Through a ten-year collaboration, Global Kids conducts a range of programs with the Council on Foreign Relations, the world’s leading international affairs think tank. Specifically, these programs include an ongoing series of monthly roundtables; an intensive three-week institute, “The U.S. in the World;” and opportunities for GK Leaders to learn from CFR staff members about international careers. As a result of these opportunities, GK participants are learning first-hand from experts on such issues as U.S. foreign policy, the war in Iraq, development and trade, globalization, women’s and children’s rights, global health, ethnic conflict, and the environment, among others.

The following provides information on these programs:

• The U.S. in the World Initiative : Each summer, Global Kids collaborates with the Council on Foreign Relations to conduct the U.S. in the World Initiative , an innovative program centered around an intensive institute in which high school students spend three-weeks at the Council's headquarters learning from experts about foreign policy and developing projects that will stimulate dialogue about critical global issues in their schools and communities during the fall.
  
  The U.S. in the World Initiative creates an unparalleled environment in which young people of diverse backgrounds can gain the knowledge and skills necessary for informed and active participation in the discussion of international affairs and decision-making. Distinguished speakers at the institutes have included: Former Special Counsel and Adviser to President Kennedy Ted Sorensen, President Emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations Leslie H. Gelb, CFR President Richard Haass, CFR Fellows Isobel Coleman and Julia Sweig, and Hague Appeal for Peace President Cora Weiss, as well as representatives from Medecins Sans Frontiers, Human Rights Watch, and the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, among others.
  
• GK-CFR Roundtables : Monthly roundtables at the CFR bring GK Leaders from New York City public schools to meet with Council fellows and research associates to examine a specific foreign policy issue. After research and preparation, a GK Leader presides over the session, introducing the topic, speaker, and questions to be explored. The Council expert in the selected foreign policy topic then gives a presentation that provides historical background and current perspectives on the issue. The GK Leaders, who prepare for the sessions by reading selected articles, engage in debate and a question and answer session with the speaker.
  
• Career Programs : Global Kids and the council provide opportunities for youth to interact with CFR Fellows and Research Associates and learn about international careers and the paths the CFR staf members took in pursuing their careers. Past panelists at an annual Career Day have included a former White House press secretary, a specialist on U.S.-Japan business relations, a former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, and a range of Council Fellows, among others.