Start a Global Shapers Hub Last update: July 2025

In capital cities, rural areas, refugee camps and small islands, Global Shapers work together via our local hub-based model to change their communities and the world.

Included in this guide are the steps and requirements to open a new hub. While the Global Shapers Foundation has the sole ability to open new hubs – we rely on inspiring Founding Curators and Teams to expand our movement and mobilize young people. This could be you!

• Overview of the Incubator Process
• Your 12 Month Plan

Overview of the Incubator Process

The New Hub Incubator is an annual program designed to help passionate individuals and groups open Global Shapers hubs focused on driving positive change. If selected to join the Incubator which starts in September/October, participants receive hands-on guidance and mentorship to develop their hub's purpose, projects, goals and activities from start to finish and ensure their hubs are built on solid foundations. The Incubator journey emphasizes practical outcomes, requiring participants to deliver key milestones. Upon successful completion of the program and delivery of these outcomes, the new hub will be officially launched, ready to make a significant impact in its community.

Incubator Objectives:

• Expand the Global Shapers network to ensure diverse youth perspectives are represented globally.
• Maintain a strategic community priority of 500 Hubs in 150+ countries.
• Select and support Founding Teams aligned with our mandate and values.
• Accelerate the establishment of new Hubs with clear visions, recruitment strategies, and actionable roadmaps.
• Foster a sense of community by connecting new Founding Teams with the broader network.

Founding Teams Responsibilities

• Identify a Founding Team, including 3 members who fulfil our Membership Criteria, to open the hub (The Founding Curator is the only person allowed to be older than 30). After 1 year – Founding Teams should retain a minimum of 20 members.
• Convene new members at least once per month – either physically or virtually – and work with local stakeholders to establish the hub’s purpose, projects, goals and joint activities.
• Inspire members to deliver at least one project per year, share results on TopLink and create change with the wider Global Shapers Community and Global Shapers Foundation.
• Build a hub that is capable of lasting engagement. After one year, the hub should achieve and exceed our Hub Governance standards and hold elections for new hub leaders.

Steps to Engage in the Incubator and Open a New Hub

1. APPLICATION: Proposal to Open a New Hub (Deadline: 31 October)

Opening a hub is as simple as finding the right Founding Curator and Team. Read the Global Shapers Community Charter to learn more about the position and what it takes to operate a successful hub. Founding Curators are established leaders of any age, who have strong local connections and experiences. Ideal candidates are community organizers, mobilizers and builders, who have experience igniting social change movements and inspiring young volunteers. To qualify for opening a Hub, the Founding Team must consist of one Founding Curator (no age limit) and at least two team members who are 27 years old or younger at the time of application.

Before you get started, check to see if there is another hub already in your city or geographic area. Visit our website and type the English name of your city in the "Find a Hub" search function. If you do not find your city and believe it is of strategic importance, we invite you to submit a proposal to open a new hub.

Each year, potential Founding Curators and Founding Teams have until 31 October to submit their application to open a new Hub by email to globalshapers@weforum.org with the following information:

• City Rationale: Why is it important to have a Global Shapers Hub in your city? What value will a new hub bring to your proposed city?
• City Population: What is the current population of your city?
• Preliminary Vision and Strategy: Outline your initial ideas for the Hub.
• Founding Team Rationale: Why are you the ideal Founding Curator and ideal Founding Team members? (If the Founding Curator is already a Global Shaper, make sure to mention it upfront in the application)
• Founding Team Details: Include names, emails, dates of birth, and CVs of the four additional team members.

If the application is relevant and susccessful following the first screening, you will receive an email with the next steps. If not, you'll be informed accordingly.

Disclaimer: Please note that AI tools should not be used to generate generic responses for your application. Submissions must be authentic, thoughtful, and tailored to your city's specific context.

2. INTERVIEW CALL (Deadline: 31 November)

Regional Community Managers will schedule an interview call with the pre-selected Founding Teams to discuss motivation, team dynamics, and vision for the Hub. Sub-regional Community Champions will also be invited to join the interview.

Potential Questions:

• What is the Global Shapers Community based on your understanding?
• What drives you to become a Founding Curator or Founding hub member?
• What value will the new hub bring to our network?
• What challenges does your city face, and how will the Hub address them?
• What value will our network bring to the proposed city?
• What local challenges could Shapers help to address?
• What is the local level of support for the new hub?
• Which stakeholders can support the hub in its first year? Who are your local allies and supporters?

Founding Teams are required to thoroughly review the Official Guides of the Global Shapers Community prior to their interview, as questions related to the content of these guides may be asked.

3. HUB'S 1-YEAR ROADMAP (Deadline: 15 December)

If selected after the Interview Call, the Founding Teams will have to prepare a comprehensive Hub's 1-Year Roadmap to submit to the regional Community Manager. This roadmap outlines the strategic direction, recruitment plan, governance model, and impact priorities for the Hub in its first year of operations:

• Hub Vision: Define the overarching purpose and direction of the Hub by crafting a clear and concise mission statement that captures the Hub’s core purpose and identify the key objectives the Hub aims to achieve within its first year. These could include fostering innovation, supporting community projects, or driving sustainable impact in a specific area.
• Recruitment Strategy: Develop a comprehensive recruitment strategy to attract and onboard talent for the Hub. Define the target audience (e.g., entrepreneurs, community leaders, experts) and the communication channels that will be used to reach them (e.g., social media, partnerships with local organizations, events). Create a standardized process for evaluating and selecting candidates. This could include interviews, skill assessments, and alignment with the Hub’s mission. Develop a structured onboarding program that includes orientation, training, and integration into the Hub’s activities. This should ensure new recruits are aligned with the Hub's values and ready to contribute effectively.
• Governance and Roles Distribution: Establish a governance model that ensures smooth operation and clear distribution of responsibilities. Define the leadership and decision-making structure of the Hub. Clearly outline the roles and responsibilities for key positions within the Hub. Start developing a Hub charter based on the Community Charter and define how decisions will be made within the Hub (e.g., consensus, voting, executive decisions) and the frequency of meetings.
• Impact Approach: Define the Hub’s approach to creating measurable impact in its focus area. Establish specific impact goals for the Hub’s first year (e.g., number of initiatives launched, partnerships formed, community engagement metrics) and identify a potential project to be executed by the Hub. Identify key stakeholders (e.g., local government, NGOs, corporate partners) and develop a strategy for engaging them. This includes mapping out relationships, influence, and potential collaboration opportunities.
• Hub Visibility Strategy: Raise awareness of the Hub and its activities to enhance its reach and influence. Create a unique brand identity for the Hub that reflects its vision and values. Identify the primary channels for communication and develop a content plan that highlights the Hub’s work, success stories, and impact. Plan events (e.g., workshops, conferences) and identify strategic partnerships that will help raise the Hub’s profile and attract new members or collaborators.

Founding Teams are expected to schedule at least one call with their sub-regional Community Champion to seek guidance, discuss their plans, and review their New Hub Report prior to submission.

At this stage, Founding Teams are also expected to include at least five members.

The Global Shapers HQ will review and evaluate the Roadmaps.

4. FINAL APPROVAL AND ONBOARDING (January-June)

Upon submitting strong Roadmaps and being selected, the Founding Teams will receive final approval to open their new hub. The following steps must be completed:

• TopLink Accounts: Set up your Forum Spaces profiles on our official platform.
• Founding Curator Acceptance Letter: Complete and return the signed Founding Curator Acceptance Letter.
• Community Rules & Commitments: Familiarize yourself further with our Community Charter and Official Guides.
• Curatorship Roles: Define clear roles within your team and communicate to your Community Manager the allocation of the Vice-Curator and Impact Officer.
• Hub Logo: Review the Communications and Branding guidelines and prepare your official media presence.
• Onboarding Call With the Advisory Council: Join the scheduled onboarding session to deepen your understanding of the community.
• Calls with Community Champion: Schedule frequent calls with the Community Champion to receive ongoing support, gain valuable insights, align your goals with community standards, and address any challenges that may arise throughout the process.

By following these steps, you will ensure a smooth and successful launch of your new hub. In the section below, you can find additional guidance on how to set up a roadmap for your hub's upcoming twelve month commitment.

5. GLOBAL SHAPERS ANNUAL SUMMIT (July)

Upon successful participation to the Incubator, Founding Curators are invited the attend the Global Shapers Annual Summit in Geneva, Switzerland, for a three-day programme focused on accelerating youth leadership and collective action.

For more details or to express your interest, please contact globalshapers@weforum.org.

Past Examples of Founding Curators

Founding Curators set hubs up for long-term success and self-determination. Hubs have been founded by leaders from all walks of life including: business leaders, activists, artists, mayors, entrepreneurs, innovators and Global Shapers past and present. Here are a few examples:

• Jacob Larsson (Stockholm Hub): Jacob was a member of the Dublin Hub who returned home for his dream job at Teach For Sweden. Already a Global Shaper, Jacob used his community experience to open his hub and grow his team in record time.
• Catalina Cock Duque (Medellin Hub): Catalina has more than 15 years of experience in entrepreneurship. She is an Ashoka Fellow and is responsible for creating the first social and environmental certification system for gold mining. She had the convening power!
• Svante Myrick (Ithaca Hub): Svante was the former mayor of Ithaca, New York. Upon taking office in 2012, he became one of the youngest mayors in US history. He used his platform to empower young people with the social infrastructure to shape their future.
• H.R.H. Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway (Oslo Hub): Mette founded the Oslo Hub after her nomination as a Young Global Leader and appointment to the Global Shapers Foundation Board. She continues to be actively involved in the hub's goal setting.
• Karen Davila (Manila Hub): Karen was a news anchor and radio commentator for ABS-CBN, the largest television network in the Philippines. She is an advocate for women and children and is a Goodwill Ambassador for World Vision. She ignited a movement!

Your 12 Month Plan

If given the green light and go ahead by Global Shapers HQ, your 1-year leadership role will begin. Here is a roadmap of what your twelve month commitment will look like. This roadmap can also be used by hubs that are in the process of being rebooted and rebuilt.

MONTH ONE: GET YOURSELF STARTED

Being a Founding Curator is a big responsibility but it also brings special rewards. In your first month, read the Global Shapers Community Charter. Our Charter outlines the global standards that all members and hubs are responsible to uphold. This is fundamental to ensure fairness, inclusion and accountability across our community, especially one as large and diverse as ours. Our Charter was created by Shapers for Shapers and includes policies and practices that have been identified by our members since our community was created in 2011. By joining the Global Shapers Community, all members – including you – agree to live up to its principles.

Once you have read and understood the Charter, your next steps will be to:

• Accept Your Role: Sign, date and return the contract sent to you by Global Shapers HQ. Once complete, you will receive your invitation to the Global Shapers Annual Summit – the World Economic Forum's foremost event for next generation leaders to shape the future.
• Establish a Support System: Build your relationship with your Community Manager and Community Champion. Champions represent our most experienced members who are available to support you with hub governance, recruitment, engagement and impact.
• Login to TopLink: All members have access to TopLink, the World Economic Forum’s digital collaboration platform. Review the TopLink guide to find useful features, including how to connect with members and on projects or manage your hub digitally

MONTH TWO: BUILD YOUR TEAM

If you haven't done so already – identify your Founding Team, including 5 hub members who fulfil our Membership Criteria and Diversity guidelines, to help set up the hub. Consider what skills you’ll need to do this and share all the information you discovered in month one with new members. Remember, all Global Shapers selected at the hub level must be:

• Be between 18 and 27 years old when joining the hub (via TopLink account creation).
• Demonstrate potential to create social change or have a track record of verifiable results.
• Be committed to working with Global Shapers locally or globally to implement projects.
• Reside in – or otherwise be physically close to – the area in which their hub is based.
• Be from all walks of life and uphold the diversity of the geographic area in which the hub is based. This includes (but is not limited to) age, gender, race, colour, religion, disability, sexual orientation, income, education, political beliefs or other differences.

The Global Shapers Foundation may reject applicants, if they do not meet these criteria. Hubs are expected to select members in good faith. If it is discovered that the above criteria have not been upheld at the time of selection, individual memberships may be cancelled retroactively.

MONTH THREE: LAY THE FOUNDATIONS

With your Founding Team, lay the foundations for a high-performing hub by establishing your core policies and practices for coming together, collaborating and taking action.

• Convene regular meetings at least one a month. Members must attend at least 60%.
• Read our Community Charter together and decide on additional local guidelines.
• Design an action plan for the year ahead, including tangible objectives and outcomes.
• Define clear membership expectations, as well as recruitment and selection processes.
• To avoid bias – hubs may wish to create a committee, including leaders outside the hub.
• While hubs are free to create their own tools to solicit applications, a centralized form exists on each hub page via globalshapers.org. Results are emailed directly to Curators.
• Interview potential members and avoid potential conflicts of interest when you make your selection (no more than 3 members can be from the same organization or company; no more than one gender can represent more than 60% of total membership; and hubs cannot select nor transfer family relatives or partners of existing hub members).
• Once selected, register members to TopLink – this marks their official start date. Contact unsuccessful applicants to thank them for their interest and provide timely feedback.
• Assign roles and responsibilities to hub members, either by election or appointment, to achieve your goals (for example: start with a Vice Curator and Impact Officer, then consider a financial, wellbeing, inclusion and/or other officers to advance key initiatives).
• Consult other hubs in your region for best practices, replicable policies or brainstorming power. You can also seek the support of the Global Shapers Advisory Council.

MONTHS FOUR TO SIX: TAKE ACTION TOGETHER

At the heart of our community's impact strategy is the commitment to create change together. Each hub is responsible to deliver at least one project per year that is shared on TopLink. Projects benefit local stakeholders and have concrete outcomes. Projects deliver positive social change on a local issue that hub members collectively agree upon – for example, responding to a disaster, fighting climate change, accelerating reskilling or building more inclusive societies. It can be an awareness campaign, a direct action initiative, a collaboration with other changemaking organizations, or something completely unique to your local context.

In months four to six, define your hub's theory of change and take action. To get started:

• Consult local stakeholders. Get input on the following questions: What does our local community need most? How can we improve the lives of our neighbours? What are we passionate about and what diverse skills, knowledge and networks can we utilize? What other organizations or existing efforts can we help build on or support to scale solutions?
• Your first project can be big or small. It can be an entirely new initiative run by the hub or you can support others to have greater impact in your city. Whatever you decide, it’s important to avoid replicating or duplicating activities already under way . To get your feet wet, look for existing ideas, methodologies and tools that can benefit from your hub’s support or identify quick wins that can build momentum for your hub's longer-term action.
• Try using our project template to assess your hub's inputs, outputs and outcomes. Or consider the power model below created by Aaron Williamson for Global Shapers to explore who we want to influence and what levers of power we have access to to exert that influence. Once you’ve identified your project and method of change, governance and implementation can be as formal or as informal as you would like, provided you maintain momentum and action. Consider creating a task force to take your next steps forward.
• Upload your hub project to TopLink. Your project will receive its own page on TopLink. Use this space to keep Global Shapers up to date on your progress. When reporting, try to include any metrics such as how many lives were influenced or impacted through your efforts. Upload images and beneficiary testimonials. Depending on the quality of your posts, project highlights can be shared on social media and the Forum's blog, Agenda.

MONTHS SIX TO TWELVE: CONSOLIDATE YOUR EFFORTS

By the end of your inaugural year, your hub should develop clear guidelines and hub practices, reach a minimum of 20 members and implement at least one hub project that creates positive change. To reach these milestones, don’t forget the following tips along the way:

• To strengthen your efforts, it is important to embrace diversity, achieve gender balance and avoid conflict of interests. Remember to recruit outside of your existing networks. Work with stakeholders in your community to identify a wide range of candidates.
• To find the right people, be proactive. Elect a recruitment manager or launch a task force. Match recruitment with local census information to ensure your hub’s makeup mirrors local diversity. Include historically underrepresented groups. Be creative with in-person recruitment. Host local events to create buzz and hype. Make a splash on social media. Ask universities, community groups, non-profits or impact initiatives for nominations.
• Recruit young people with the skills your hub is missing to accelerate and strengthen your projects. Consider community-builders, local organizers, fundraisers or project managers.
• Once you’ve found the right people, don’t forget to onboard them. Establishing a common understanding up front is important to avoid misunderstandings. You may also wish to implement a trial period to see firsthand hub members commitments and contributions.
• Develop inspiring local programming and activities to facilitate interactions between members and your local community. Activities can include workshops, retreats, training, discussions, debates or informal moments for fun. Activities should create opportunities for Global Shapers to collaborate, test new ideas and build long-term relationships.
• Financial and in-kind partnerships are important accelerators for our impact around the world. Research local regulations related to charitable work. Consider registering your hub as a non-profit or secure a fiscal sponsor to receive grant funding on your behalf.
• This webinar provides information on how to begin a grant search and think strategically about partners. Or watch this tutorial on how to write a compelling grant proposal. Consult your Community Manager when establishing hub partnerships and follow the best practices outlined in our Charter. Be sure to read our do's and don'ts of fundraising.
• Finally, participate in our global activities and meetings, either physically or virtually. Our annual calendar of activities lists all available opportunities and is regularly updated. Encourage your hub members to apply to community events, like SHAPES or World Economic Forum Meetings, to meet Global Shapers from around the world.

END OF MANDATE: TIME TO CELEBRATE

Our mission is to enable young people to self-organize for impact. At the end of your twelve-month mandate, Founding Curators must host fair and transparent hub elections to select a new Curator and Vice-Curator. The Incoming Curator will serve as the hub leader and become the main point of contact with Global Shapers Foundation. The Vice-Curator will work hand-in-hand with the Curator to oversee the hub's development, progress and projects.

If something prevented your team to establish a strong hub, your hub may be considered for closure in our annual closure process as of the upcoming month of April.

What happens next for Founding Curators?

Founding Curators are considered lifetime members of the Global Shapers Community. If they are above the age of 30 when they finish their 1-year position, they maintain honorary status. If Founding Curators are under the age of 30 when they finish their 1-year position, they maintain honorary status and can choose to opt-into the hub as Global Shapers until they age-out.

If Founding Curators stay in the hub, they are not eligible for other leadership roles. Founding Curators set hubs up for long-term success, sustainability and self-determination. As Global Shapers or honorary members, Founding Curators serve as advisors when hubs ask for support.

After their mandate has ended on 1 July, Founding Curators should not vote in nor influence hub decision-making, interfere with hub elections, nor mandate hub projects nor hub partnerships.

If Founding Curators cannot fulfil these requirements, the Global Shapers Foundation may cancel their membership or close the hub. Hubs may be reopened by new Founding Curators.

Thank you for reading!

We believe in a world where young people are central to solution building, policy-making and lasting change. Thank you for helping us build this movement, one hub and one city at a time. We recognize that your role as a Founding Curator is so important. Your dedication, energy and enthusiasm will set the course for how we organize and mobilize the full potential of young people in your city for years to come. We sincerely appreciate your efforts.