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The world in one room.
On Saturday, November 21, the Common Ground Foundation brings its partners, student-led organizations, speakers, and volunteers into one online room for a day built around Learning, Accessibility, and Opportunity for immigrants and refugees.
Register for the summit Volunteer for the dayDownload the schedule (PDF)
What it is
A summit, not a webinar.
A webinar gives you one speaker and a chat box. A summit gives you nine rooms, a workshop you chose, a table to eat lunch at, and a student two time zones away telling you what they built.
Seven hours. Guest speakers, partner organizations, workshops, games, a talent show, and a Youth Impact Showcase where student-led organizations pitch one idea for expanding ESL access and support for refugees and immigrants. Somebody leaves with the Best Idea award. Everybody leaves with a way to help.
It is fully online and free. Come for the whole day or the parts that fit around your Saturday.
Take part
Six ways in.
Attend, volunteer, or bring something of your own. Every sign-up is free and open now.
Attend the summit
Register once and you will get the links, the room list, and the recording notice before the day.
Register to attend 02Volunteer for the day
Student volunteers host rooms, welcome participants, help with games, and keep the schedule moving.
Sign up to volunteer 03Bring your organization
Student-led organizations get a five-minute lightning talk and a breakout room to share their impact.
Register your organization 04Lead a workshop
Guest speakers, partners, volunteers, and student-led organizations can run a 50-minute workshop. Record it in advance if you prefer.
Sign up to lead a workshop 05Host a game
Escape rooms, a vocabulary treasure hunt, trivia, and a talent show need hosts and brave contestants.
Sign up for games 06Youth Impact Showcase
Give the lightning talk, lead a breakout room, and help participants turn one idea into something they can actually do.
Join the showcaseTime zones
When it is, where you are.
The summit runs 10:00 AM – 3:30 PM Eastern. Here is the same seven and a half hours on your clock.
| City | Starts | Ends |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles (PST) | 7:00 AM | 12:30 PM |
| New York (EST) | 10:00 AM | 3:30 PM |
| São Paulo (UTC−3) | 12:00 PM | 5:30 PM |
| London (GMT) | 3:00 PM | 8:30 PM |
| Lagos (UTC+1) | 4:00 PM | 9:30 PM |
| Dubai (UTC+4) | 7:00 PM | 12:30 AM (Nov 22) |
| India (IST) | 8:30 PM | 2:00 AM (Nov 22) |
| Kuala Lumpur (UTC+8) | 11:00 PM | 4:30 AM (Nov 22) |
The day
Hour by hour.
All times Eastern. The full schedule is also available as a PDF.
| Time (EST) | Segment | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 10:00 – 10:25 AM | 1. Opening | Welcome; CGF leadership remarks; partners and speakers introduced; housekeeping (recording notice, chat rules, breakout rooms); icebreaker poll. |
| 10:25 – 11:15 AM | 2. Keynote | Nine breakout rooms — four led by adults, five by students. Join the room that fits you. Full speech, then Q&A. |
| 11:15 AM – 12:20 PM | 3. Workshops & a short break | A fifteen-minute break, then five to fifteen workshops led by guest speakers, partner organizations, CGF student volunteers, and student-led organizations. |
| 12:20 – 1:00 PM | 4. Lunch & networking | Open rooms for learners, tutors, youth leaders, partners, and student-led organizations. Eat, talk, and share what you are building. |
| 1:00 – 1:45 PM | 5. Games & talent show | Escape rooms, a vocabulary treasure hunt, trivia, and a talent show. Four rooms, no pressure to perform. |
| 1:45 – 2:50 PM | 6. Youth Impact Showcase | Each student-led organization gives a five-minute lightning talk, then breakout rooms where students share their impact and help participants shape one idea for ESL access and support. Audience poll for Best Idea. |
| 2:50 – 3:30 PM | 7. Awards & closing | Thank-yous, next steps (survey, volunteering, materials), a group screenshot, and awards. |
Awards
The work gets named.
The day ends with certificates, not a sales pitch. Every student-led organization awards three volunteers of their choice. Three CGF volunteers are recognised for their work on the summit and their contribution to the Foundation across the year. Guest speakers award ten participants or student leaders. Student leaders award every participant a certificate for showing up and taking part.
Certificates are collected after the summit. There is no public awards sign-up — the people who earned them are named on the day.
Start here
One Saturday. Seven hours of access.
Free, online, and open to learners, families, volunteers, and partners anywhere in the world.