Note: The first Trustees of Tomorrow in-person exchange took place in Ukraine from August 6 to 17, 2021!

  • Learn about the participants’ startup here.

  • See their itinerary in Ukraine here.

  • View photos and videos here.

The Global Youth Entrepreneurs present:

The Trustees of Tomorrow

GYE’s Trustees of Tomorrow (ToT) Exchange Program engages youth across borders and engenders shared entrepreneurial spirit and cross-cultural affinity through collaboration. ToT is the first balanced exchange initiative to entrust participants with the power over programming.

ThE MIssion

To build long-term trust and goodwill between future generations in Ukraine and the United States through self-initiated two-way exchange opportunities and entrepreneurial partnerships between secondary school students.

Application

Applications for the second season of Trustees of Tomorrow can be expected to open in the winter of 2021-22. An announcement will be broadcast over social media.

Financial aid is available. Program fees have already been offset by our sponsors.

This program is not-for-profit and all proceeds will be invested into Global Youth Entrepreneurs programming.

2020–21 cities

U.S. participants were selected from Portland, Oregon.

Ukrainian participants were selected from Chernivtsi, Kryvyi Rih, and Kyiv.

 

Portland

Oregon, U.S.A.

 

Kyiv

Ukraine

 
 

Chernivtsi

Ukraine

Kryvyi Rih

Ukraine

The trustees of tomorrow model

  1. GYE’s Trustees of Tomorrow program will perform a full cycle each year (with a new cohort):

    • Phase 1—10 Day U.S. Exchange

      • A team of three high school students representing Western, Central, and Eastern Ukraine travels to a U.S. city.

      • Three local high school students welcome these visitors, host them in their homes, and meet with staff of local businesses, nonprofits, and diplomatic organizations.

      • All U.S. and Ukraine participants receive mentorship from industry leaders, tour the city and region with hosts, and are immersed in learning and creative ideation.

      • Participants work together to develop a project proposal inspired by their shared interests and driven by their diverse areas of expertise and newly learned entrepreneurial skills.

      • Participants receive feedback from mentors on their first proposal submission, and Ukrainian students return home.

    • Phase 2—5 Month Virtual Exchange

      • Participants work together virtually to develop their project ideas, attend internet-based workshops from mentors in both the U.S. and Ukraine.

      • GYE leaders interface with participants regularly to stay updated on project process, connect them with field experts for additional one-on-one mentorship, and work to support team bonding and continued productivity.

      • Ukrainian participants plan for U.S. students to join them in their home cities.

    • Phase 3—10 Day Ukraine Exchange

      • U.S. participants travel to Ukraine, visiting each of their Ukrainian colleagues’ home regions.

      • All participants pitch potential investors, supporters, partners and future mentors from the Ukrainian business/nonprofit/government communities. They receive feedback and potentially offers of support, partnership, and/or mentorship.

      • In at least one of the cities on their itinerary, the team holds a workshop for local high school students to cultivate interest in entrepreneurship and citizen diplomacy.

      • In each city, the local team member hosts some others of the group, while the rest stay in reserved accommodation. The group fits in plenty of sightseeing and cultural activity.

      • The program officially concludes with the departure of the U.S. participants from Ukraine, but the participants (now ToT alumni) continue to build their startup if they so choose and will, of course, stay in touch for many years!

Timeline

Please note: the inaugural season of Trustees of Tomorrow has followed a modified format amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The virtual exchange happened first, from June 2020 to July 2021. The Ukraine exchange took place in August 2021. The U.S. exchange is planned for late fall of 2021.

Second season of Trustees of Tomorrow (estimated dates):

  • Application period - early 2022

  • U.S. Exchange - spring break of 2022

  • Virtual Exchange - April–August 2022

  • Ukraine Exchange - end of summer 2022

Eligibility criteria

An applicant (from either the U.S. or Ukraine) must:

  • be enrolled in the 10th grade

  • have profound interests in entrepreneurship and diplomacy

  • be highly driven and resourceful

  • be an excellent and reliable communicator and team player 

  • be able to host at home a counterpart from overseas*

*In the U.S., each American participant will host one Ukrainian visitor for the entire duration of the exchange. In Ukraine, each Ukrainian participant will return the favor to their host in the U.S. while the group is in their home city. The rest of the group will be accommodated in a hotel or apartment.

We are in collaboration with:

Nova Ukraine

GYE’s Trustees of Tomorrow program is supported by grant funding from Nova Ukraine, a Silicon Valley, California-based nonprofit promoting Ukrainian development.

Stanford University

Stanford University’s Ukrainian Emerging Leaders Program is cooperating on Trustees of Tomorrow.

U.S. State Department (Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs)

Global Ties U.S.

our credibility

ToT builds off the successes and lessons learned from our initiatives in the U.S., Jordan, and Georgia. The Trustees of Tomorrow model is designed to promote youth-centered global connectivity, multinational partnership, and lifelong friendship for the next generation of world leaders.

Trustees of Tomorrow leaders: Solomon Olshin, Diana Sobolieva, and Seth Talyansky

Our credO

We, the youth of today, are coming of age in a time of many pressing challenges that can only be addressed through global cooperation.
Now, more than ever, it is crucial to build understanding and collaboration between nations and across borders. We are capable of creating the future we hope to inherit: we can decide whether the world we are to lead will be one of enmity or one of trust.
— Seth Talyansky, Co-Founder of Global Youth Entrepreneurs