GEM History & Mission

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Global Education Motivators was founded in 1981 as a 501(c)(3) educational non-profit organization by former high school World Cultures teacher; Wayne Jacoby. GEM’s original goals were to foster a deeper understanding of our evermore interdependent and interconnected world and "bring the real world into the classroom" through teacher training workshops and student focused programs. GEM has grown and diversified over time, yet the founding goals of bringing a global perspective into people’s lives remains as paramount as it did in 1981. Since then, GEM has been and continues to be partnered with the United Nations to further our goals of helping schools and the global community meet the complex challenges of living in a globalized society. 

In 1986 GEM became a NGO (a non-governmental organization) in close association with the UN Department of Public Information (now Department of Global Communications). Founder and executive director Wayne Jacoby received the UN Peace Messenger Award in1989 for GEM’s work on behalf of the UN and world peace. GEM has assisted and propelled various UN projects and initiatives such as a UN pre-internet database, teaching a basic introduction to the iInternet for various UN Missions and NGOs and teaching them how to access and efficiently utilize the various databases of the United Nations. In 2015 GEM received consultancy status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). 

Since 1989, GEM has been based at Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where the organization has also developed college and university level programming. GEM continues to promulgate a real world approach that brings global perspectives into mainstream education with the goal of empowering youth the world over to be prepared for the realities of their interdependent world.

GEM has consistently worked with teachers and administrators through on-site and distance learning workshops and classroom program support to promote a better understanding of the world and its people and the important role of civil society. Convinced that international communication exchange is a key to future world peace, GEM continues to deliver cross-cultural perspectives as an integral part of its unique global learning programs in three ways: bringing youth together across cultures for real-world experiential learning, using history to understand living in an interdependent world, and by supporting and bringing awareness and action to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We believe that global awareness is closely tied to global responsibility.

Throughout GEM’s history, the organization and Mr. Jacoby have drawn the interest and support of a number of influential individuals, such as:

• Fred Rogers of "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood" fame who liked GEM's approach of "know thyself, know thy neighborhood, know thy world."
• Former US senator Paul Simon (D-IL), who supported GEM’s efforts to strengthen the use of foreign languages in schools through various forms of international communication exchanges. 
• Dr. Robert Muller, former UN Assistant Secretary-General and Chancellor Emeritus of the University of Peace in Costa Rica who lauded GEM for its efforts to bring the UN into the classroom.
• Dr. Jane Goodall who commended GEM for its work on human rights, environmental, and endangered animals education and awareness.
• Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan for GEM's various UN educational programs and activism for peace.
• Ramu Damodaran, Chief and Director of the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) who we continue to partner with.