About Us

The Global Academy was formed in 1999 as a result of dialogues between international businessman and social entrepreneur Walter Link, Omega Institute principal and education specialist Tom Valente, and noted author and futurist John Naisbitt. The three recognized the need for a new action and networking oriented university-without-walls that would address issues of critical importance to our common future.  Walter Link is chairman of the Global Academy, Tom Valente serves as its president, and John Naisbitt chairs the International Board of Advisors.
 
Since then, the Global Academy has worked to generate open and sustained dialogue on key issues for the individual and society in the belief that such dialogue leads to a deeper understanding of complex issues, and may lead to wiser decisions. The Global Academy formed five institutes that focused their conversations on the following topics:

The implications of genetic technology for our society (Genome Institute)
Building sustainable economies (Institute for Sustainable Capitalism)
Integration of complementary and alternative medicine into mainstream western medicine (Institute for Integrative Medicine)
Purpose and forms of education needed to meet societal changes of the 21st century (Institute for Integrative Education)
Opportunities and risk of globalization (Institute for Globalization, Leadership and Human Rights)

The Global Academy conducts these conversations, in part, by designing and convening conferences, public forums, seminars, and events throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia. The Global Academy gathers together experts from many disciplines to engage participants in deep dialogue, the most effective way for citizens and leaders to learn about complex subjects quickly and thus gain the capacity to make decisions.

To increase its influence and sustain the dialogue, the Global Academy forms strategic partnerships, thus enhancing the work of all participating parties.

The Global Academy provides strategic planning advice and organizational development support to assist our partners develop successful models, which can then be used to further the Global Academy’s long term goal of contributing to the development of humane societies that are economically successful, environmentally sound, and technologically and socially responsible.

The Global Academy is continuously seeking the most effective forms of action-oriented education in order to develop organically into a new kind of broadly networked, interdisciplinary, and proactive “virtual university” with an international operation.

The Global Academy, a project of the Link Foundation, operates as a not-for-profit organization set up for exclusively charitable and education purposes.
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