United Planet is a non-profit organization with a mission to create a global community, one relationship at a time. We connect volunteers who want to make a difference with communities in more than 30 countries, where they learn, teach, work, engage and immerse themselves in a culture outside their comfort zone. For many, it’s the most fulfilling experience of their lives!
Each United Planet-sponsored Quest is a personal, authentic experience based on your goals, your interests, your passion.
We have support staff in all 20+ countries in which we operate, providing guidance and assistance to our volunteers.
We offer the most authentic, most immersive experiences for people who want to do something important.
“Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.” – Ryunosuke Satoro
We believe that human beings can create a global community, one relationship at a time. We help make that happen for people who are committed to a vision of the world that emphasizes community over conflict … collaboration and cooperation over disagreement and strife … the unity of humankind.
Let’s be honest – this is not an easy task. But United Planet is a non-profit organization that is working toward that goal. And we do everything we can to help our volunteers succeed: we don’t just drop someone off in the middle of nowhere and hope for the best. Every Quest is custom-designed based on the goals of the participant. Every community we serve is supported by United Planet staff. And every experience is immersive, comprehensive, and authentic. Changing the world is not a spectator sport – you need to get your hands dirty, and so do we.
The people at United Planet are driven by our mission, to unite the planet one relationship at a time. That may sound lofty to some, but it’s not. We are people who genuinely and fervently believe that we can make a difference.
Sure, we laugh, we eat lunch, we disagree sometimes. But we are passionately committed to our cause. We are multilingual, multinational, global. Many of us have experience with stepping outside our comfort zone to gain a new perspective, and we want to help others do the same. We believe in empathy, service, and most of all, the value of every person. If you spend 5 minutes in our office, or on the phone, you’ll know – this is an organization where people care.
Sound like a team you want to join and a mission you want to contribute to? Find out about our open positions and Work for Us.
I enjoyed so much staying with my host family! The family members looked after me so well. They bought T-shirts and stationery as a gift and treated me as their son, and I helped them back to clean the dishes and have fun with their children. So I really appreciated and enjoyed the time in Japan because of those happy experiences.
This experience taught me how much more I could possibly teach children, and how they could learn more than books. I also experienced making my own Matcha tea in a tea ceremony, dressed up in a yukata and painted my own wind bell, and even went fishing after watching the festival that wished for good catches of fishes! An experience full of learning, laughter, and smiles. Leaving it was a bittersweet moment.
United Planet in Japan was beyond ideal; it was very organized and sculpted my first experience in Japan to be the best it could be! Japan is everything I expected and much, much more. The traditional values that shape the everyday lives of the Japanese people are extremely inspiring. The people’s respect for each other and ultimately everything on earth is so admirable. I love it here and I will absolutely be back.
I learned a lot from their positive attitude I have had build up a strong independent character. It was a rich experience at first it was hard to grasp it all the food type and there respect gestures but I got through it with time and other assistance.
My Quest was an amazing and eye-opening experience that has changed my perspectives on social responsibility and intercultural exchange. This was the first trip that I have taken that I felt truly immersed in the culture of the country.
United Planet has provided me with an experience that changed my life. The staff were kind, supportive, and encouraging throughout my whole trip. They have helped me to become a lifelong partner in global connection and international outreach. There are no words to describe my appreciation and gratitude.
United Planet gave me the opportunity to find a home away from home in Cusco, working with children and meeting people through my Spanish school. […] I am finding that I brought a bit of Cusco back with me in how I now interact with the world.
Unite All Schools™ is a global initiative to empower and connect students as global citizen leaders who are prepared to solve local and global challenges and build bridges of trust, respect, understanding, and empathy (“TRUE” Partnership) across the world.
Unite All Schools™ provides opportunities for global partnership, 21st century skills building, and leadership development through classroom to classroom project-based virtual exchange, teacher training, and customized virtual exchange programs.
Unite All Schools™ runs through the academic year and during the summer. We invite schools and universities to join us.
The Relational Diplomacy Institute™ is a network of practitioners, grassroots leaders, academic institutions, change makers, policy makers and leaders in the fields of relational diplomacy, global development and education. RDI’s signature program, Empowered to Educate™, recognizes, inspires and mobilizes emerging female leaders who harness the power of education to build a more united planet.
The mission of the Relational Diplomacy Institute™ is to promote and research the best practices in relational diplomacy and cultivate the next generation of Relational Diplomats to create the building blocks for a more peaceful, sustainable, and united planet.
Empowered to Educate™ strives to catalyze women as changemakers in education through empowering the next generation of rising global women leaders in education to make their marks on the increase of girls’ and women’s education globally. This mission is founded on the theory of relational diplomacy which promotes the power of individuals as relational diplomats and change makers. Further, it recognizes the catalytic importance of women’s education and women educators in the global change process.
Empowered to Educate™ envisions a world where, through rising women educators, global conditions for women have improved. Empowered to Educate™ recognizes, inspires and mobilizes emerging female leaders who harness the power of education to build a more united planet.