We have exciting news! The World Leadership Corps and Atlas Corps have joined efforts to engage nonprofit organizations in New York and expand international exchange opportunities for individuals from around the world.

To address critical global issues, Atlas Corps and World Leadership Corps will work together to develop leaders, strengthen organizations, and promote innovation through an overseas fellowship and international network of skilled nonprofit professionals.

The Brookings Institution profiled Atlas Service Corps as a “best practice” in international exchange and this new joint endeavor will build on our combined successes and lessons learned of the World Leadership Corps and Atlas Corps.

Atlas Corps has extensive experience in international exchange and has Fellows from 11 different countries (Armenia, Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, the United States, and Zimbabwe). Atlas Corps has worked with prestigious organizations such as Ashoka, the Grameen Foundation, and the U.S. Peace Corps. Combined with WLC’s experience in 18 different countries (Argentina, Australia, China, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ghana, Iceland, India, Jordan, Lebanon, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sweden, Tanzania, Uganda, Uzbekistan, the United States, and Wales), Atlas Corps and World Leadership Corps are prepared to recruit nonprofit leaders from all over the world into our fellowship.

Our shared values, vision, and commitment to international exchange will allow us to expand our network of nonprofit leaders both in New York and around the world.

It is our opportunity, our responsibility, and our commitment to find new ways to address global issues such as poverty, health, gender equity and the environment. We are convinced that the careful preparation of future leaders through cross-cultural discovery and meaningful service is one of the keys to ensuring a sustainable future for the planet.

With support from the Pepsi Refresh Everything contest, Atlas Corps and World Leadership Corps will continue to send rising nonprofit leaders around the world to address these issues and build a strong network of passionate individuals and organizations.

Thank you for your continued support.

Thomas L. Benson
Executive Director
World Leadership Corps

Scott Beale
Founder and CEO
Atlas Service Corps

P.S. To receive our newsletter and get more involved, please email Aparna Kothary at akothary@worldleadershipcorps.org.

The World Leadership Corps and Atlas Corps are based on the idea that international volunteer service and cross-cultural living can make a difference in meeting critical global challenges and provide life-changing experiences for future leaders.

In his book, The Meaning of the 21st Century, published in 2006, Dr. James Martin, World Education Corps founder and chairman, advocates the creation of an international service program that unites the energy and idealism of youth to meet global needs and to prepare future leaders in the "transition generation" for their responsibilities in the critical decades ahead. With support from Dr. Martin, a volunteer service organization, the World Education Corps, was created. In 2006, the organization refined its mission and changed its name to the World Leadership Corps.

One of the most urgent needs in both the developing world and among the developed nations is conscientious, cross-culturally experienced, and well-informed leadership. Again and again, well-intentioned reforms and plans for addressing critical problems have failed owing to a breakdown in leadership, whether through ignorance, lack of cultural understanding, inadequate preparation, or corrupt practices. The WLC was organized to prepare future leaders who are well informed about the challenges facing the planet, who have lived abroad and learned the unique lessons that come from cross-cultural encounter, and who have studied and reflected on the moral and professional responsibilities of those entrusted with leadership.

The World Leadership Corps is associated with the James Martin 21st Century School at the University of Oxford, endowed by Dr. Martin in 2005, serving as an independent link between its research activities and WLC service projects throughout the world. During its first three years, the WLC sponsored volunteers in 15 countries in partnership with a number of outstanding international agencies, including iEARN (the International Education and Resource Network), the Carter Center, the Earth Charter Initiative, the Dominican Republic Education and Mentoring (DREAM) Project, ECOLOGIA, Curriki, and the University for Peace.

In 2010, the World Leadership Corps joined efforts with Atlas Corps, a “best practice in international exchange”, to engage nonprofit organizations in New York and continue sending nonprofit leaders around the world for a one-year Fellowship experience.

This new joint endeavor will build on the success and lessons learned of both the World Leadership Corps and Atlas Corps. Atlas Corps has extensive experience in international exchange and has over 37 Fellows from over 10 different countries (Armenia, Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, the United States, and Zimbabwe).

The shared values, vision, and commitment of World Leadership Corps and Atlas Corps to international exchange will allow a significant expansion of an international network of skilled nonprofit leaders.

Whatever else education achieves, it must equip young people to take responsibility for our future — and to find adventure and joy in being global citizens in a time of historic transition.James Martin, The Meaning of the 21st Century

Home > Meeting Global Challenges

Contemporary global conditions and the challenges of the 21st century require fresh approaches to international service and to the training of future leaders. In response to this changing environment, the WLC has based its mission and programs on a number of core values.

• Multinational Service
• Respect for Host-Country Priorities
• Building Sustainable Capacity
• Creative Use of Digital Technologies
• Service Learning
• Strategic Partnerships
• Full Support for Volunteers
• Volunteer Networking

Home > Our Core Values

Dr. Thomas L. Benson is an educator with broad experience in academic leadership and international education. He served as the founding co-director of the World Education Institute at the James Martin 21st Century School at the University of Oxford. He was a founder and the first chairman of the ASIANetwork, a North American consortium of liberal arts institutions. Currently, he serves as the founding chairman of the AFRICANetwork. He is also a board member of the Myanmar Foundation and the Japan ICU Foundation. Dr. Benson was a faculty member at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, for 15 years and the first director of its Interdisciplinary Studies and General Honors programs. He is the President Emeritus of Green Mountain College, an innovative, environmentally oriented liberal arts college in Vermont. Dr. Benson has published papers in the fields of international education, the humanities, and ethics and public policy. He holds advanced degrees from Harvard University and The Johns Hopkins University.

Home > Leadership

Dr. James Martin is an author, business leader, and social entrepreneur in the fields of digital technology, education, and international development. In its 25th anniversary issue, Computerworld ranked Dr. Martin fourth in its list of the 25 individuals who have most influenced the world of computer technology.  Dr. Martin's book, The Wired Society: A Challenge for Tomorrow, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. His latest book, The Meaning of the 21st Century: An Urgent Blueprint for Ensuring Our Future was published in August 2006 by Penguin/Riverhead.  A series based on the book is also being filmed for public television. Dr. Martin is the founder of Oxford University's new, multidisciplinary 21st Century School, whose mission is to identify and develop useful strategies for responding to the most serious problems and the most promising opportunities facing the planet in the new century. He is also the founder and Chairman Emeritus of Headstrong, an international consulting company.