About Cyber Bridges

Cyber Bridges aims to promote global community leadership in youth populations by connecting and building intercultural relationships, raising global awareness and promoting leadership between an American Catholic youth constituency and marginalized youth from CRS overseas programs. Connections will initially be made with youth in Jerusalem and the West Bank, and southern India among populations affected by the 2004 tsunami.

Cyber Bridges will facilitate communication utilizing but not reliant on Internet technology. Common training events, collaborative project work and face-to-face interactions where feasible will be included. All youth participants will complete projects lasting no more than two academic school years. There will be exchanges using email, web postings, discussion groups, newsletters, group activities, common trainings in peacebuilding and collaborative actions. Year Three will be spent with follow-up activities, evaluation, case studies and assessing impact. Subsequent years of the partnership between schools will involve minimal CRS intervention because the solidarity will have been established, and common understanding and communication cemented into a sustainable relationship.

Cyber Bridges is envisioned as providing the catalyst to lasting partnerships and expanded knowledge between American Catholic youth and marginalized overseas youth. Cyber Bridges provides the template for establishing exchanges where participants fill in the content, customizing each partnership to fit their unique realities. For example, although Cyber Bridges Palestine will follow the broad guidelines, their program will not be a carbon copy of Cyber Bridges in India, Sri Lanka, Viet Nam, Colombia or Rwanda. Each iteration of Cyber Bridges will by design become its own entity to fit the participant population.

How Does Cyber Bridges Work?

Within each school, Cyber Bridges connects one classroom in the States to a classroom overseas. In each classroom, students are divided into small groups of two or three. These mini-groups are then matched with counterpart groups and work together on different activities designed to promote cross-cultural understanding, knowledge of how other teenagers live, global leadership and a belief that solidarity can transform the world.