Watch a recording of the global ideas summit Peace Corps Connect to the Future here.
On July 18 we hosted our global ideas summit: Peace Corps Connect to the Future. Thank you to all the members of the Peace Corps community who made possible the summit and town halls over the previous two weeks.
We’ve been asking: What are the big ideas for the Peace Corps, the NPCA, and the Peace Corps community going forward?
If you missed the summit or want to share ideas and inspiration from it, here’s the video of the entire summit.
And while we’ve reached the summit, it’s not all downhill from here. We’ll be sharing more from the summit in the days ahead. The agenda for the summit is included below. And here is just one of the insights from the summit, from Wofford Global Citizen Award Winner Kul Chandra Gautam of Nepal:
“Let us remember that solidarity, unlike charity, is a two-way street. The Peace Corps experience is just as important for the education and enlightenment of the Peace Corps Volunteers as it is for them to help their host communities. More than any other group of Americans, I believe that Returned Peace Corps Volunteers can instill a sense of a more enlightened America as part of, not apart from, a more just, peaceful, and prosperous world. So, I hope and count on the Peace Corps to survive and thrive, and help build an enlightened post-COVID America and world.”
If we succeed in that work, it will be because we do it together. We hope you'll be part of the next critical steps as we seek to transform Peace Corps for a changed world. It’s time to put ideas into action.
In service,
Glenn Blumhorst
President & CEO
National Peace Corps Association
Welcome — Tributes, and a Moment of Silence
Glenn Blumhorst, President & CEO, NPCA
A welcome to our first virtual summit. Read his remarks and watch a video of his welcoming address here.
Peace Corps Today
Dr. Jody Olsen, Peace Corps Director
The 20th Director of the Peace Corps, Olsen discussed the many challenges we’re facing as a community. Watch a video of her address and read her remarks here. Olsen served as a Volunteer in Tunisia (1966–68) and has served as Country Director of Togo, held leadership positions within the agency, and as visiting professor at University of Maryland-Baltimore School of Social Work and Director of the University’s Center for Global Education Initiatives. She wrote this essay forthcoming in WorldView magazine chronicling the events that led to global evacuation of Volunteers.
Host Country Perspectives on Peace Corps
Three recipients of the Harris Wofford Global Citizen Award reflect on the work Peace Corps has done — and still has before it.
Nepal | Kul Chandra Gautam
Diplomat, public policy expert, and peace advocate — and former Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF. Read Kul Chandra Gautam’s remarks and watch the video here.
Guatemala | Luis Argueta
Film director and producer whose work helps audiences better understand people on the margins — including “The Silence of Neto,” Guatemala’s first Oscar submission. Read Luis Argueta’s remarks and watch the video here.
Kenya | Dr. Mohamud Sheikh Nurein Said
Volunteer, philanthropist, and humanitarian engaged in a wide range of medical service and human rights activities on the local, national, and international levels. Read Mohamud Said’s remarks and watch the video here.
Facilitator | Anne Baker
Vice President, National Peace Corps Association
Big Ideas for the Peace Corps Community
Summarizing ideas generated by the Peace Corps community through a series of town halls, hosted July 8–16.
- Fostering Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
Watch the video of highlights from the town hall.
- Helping Peace Corps be its Best: Peace Corps Policies
Watch the video of highlights from the town hall.
- Funding the Future of the Peace Corps
Watch the video of highlights from the town hall.
- Recruiting the Next Generation of Volunteers
Watch the video of highlights from the town hall.
- Supporting our RPCVs During Readjustment at Home
Watch the video of highlights from the town hall.
- Recalibrating Peace Corps Programs for the Future
Watch the video of highlights from the town hall.
- Reexamining the Second and Third Goals of Peace Corps
Watch the video of highlights from the town hall.
- Communicating in and about our Peace Corps Community
Watch the video of highlights from the town hall.
From Ideas to Action l Reimagining the Future of the Peace Corps
RPCVs discuss their experiences — and how we can transform this moment in Peace Corps history. Read the discussion, see video highlights — or watch the full conversation here.
Marieme Foote, Evacuated RPCV | Benin 2018–20
Rok Locksley, Evacuated RPCV | Philippines 2018–20
Juana Bordas | RPCV Chile 1966–68
in conversation with
Glenn Blumhorst, President & CEO, NPCA | RPCV Guatemala 1988–91
A Special Invitation for 2021
Wayne A. I. Frederick, M.D., MBA | President of Howard University
President Frederick announces that Howard University is working with NPCA to host the 2021 Peace Corps Connect and 60th anniversary of Peace Corps commemoration. Watch a video of his remarks here.
Where Do We Go from Here?
Maricarmen Smith-Martinez, NPCA Board Chair
A Volunteer in Costa Rica 2006–08, Smith-Martinez is Director of the International Development Sector for Bixal and has more than 15 years of experience managing nonprofit and government projects. Read her remarks and watch a video here.
Featuring musical guest and NPCA Board Director Katie Long
Stories about the unfinished business of evacuated Peace Corps Volunteers
Watch first-person videos and read about the unfinished business of Peace Corps Volunteers around the world.
Watch a recording of the global ideas summit Peace Corps Connect to the Future here.
We convened an ideas summit July 18 to ask some crucial questions about the Peace Corps community in a changed world. And as we led up to that event, from July 8–16 we brought together members of the Peace Corps community for a series of town hall discussions around issues of systemic racism, climate change, and more — to help shape our agenda for the future and ask: What are the big ideas for the Peace Corps going forward?
Volunteers worldwide were evacuated because of a global pandemic still taking its toll. That created an unprecedented and enormous challenge on its own. Protests against racial injustice have raised big questions about what we stand for as a country and a community. We say Peace Corps represents what’s best about America. So in a time of crisis, we have a responsibility to lead.
We also want to help reignite the work of Peace Corps around the world. So how do we do that, and make sure that Peace Corps — and our community — is the best that it can be? We’ve heard from members of the Peace Corps community during in-depth discussions at our town halls. At our summit, we heard from Peace Corps Director Jody Olsen, evacuated Volunteers and those who have been serving communities in the U.S. for decades. And we heard striking insights from winners of the Wofford Global Citizen Award from Nepal, Kenya, and Guatemala.
Now we’re tackling some tough questions and staking out next steps for our community. It’s time to put ideas into action.
Miss it or want to share? Watch the summit on YouTube.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 8
Helping Peace Corps Be Its Best – Peace Corps Policies
This forum discussed a variety of key policies that guide the Peace Corps experience, including health, safety and security, diversity, benefits and post-service support.
THURSDAY, JULY 9
Funding the Future of the Peace Corps
Conversations with long-standing leaders, RPCV leaders on Capitol Hill, and recently evacuated Volunteers.
SATURDAY, JULY 11
Recruiting the Next Generation of Volunteers / Peace Corps as National Service
Priority one is building a diverse pipeline of strong and committed applicants. So what is the central message the Peace Corps needs to convey to attract volunteers? Where and how does outreach need to happen? What will volunteers of the future look like (skills, experience, diversity, motivation)? What is the role of the RPCV community in recruitment?
SATURDAY, JULY 11
Communications In and About Our Peace Corps Community
Where Peace Corps and NPCA are doing well — and where we and the agency alike can do better. From communications to Volunteers in the field to RPCVs to telling the Peace Corps story. Perspectives, platforms, questions.
MONDAY, JULY 13
Supporting RPCVs During Readjustment at Home
What’s most helpful — and least helpful — in terms of the support Peace Corps and NPCA provide to Volunteers coming home? What else should be provided?
TUESDAY, JULY 14
Recalibrating Peace Corps’ Programs for the Future
What shifts should Peace Corps make to its technical programs in a changed world? Are programmatic changes needed to meet potential threats like another pandemic or global climate change? What new tools and technologies could be deployed?
WEDNESDAY, JULY 15
Reexamining the Second and Third Goals of the Peace Corps
Building relationships and bringing the world back home: It’s said these goals are what put the “Peace” into Peace Corps. After 60 years, how are we doing when it comes to promoting better understanding? Can these goals be reinterpreted to more explicitly focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion?
THURSDAY, JULY 16
Fostering Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
Addressing systemic racism in staffing, recruitment, and in the field. How has the Peace Corps handled racial injustice concerns? How does NPCA and the Peace Corps community ensure better equity and justice? How can we build a more diverse and inclusive community?
My Attendance
