From Print to Planet: The CheckWorld Story
CheckWorld is an Educational Tourism Organization for Cultural Literacy.
The Mission
Helping kids understand the world’s diverse civilizations, peoples, cultures, and heritages as a foundation for global understanding and lasting peace.
The Methodology
Building global awareness and cultivating global citizens through partnership-driven domestic and international expeditions designed for participants aged 8 to 14.
The Goal
Cultivating global understanding in the pursuit of eradicating prejudice and tribalism.
History and Evolution
CheckWorld’s development has been a focused, linear evolution. The organization began with Check Magazine, a quarterly publication dedicated to educating teens and preteens about global cultures and ancient civilizations. This transitioned into SmartKid, a weekly cultural storytelling club, which further evolved in 2011 into Camp Check; an annual cultural camp hosting participants from various schools, kids’ clubs, and youth organizations for hands-on global awareness activities. The full evolution culminated in its current format on Monday, November 16, 2015, with the first expedition to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in South Korea. Since then, CheckWorld has designed more than 70 structured expeditions worldwide, providing hundreds of participants with the opportunity to become globally well-versed individuals.
Organizational Structure
Founded in January 2008 by Artina Yaro West, CheckWorld operates as a hybrid organization: a professional entity dedicated to its nonprofit mission, powered by a diverse group of cultural connectors and professional geographers whose combined expertise and dedication ensure the intellectual depth, cultural impact, and logistical safety of every expedition.
A Partnership-Driven Model
CheckWorld recognizes that cultivating global understanding in the pursuit of eradicating prejudice and tribalism is a collective responsibility, hence its partnership-driven model. This provides a sustainable framework for deep-rooted social change, engaging a broad spectrum of stakeholders from corporate sponsors and youth councils to schools, community leaders, paramount rulers, community chiefs, as well as the family unit. This model ensures that the responsibility of cultivating global citizens by helping kids better understand the world's diverse civilizations and cultures is a shared investment.
Code of Conduct
CheckWorld practices ethical travel by minimizing the environmental footprint of its activities. Turning Curiosity into Culture.
“We respect the complexity of the world, its many diverse civilizations, vibrant cultures and the stories that define them. Through Expeditions Without Borders, we engage with the residents and traditions of host locations with the utmost respect. By providing young people with the cultural literacy and global awareness they need to understand civilizations beyond their own borders, we empower them to embrace our shared humanity: cultivating global citizens across peoples, civilizations, and cultures, working toward the ultimate goal of eradicating prejudice and tribalism.”
- The CheckWorld Team.
