High Resolves


High Resolves is recognised as a leader in the design and delivery of capacity-building experiences for young people. The aim of High Resolves programs are to educate high-school aged students in the meaning of being a global citizen. High Resolves programs emerged from simulations developed by co-founder Mehrdad Baghai and Nobel Laureate Thomas Schelling at Harvard University which unexpectedly turned out to be an effective modern paradigm for moral education.

History

High Resolves was founded in 2005 by Mehrdad Baghai author of The Alchemy of Growth and his wife Roya. High Resolves started as an experiment in Baghai's son's school in Sydney, Australia, and had expanded to at least 350 Australian schools by 2018, having engaged more than 200,000 Australian students since its inception.
In 2014 the Australian Council for Educational Research conducted an independent evaluation of our programs and found: "High Resolves is meeting its intended purposes, namely it is effectively engaging and helping to empower young Australians to take part and be active in their communities".

Program

Collective Action: students experience a series of High Resolves programs, which progressively build personal decision-making skills and encourage critical thinking about social change.
Collective Identity: an independent investigation of the truth that we are a single global civilisation.
Justice: an exploration of fairness, especially in the distribution of wealth and poverty.

Awards and honours

Author and venture capital entrepreneur Mehrdad Baghai, a member of the Initiative, was short-listed as a finalist for the first Aspen Institute, John P. McNulty Prize in 2008, and ultimately was the winner of the award in 2018, the prize's eleventh year, citing extraordinary leadership.
High Resolves won the 2015 Patrons Prize in the national Good Design Awards.
The Patron's Australian Design Award is presented annually by the Patron of Good Design Australia. The award recognises and celebrates the best Australian designed product, service or project in the annual Good Design Awards and is awarded to an entry that has the potential to shape the future economic, social, cultural and environmental aspects of our planet.

Videos for Change Challenge

High Resolves created Videos for Change in 2015 to help students to take action and feel empowered to create change in the world.
The challenge is for young people from high school years 7 to 12 to create a one-minute video on a social issue they feel passionate about. Past participants have covered issues such as social inclusion, racism, domestic violence, gender equality, LGBTQI rights, and bullying. Partnering with Platypus Shoes allow for greater access and prizes.
The winners of each category are broadcast on Australian Network Ten's current affairs program The Project,
  1. Junior High Grand Prize for a team of students from Years 7-9
  2. Senior High Grand Prize for a team of students from Years 10-12
  3. People's Choice Award the finalist team with the highest number of votes, shares and likes during the voting period
  4. Founders Award for the best video representing the voice of Indigenous youth for students from year 9-12 who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.

    Charity status

High Resolves has the charity status of Deductible Gift Recipients in Australia and High Resolves America has 501 status in the US which allows for US federal tax exemption of nonprofit organizations, specifically those that are considered public charities.