Our Objective

Reach Out to Asia (ROTA) aims to help shape a world where every young person has a sense of belonging to one global community, driven by a shared goal of effective positive change. We do this by engaging marginalized youth in Asia and worldwide as active global citizens and inspiring them to take informed actions that build more secure, productive and resilient communities.

Today’s global challenges are growing ever more connected. In facing them, youth must be well-equipped with education and training to play their part in the future of this world.  ROTA works to ensure that the most marginalised youth are empowered, have a sense of belonging to their communities, countries, and the world and do their part in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 

Our Impact

Since our inception, ROTA has worked to foster global citizenship among marginalized youth and to build their capacity to contribute to a sustainable future. Over the past 15 years:

•    ROTA has implemented 66 projects in 21 countries.
•    Our projects have reached more than 2 million children and youth.
•    We have also engaged more than 5,000 volunteers, trained 17,000 teachers, and constructed/rehabilitated 336 schools.

Our Way Forward

Nearly 90% of the world’s 1.8 billion youth between the ages of 10-24 live in developing countries *. By tying the purpose of education directly to answering today’s global challenges, ROTA is cultivating young learners who care for the world and can lead its sustainable future.

By supporting youth through our Global Citizenship Education (GCED) initiative, ROTA aspires to encourage young people to develop the knowledge, skills and values they need to engage with the world. Fostering global citizenship among youth requires building their understanding of the world around them and empowering them to act. Their engagement in global issues and actions can go a long way towards bringing positive change on both a local and a global scale. 

Our experience has shown that putting newly acquired knowledge and skills into action is a key part of the transformative process of GCED. We believe that linking GCED to actionable impact – in green skills, climate action, peacebuilding, or humanitarian action  – cements young people’s belief that what they do today can make a real difference in their world tomorrow. 

ROTA has recently launched a second initiative focused on Green Skills for Marginalized Youth. Under this initiative, ROTA works with partners to support new and existing technical and vocational education and training (TVET) centres and other community-based training hubs as entry points for delivering Green Skills training to youth. The aim is to support the most vulnerable youth (especially those in refugee camps and suffering displacement) in developing the skills they need to contribute to greener societies, greener economies, and sound sustainable development.

* United Nations. https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/youth/