Read More