Julian Gerhart
2022 IVLP Impact Award Project: Zmudri Civics StreamSlovakia
Julian Gerhart received a bachelor of arts in Marketing and Management Communication at Aarhus University in Denmark. Julian returned to his home country with a vision to build a better education that prepares young people for solving real life problems.
Together with his friends, he co-founded a nonprofit organization, Zmudri.sk. It is an online platform for young people and teachers with free video courses and learning materials focusing on topics like civic issues, financial literacy, critical thinking, job search, mental health and more. After three years of existence, the organization has produced over 130 video courses, created a custom made online learning web platform, registered more than 8000 teachers, been featured on major Slovak media such as RTVS, Markiza, JOJ, Dennik N, SME, Hospodárske Noviny, Trend, Refresher, StartitUp and Dobré Noviny. The organization was also awarded Forbes 30under30 and the European Citizen's Prize.
IVLP Impact Award Project: Zmudri Civics Stream
Julian’s project provided Slovakian civic teachers with useful materials to make their classrooms more innovative while also increasing the knowledge given to young people about democracy and democratic processes. The project produced video courses with a special focus on providing non-partisan information to expand its collection of civic topics and reach a wider audience. Specifically, the project covered topics such as civil and political rights, minority rights and extremism, activism and volunteering, how NGOs work, how law enforcement works, the Slovak Constitution, and branches of power.
The project engaged 4100 new teachers from 48 different schools overall. Additionally, at least 130 teachers are planning to continue to use the courses created by the project in the following years.
"With each topic, the students were much more engaged, they were not afraid to speak their minds, they were interested by the video. On the second session, they brought samples of politicians' quotes to class themselves, which they introduced to other classmates..." - Project Participant
IVLP Exchange Experience
Julian was a participant in the IVLP Project NGO Management I, organized by the U.S. Department of State and Meridian International Center.
Julian's exchange experience led to the development of his IVLP Impact Award Project: "The IVLP was a unique opportunity to expand my NGO Management knowledge and connect with incredibly talented people who are driving change in all parts of the world."
U.S. Communities Visited Virtually
Little Rock, AR; Denver, CO; Washington, DC, Miami, FL; Atlanta, GA; Buffalo, NY; St. Louis, MO; Pittsburgh, PA;