EF Educational Tours Announces Creation of Canadian Global Citizens Fund, $1 Million Commitment to School Communities Across Canada

The fund will support 500 students over the next four years, facilitating their participation in the transformational experience of educational travel

TORONTO, Nov. 15, 2022 /CNW/ - Today, EF Educational Tours Canada (EF) is announcing the creation of the Canadian Global Citizens Fund and its commitment of $1 million over four years to help school communities across the country that are in need of financial support and have identified travel-based learning as a priority for their students. Beginning this school year (2022/2023), the fund will support students by covering the majority of their travel costs, helping them to take part in educational travel experiences with EF.

The creation of the fund was driven by EF's belief that every student — regardless of gender identity, race, physical ability, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status — should have the opportunity to experience the life-changing impact of educational travel. EF has identified over 30 school communities to be eligible for consideration during the first year of the Canadian Global Citizens Fund and has reserved a portion of the fund for other communities that are interested in facilitating their students' travel.

"We're incredibly proud to announce the Canadian Global Citizens Fund today," said Alison Hickey, President of EF Educational Tours Canada. "We had the opportunity to consult Canadian educators and system leaders as we developed the fund to ensure it would deliver a positive impact on the Canadian students who need it most. We're excited to continue our work with educators to bring educational travel experiences to more Canadian students."

EF Educational Tours also took inspiration from Zita Cobb, a prominent Canadian thought leader and CEO of Shorefast, a Canadian registered charity based on Fogo Island, NL, to think differently about how EF can support Canadian students and bring meaningful change to school communities across the country. Both EF and Shorefast share a belief in the power of interconnectedness between people the world over, and a core belief that sustainable change is created through impact and outcomes in place-based communities. EF is proud to share that students from the Fogo Island Central Academy will be among the first recipients of the Canadian Global Citizens Fund.

"On behalf of Fogo Island Central Academy, we are very grateful to be chosen as one of the first recipients of the Canadian Global Citizens Fund," said Kristen Gill, Principal of Fogo Island Central Academy. "Our students are very fortunate to be given this wonderful opportunity to expand on their learning journey through the support of this educational program. We cannot wait to see where our students will go."

EF Educational Tours is an education-first company, and strongly believes that every student deserves the opportunity to see the world and experience new communities, perspectives, and people. Through travel, students have the opportunity to learn more about the world, themselves, and the impact they can make on the world. The Canadian Global Citizens Fund will provide EF with more opportunities to work with educators across Canada to bring educational travel experiences to students to unlock their potential, achieve improved learning outcomes, and ultimately gain skills to navigate and make an impact on our ever-evolving world.

For more information about the Canadian Global Citizens Fund, please visit www.eftours.ca/fund.

About EF Education First

Founded in Lund, Sweden in 1965, EF Education First (EF) is the world leader in international education. EF offers students every imaginable way to see the world, experience a new culture, learn a language or earn an academic degree. With a mission of opening the world through education, every EF program helps people build bridges across borders and cultures, spark mutual understanding, and create new opportunities for themselves. EF Educational Tours is a product that is part of the EF Education First family of companies. Today, EF has 52,000 employees working across 600+ schools and 119 countries. For more information, visit www.eftours.ca.

SOURCE EF Educational Tours Canada

Jake Pare, Citizen Relations, [email protected]