Global Week

We live in a world where division grows, with strong opposing views and echo chambers that could restrict us to binary thinking and stifle meaningful conversations. To realize our vision of a more inclusive society, we must engage constructively with those who differ from us, bridging divides and strengthening our communities. Global Week 2025 elevates listening and dialogue to foster empathy, understanding, and collaborative action for a more resilient and hopeful future.

Essential Questions:

• How can we cultivate initiative, agility, and a sense of purpose to bridge the deep divides in our society?
• How can engaging with diverse perspectives on critical contemporary issues deepen our understanding of democratic principles like inclusivity, deliberation, and shared decision-making?
• How can collaborative action help us find common ground to create a more equitable future?

Forms of discourse highlighted during the week: dialogue, negotiation (consensus-building), deliberation, and discussion.

Language is an essential part of our identity—it connects our communities and preserves our cultures. We understand and empathize with each other through a common language, while not knowing a language can deprive us of a sense of belonging and, in some cases, access to opportunities and basic rights. Through stories of immigrants, asylum seekers, Indigenous communities, and equity advocates, Global Week 2024 will explore the intersection of language, culture, identity, and social justice.

• How do the languages we speak impact our identity, perspectives, and worldview?

• How can we use the privileges afforded by our language(s) for social justice?

• How are communities reclaiming their languages to resist marginalization and confront the history of colonization?

As antiracist learners and practitioners in an increasingly polarized world, we must seek diverse perspectives and multiple narratives in the information we consume. Moreover, we must prioritize historically marginalized voices in our collective discourse in order to understand the complexity of an issue and work towards an equitable society. Inclusive Journalism explores stories and viewpoints that remain untold or underrepresented in mainstream media and reinforces our commitment to equity, inclusion, and justice. 

• Whose stories are often overlooked by mainstream media, and why?

• How do we engage voices from underrepresented communities in the news and other media?

• Why do today’s societies need inclusive journalism more than ever before?

TUESDAY
Castilleja Alumnae Panel
Tracy Jan ‘94, Deputy health and science editor at The Washington Post
Kate Eby ‘02, 6 p.m. Producer at KGO-TV, San Francisco

Trans-Continental Migration: The Longest Journey to America
Nadja Dorst, Pulitzer Prize and Emmy Award-winning journalist and documentary filmmaker

WEDNESDAY
The Power of Empathetic Journalism
Jessica Goudeau, Author of After the Last Border: Two Families and the Story of Refuge in America

Virtual Community Event with Robert Samuels, Washington Post reporter and Pulitzer Prize winning author of His Name is George Floyd: One Man's Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice

THURSDAY
George Floyd's America, Our America
Robert Samuels, Washington Post reporter and Pulitzer Prize winning author of His Name is George Floyd: One Man's Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice

Empowered Household Workers in Argentina
Anita Pouchard Serra, Photojournalist and visual storyteller 

FRIDAY
Panel Discussion with Pulitzer Center Journalists
Muriel Alarcon, Freelance reporter and photographer, Corinne Chin, Senior video journalist at The Seattle Times and the founder and leader of the newsroom’s Diversity & Inclusion Task Force, Daniella Zalcman, Documentary photographer and founder of Women Photograph, a nonprofit working to elevate the voices of women and nonbinary visual journalists

From the melting ice caps in the Arctic to the rapidly submerging islands in the Pacific Ocean, Indigenous peoples around the world are facing some of the worst effects of the climate crisis, and fighting for a sustainable future for all. Climate Justice and Indigenous Communities insists on exploring the impacts of climate change and the need to address the climate emergency through the lens of justice and empowerment. 

• Honoring the Dignity of Indigenous Knowledge: What do Indigenous teachings say about the environment and sustainable production and consumption? How would adopting Indigenous knowledge help us preserve our environment and ecosystems while alleviating the effects of climate change?

• Climate Justice = Indigenous Rights: Why is climate justice critical to Indigenous rights? How have various economic and environmental policies impacted Indigenous communities globally?

• Indigenous-led Sustainability Efforts and Climate Justice Movements: Why is it important to include Indigenous communities, knowledge, and traditions in the global movement to fight the effects of climate change? Where and how can we see Indigenous knowledge being applied to conserve and restore the environment?

MONDAY
What Does the Earth Ask of Us?
Dr. Robin W. Kimmerer, SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor of Environmental Biology; Enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation

Reciprocity of Knowledge and Community Science
Dr. Michelle Montgomery, Associate Professor at the University of Washington Tacoma, School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences in American Indian Studies and Ethnic, Gender and Labor Studies; Enrolled Haliwa Saponi/descendant Eastern Band Cherokee

TUESDAY
Climate Justice & Indigenous Rights
Loren Spears, Executive Director, Tomaquag Museum; Member of the Narragansett Tribe

Climate Change’s Cultural Side
Jeff Wagner, Founder of Groundwork and Instructor at Where There Be Dragons

Indigenous Cosmologies and Relational EarthJustice
Dr. Yuria Celidwen, Senior Editor at United Nations; Indigenous Nahua and Maya descent

WEDNESDAY
Keynote
Sarah Diefendorf, Director of the Environmental Finance Center West at Earth Island Institute 

Native American Activism in Guatemala & Honduras
Richard Brown, Founder of Forum on Migration; Translator at Amnesty International

THURSDAY
Water is Life
Silvermoon LaRose, Assistant Director, Tomaquag Museum; Member of the Narragansett Tribe

The Forbidden Fire and the Role of Community-Based Fire Management in the Peruvian Andes
Vanessa Luna, PhD Student and Researcher at the University of Florida’s Governance and Infrastructure In the Amazon project

Read Books authored by Global Week 2022 Speakers

Global Week 2021 — Global Health: Investing in our Collective Future

In the midst of a pandemic, Global Health: Investing in our Collective Future highlights the power of global partnership and cooperation in health as we navigate the realities of the novel coronavirus. Our shared global responsibilities must be underpinned by trust and common purpose. And our collective futures rely on robust research and data transparency for timely decision-making. 

• Global Health: How do we measure health? How does an epidemic become a pandemic? How is foundational research shared and for whom is it produced? What does successful preparedness and response look like?

• Collective Responsibilities: What are the responsibilities of institutions, governments and individuals to Global Health? Whose voices are at the table? What are the implications of our decisions? How does international cooperation create access?

• Data Transparency: How do we use data to promote greater equity? What are the social and political contexts from which we construct and interpret data? What are the standards for research and data? How does data inform timely decision-making?

• Health Inequities: What are the racial disparities of healthcare access? How do we dismantle and reconstruct the systems that disproportionality impact communities of color? What are the consequences of neglect and lack of access on marginalized communities?

MONDAY:
COVID-19 and Health Security: A Dynamic Response to the Global Pandemic
Caitlin Rivers, PhD, MPH, Senior Scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security

Health Disparities in the Context of COVID-19
Megan Mahoney, MD, Clinical Professor of Medicine in the Division of Primary are and Population Health at Stanford University, and Chief of Staff at Stanford Health Care
Priya Singh, Chief Strategy Officer and Senior Associate Dean at Stanford Medicine

TUESDAY:
COVID-19 and National Security: What are the National Security Implications of the Pandemic?Suzanne Spaulding, Senior Adviser at Center for Strategic and International Studies

UN Sustainable Development Goals: Global Health and the Sustainable Development Goals 
Dustin Liu, 9th UN Youth Observer to the United Nations 
Amie Shao, Principal at MASS Design Group
Wynn Walent, Executive Director at Colorado Haiti Project

COMMUNITY EVENING EVENT:
Lessons from the Pandemic and California's Response
Traducción al español disponible para este evento / Spanish Translation offered for this event
Sara Cody, MD, Health Officer and Director at the County of Santa Clara Public Health Department
Bob Kocher, MD, Partner at Venrock and Adjunct Professor at Stanford Medicine

WEDNESDAY:
Race to the Future? Reimagining the Default Settings of Technology & Society
Ruha Benjamin, PhD, Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University

Alumni Panel — Priorities and Principles of Women’s Health: A Global Perspective
Naima D Bridges, MD '02, Obstetrician & Gynecologist and Assistant Chief at Kaiser Permanente
Joanna Busza '90, Associate Professor, Sexual & Reproductive Health at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Jane McConnell, PhD ’81, Biology/Biotech/Climate Change Teacher at Castilleja School

Why Did the U.S. Pandemic Response Fail, and What Is the Solution?
Charity Dean MD, MPH&TM, CEO and Co-Founder at The Public Health Company Group, Inc.
Scott Rosenstein, Coronavirus Special Advisor at Eurasia Group

Striving for Equity in Global Health and Pandemic Response
Nahid Bhadelia, MD, MALD, Medical Director, Special Pathogens Unit at Boston Medical Center and National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories

GLOBAL WEEK 2020

Seats at the Table: Women, Peace and Security recognizes the power of women as storytellers, activists, and strategists and honors the continued commitments to this work on the 20th anniversary of the UN Security Council's landmark resolution 1325 on women, peace and security.


We believe that understanding others’ perspectives is at the heart of meaningful engagement with conflict resolution and a key competency to global leadership. Understanding that the personal is political, Global Week 2020 will explore women's experiences, voices, and activism in the context of peace and security:

Women as storytellers. Balancing Narratives — Who has the power and access to construct narratives, particularly in armed conflicts? How have women been part of or pushed back from building these narratives? How have new communication tools changed how we understand and engage with conflict?

Women as activists. Building Belonging — How can we change the way we relate to conflict? How do we talk to people with differing perspectives and experiences? How do we create communities that hold space for competing narratives and perspectives?

Women as strategists. Gendered Experiences — What are the consequences of our deeply gendered experiences of the world? How does an intersectional lens change the way we experience conflict and peacemaking?

“Almost 20 years since the adoption of resolution 1325, we don’t just need to be at the peace table. It’s time to redesign the table.” ~Sharon Bhagwan-Rolls, Chair of the Board of the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict

During the week our all-school activities will take the shape of listening to keynote speakers and panels and participating in dynamic group workshops on the following topics:

MONDAY:
Womxn, Peace and Security: Defining Our Collective Narratives
Dr. Melissa I. M. Torres, Vice President, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom

Gendering Conflict: Towards a Feminist Understanding of Peace & Conflict
Carly Fox, History Teacher, Castilleja School

TUESDAY:
Women with Voice: Critical Perspectives on Security from the Local to the Global
Lauren Bean Buitta, Founder and Executive Director, Girl Security
S. Leslie Ireland, Former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Intelligence and Analysis
Feker Kebere, Promotion and Resource Mobilization 
Moderated by Dr. Danielle Zach, Postdoctoral Fellow, City College of New York, CUNY

New Global Security and the Need for Understanding, Innovation, and Leadership
The Honorable Susan M. Gordon, Former Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence

COMMUNITY EVENING EVENT:
Engaging Security Challenges in the Twenty-first Century: The Role of Diversity, Representation, and Women's Empowerment

Liesl Gerntholtz, Deputy Executive Director for Programme, Human Rights Watch
The Honorable Susan M. Gordon, Former Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence
Moderated by Dr. Danielle Zach, Postdoctoral Fellow, City College of New York, CUNY

WEDNESDAY:
Show Me the Women: The Impact of Conflict on Women and their Role in Peace Making
Liesl Gerntholtz, Deputy Executive Director for Programme, Human Rights Watch

Alumnae Panel: Developing Peace through Gender Equality
Elizabeth Zumwalt Harmon ’08, Policy Analyst, Countering Transnational Organized Crime Policy, Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Headquarters
Bronte Kass ’14, Program Manager, Stanford University
Neelam Noorani ’91, Senior Human Rights Legal Consultant

THURSDAY:
Empowering Girls in National Security
Lauren Bean Buitta, Founder and Executive Director, Girl Security
Gina Bennett, Board Director, Girl Security
Erin Connolly, Associate Program Director, Girl Security

The Role of the U.S. in Global Security
Gina Bennett, Board Director, Girl Security

Please note that only some of these events are open to guests, please RSVP for selected events here.

Use the button below to download the Global Week 2020 Program which includes workshop descriptions, speaker bios, and schedules for each grade level.

Download the Booklet

Everything we do in life, from tying your shoes to performing brain surgery, is learned. So education is as key to survival as food. Just as there should be equity and fairness in everybody having enough food to survive, there should be equity and fairness in education.

Download the booklet which includes workshop descriptions, speaker bios, and schedules for each grade level.

What will we think about both during the year and during Global Week?

Community Learning Opportunities and Conversations
Equity is a complicated topic because it includes questions of access and resource distribution that are driven by both social and cultural norms and economic factors. These norms and factors look different around the globe, and there are many competing points of view about rights and best practices in the field of education. Our theme is designed to help us understand what questions to ask when we are trying to understand what makes an educational experience equitable in a specific context.

Grade-Level Learning Opportunities and Conversations
Depending upon each classes’ grade-level theme and classroom projects and discussions, students will have different opportunities to learn more about both the terminology (i.e. access, resource distribution, social factors, cultural factors, economic factors) and the concepts we’ll be talking about during Global Week.

What will the keynote topics be during Global Week?
During the week our all-school activities will take the shape of listening to keynote speakers and panels and participating in dynamic group workshops on the following topics:

Download the booklet which includes workshop descriptions, speaker bios, and schedules for each grade level. 

GW 2015 explores the history and future of cities. How do historians, anthropologists, urban planners, futurists, and bureaucrats think about cities? Begin your thinking about cities with our guiding questions and key concepts, and join us for a keynote arc moving from past to future.

Guiding questions: What has the role of the city been throughout history? How are decisions made in a city? How is community built and maintained in a city? What is the future of “the city”?

Key Concepts Cities Must Have: 
Water 
Justice 
Diversity
Sense of Identity tied to Place 

Keynote Arc: 
What is Urban? 
What is a City? 
The History of Cities 
The Future of Cities
The Megacity: Challenges and Opportunities  

Download the booklet which includes workshop descriptions, speaker bios, and schedules for each grade level.  

Thank you to everyone who engaged in Global Week 2014: Artists with a Cause. We were so pleased so share the week engaging with students, employees, and community members. All ages were seen getting down with New Style Motherlode, exploring the role of plastic in the world with One Beach Plastic, learning the beauty of graffiti art with Mural, Music and Arts Project, and much, much more. Here is a brief recap of some of the amazing projects the students were working on during the entirety of the week.

Middle School 
The 6th Grade worked with Daniel Barash, creating shadow puppet movies around a global issue of the students' choice. 7th Graders were inspired by speakers, movies and workshops focused on food justice, as well as a visit to the San Francisco Ferry Building. The 8th Grade interviewed elders from the Stevenson House and then wrote up their stories. The week culminated in an art project given to the elders to represent their life story.

Upper School 
The 9th Grade worked with presentation guru Michael Moon on their year-long interdisciplinary project. The 10th Grade students worked with entrepreneur Jess Munro to create and develop their own innovative solution to a global issue. We missed the 11th Grade on campus; however, they were off engaging with the global community on their Investigator trip in either China, India, Guatemala or France. The 12th Grade worked on three separate projects: a photographic essay, led by Amanda Jones, documentary films with MTV World's Raeshem Nijhon, and a school graffiti mural.

Elective Workshops 
All students had the opportunity to connect with local and global artists, as well as do hands-on work during their elective selections. Some beautified our campus in a student-led "graffiti moss" elective, others learned the art of plating with local social entrepreneur Kathleen Hughes of Ada's Café, while others learned about the art of merchandising when they designed a teen pendant for the American market to support the organization Made by Survivors.

Download the booklet which includes workshop descriptions, speaker bios, and schedules for each grade level.  

Youth Speaks officially kicked off Global Week 2013, "Social Change: Standing Up and Speaking Out". Youth Speaks is a non-profit, which empowers the next generation of leaders, self-defined artists, and visionary activists through written and oral literacies. They challenge youth to find, develop, publicly present, and apply their voices as creators of social change. 

During the week, students engaged in a variety of experiences. Week-long workshops focused on Grassroots Movements, Social Media and the Protestor, the Political Process, and Partnership in Action.

Download the booklet which includes workshop descriptions, speaker bios, and schedules for each grade level.