Never underestimate the vital importance of finding early in life the work that for you is play. This turns possible underachievers into happy warriors.

Sir Ken Robinson, The Element - How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything     .

The (underachiever's) Eye-Opener Grant

We all used to know kids at school who were brilliant in some subjects and "fighting for survival" ​in others. And we remember peers with bright minds, delivering dreadful results.
This has little to do with laziness or lack of intelligence. Which is why cramming is not the answer. These youngsters simply can't see why they should be interested.
Adolescence has its moments, peer pressure can be nasty, and frequently the most creative minds find it hardest to adapt.
They won't function within the established systems and get labelled difficult. But all they need is to "switch on" in a way that works for them!
This is not an exclusive dilemma of the highly talented kid with the exceptional IQ. To be a system-misfit can happen to anyone.
​However, there is help.
Every kid has its own superpowers. We discover them every day. But to pursue a goal, you need to know it first.

"If only I had realized this when I was young ..." 
​Some make up for it later in life. Others can't.  ​
​
We use the community to help and make that penny drop early enough in life (instead of years or possibly decades later)!

​Finding the right partners and the right environment - abroad or at home - offering new surroundings, new role models and new ways of seeing things gives a youngster the chance to open up and get ready for self-discovery. ​
​
​The entire program is based on Sir Ken Robsinson's thesis 
of finding your true element

How it works and how to participate

The beloved Eye-Opener. We also call it the Switch-on Grant.
​It helps parents who can "see it coming" that their child will confront them one day and ask "Why didn't you make me use the opportunities I had? Why didn't you make me learn?" It is made for parents who understand: 

Their kid needs an eye-opener, not more pressure to perform!

​The age group:

​Kids from 10 to 18 yrs.  ​
​
Who can apply:
Parents apply for a child who is at risk to join "the league of regretters"
in later life. ​​Applications can be filed anytime throughout the year.
​
Essential elements:
​
A genuine commitment to cooperate across borders and generations.
5% to 10% of the grant is financial. The rest is finding the right mentors,
peers, ideas, surroundings, motivation, inspiration ... to find the right switch.
​ 
The idea:
A child's academic success can be supported in so many ways.
Naturally, sympathetic parents and siblings are the best thing that can happen to a kid. A good school and great teachers are a tremendous help, role models often work wonders for guidance and motivation.
​
But some kids are, despite all of this (lack of it makes it worse, no doubt), still like a flower not able to flourish. Some need a different climate, others a different kind of soil. They may feel that there's something amiss, but they can't put a name to it.
Not yet.

What's the worst thing to happen? That they're made to feel like a failure.
​That there is no sense of accomplishment for them.
Teachers and family members might call them lazy or even stupid, peer pressure may lead them to do silly things for social acceptance. All too often, they get into a downward spiral of compensating for lack of success by actions that make the situation even worse.
Or they withdraw. Inner exile is a place with a questionable promise of peace.

The Eye-Opener Grant creates the framework to make a new start. 
​
What we have learned:
Many kids need their personal epiphany.
​The right kind of adrenaline, a different environment, fresh thinking and new faces, the excitement of seeing new options, the opportunity to try new ideas without obligation, feeling trusted and accepted - that's how we find a personal, very individual remedy for the "underachiever's syndrome". 
A timeless consideration:
A lot of what the Eye-Opener can do for kids can be done at anytime for any kid, not only those who are unhappy or out of balance. Please focus on your children's strengths and keep an open mind for opportunities that help them find their element.
An accepting and affectionate family is the best stronghold on earth.
​
This grant was the first big project we put into practice, it started in May 2010. To this day, it has never ceased to fill us with wonder what a new start in an inspiring and unprejudiced environment can do for a kid, how much creativity and energy it can unleash, how much happiness it can bring. Many youngsters who found their element this way are now joining their Young Global Superpowers peers to contribute to tomorrow's politics.
​They make us so proud.







​Please take the time to watch, these 19 minutes
are worth it!
​And if you are in a hurry,
get started at 14.50 min
​and watch for 3 minutes.
​That's all it takes to understand the power of finding your element.
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