Global Kids, the nonprofit organization that focuses on using technology to educate and inspire civic responsibility among underserved youth, recently announced a $550,000 MacArthur Foundation grant to use virtual worlds to support discussion and education on philanthropy; now, it has announced more details about its program for the upcoming school year, including the Virtual Video program which the MacArthur grant funds.

This year, Global Kids will conduct programs at more than 20 public schools and its own new headquarters in Manhattan. Among this year's current initiatives, the GlobalKids Online Leadership Program works with students to create online leadership programs:

Global Kids offers a number of programs that give youth the tools to create educational games, work in virtual worlds, construct machinima (digital movies made using interactive three dimensional environments), and take part in online dialogues. Among these programs are the Microsoft-funded Playing 4 Keeps, an after-school program in which young people create educational online games, and the MacArthur Foundation-funded Virtual Video Project, in which youth create digital movies using the virtual world of Second Life.

“We are very excited to begin another academic year with our strongest lineup yet of substantive, enlightening programs,” said Carole Artigiani, founder and executive director of Global Kids. “But the most exciting and rewarding part comes at the end of the school year, when we see how the youth in Global Kids’ programs have grown, developed a more global perspective, taken action on issues they care about, and gained opportunities to pursue higher education.”