From Print to Planet: The CheckWorld Story
CheckWorld is an Educational Tourism Organization for Cultural Literacy, building global awareness through partnership-driven local and global expeditions for kids.
Founded in January 2008 by Artina Yaro West, the organization has been guided by a singular founding purpose: educational tourism for youth development, which is the mechanism through which it achieves its mission of fostering global awareness in young minds.
Organizational Structure
CheckWorld operates as a hybrid organization: a business dedicated to a profound social mission. While maintaining the operational strength of a professional entity, its not-for-profit policy prioritizes educational integrity and cultural impact over profit margins.
History and Evolution
CheckWorld's development has been a strategic, linear evolution focused on cultural experiences. The organization began in 2008 with Check Magazine, a quarterly publication dedicated to educating teens and preteens about global cultures and ancient civilizations. This publication transitioned into SmartKid, a weekly cultural storytelling club, which further evolved in 2011 into Camp Check: an annual cultural camp that hosted participants from various schools, kids’ clubs and youth organizations for hands-on global awareness activities. The full evolution culminated into its current format, launching the first expedition on Monday, November 16, 2015, to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in South Korea. Since that date, CheckWorld has designed more than 70 structured expeditions worldwide.
Cumulatively, these programs have provided thousands of young people with the opportunity to become globally well-versed individuals.
The CheckWorld Team
The organization is powered by a diverse group of professional geographers, youth advocates, and cultural connectors. Their combined expertise ensures the quality, educational depth, and logistical safety of every expedition.
A Partnership-Driven Model
CheckWorld establishes a sustainable framework for high-level educational travel by balancing sponsorships with program-commitment fees from participating schools, kids’ clubs, and youth organizations. This model ensures that the responsibility of cultivating global citizens by helping kids better understand the world and its cultural diversity is a shared investment.
Code of Conduct
CheckWorld practices ethical travel by minimizing the environmental footprint of its activities. Turning Curiosity into Culture.
We engage with the residents and traditions of our host locations with the utmost respect, bridging the gap between structured activities and real-world understanding.
Our Core Mission
At the heart of every expedition is the goal of helping young people better understand the world, its people, culture, civilizations, history, and heritage. We believe that true global citizenship begins with curiosity and is cemented through immersive experience. Our framework ensures that every participant does more than just visit a destination. Instead, they "arrive like a local." This means arriving well-informed, culturally literate, and ready to appreciate the diverse complexity of our global community.
