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"At the turn of the century [George Kozmetsky] had this idea of creating shared global prosperity in zero time. How could it be done? What would it take to do it? [...] Through the challenge and generosity of George, and the Kozmetsky family, we have been able to develop some of these ideas, learn from others, share our knowledge more broadly, and train the next generation of scholars to understand and appreciate this idea and to always see the bigger picture."
"KGC has become a gathering place for scholars who are able to exchange ideas, help each other to think critically and creatively, and imagine the future they wish to create. [...] I believe KGC is a concrete step towards the vision of global co-prosperity - one that all of its members share."
"The KGC's organization was reflecting what the American national, historical and cultural identity had at its very best: the exemplary teaming of very diverse giftedness into a structure from which leadership and ground-breaking novelty emerge without being directed from the beginning. [...] In the KGC I see a treasure for humanity."
"It is not easy to undertake complex tasks such as the creation of shared global prosperity. It is even harder when the projects and inputs from the field challenge existing paradigms of research. Without the freedom afforded by [George Kozmetsky's] generosity, this journey may not have been possible."
"The impact [of the scholars at KGC] is derived from leading by example, i.e. by the way in which they live, work, and convey a message of scholarship, collaboration and community, rather than by prescriptive pedagogies. [...] The world is sorely in need of the creative, kind and impactful work that the KGC is doing."
"KGC is a space where each scholar collaborates within and with others 'to become who you are,' as Nietzsche says. In this sense, prosperity emerges within first and research is a joyful practice of everyday life. It became clear to me that I cannot create peace and prosperity in the world, without cultivating these experiences within. [...] The inner learing and transformation that took part in subsequent years is a gift that I truly cannot imagine my life without and a gift I am committed to passing on."
"KGC is an extraordinary community in many ways, but what has impressed me the most is its ability to create engagement, mindfulness and shared perspectives among people from very diverging perspectives. Also, the ability to create an environment where participants can discuss and improve the rigor of their scholarly efforts as well as develop themselves as human beings is truly exceptional."
"The Kozmetsky family's gift offered me a rare opportunity for bringing together an exceptional group of scholars and students at Stanford to create a trans-disciplinary research community at KGC. It gave me complete intellectual freedom to carry forward fundamental research on the development of approaches for creating shared prosperity in our divided world."
"The vision of shared prosperity that the KGC seeks to harness in support of human development is a source of inspiration for workers from all over the world. Its efforts to nurture talent and the spirit of enterprise in the service of human-centered and values-based development will create a lasting legacy."
"I experience KGC as a very special place in which I, as a person and a researcher, become whole and at the same time, part of the global community. I am very grateful for the space that KGC provides for open, non-judgmental, holistic research into humanity."
"Upon reflection and research about KGC's mission, it became clear to me their approach in addressing the current needs of the global society were exciting and sustainable. As we started collaborating, I could see the deeper philosophy, which is appropriate to bring the last person (as Mahatma Gandhi said) on par with the current realities of living. [...] I hope the Kozmetsky Global Collaboratory will continue to grow, and I have hopes of it making a difference to the vulnerable and marginalized communities across the world."
"During my stay as a 'visiting researcher' at Stanford Center for Design Research, I was lucky to be invited to participate in the activities in the Kozmetsky Global Collaboratory. [...] It helped me to find my feet in the world of research as well as to incorporate my personal passion in the work I do. [...] I wish that all scholars could have that opportunity."
"The first encounter with this open, creative and challenging environment was one of the best, most stimulating experiences not only of my research career but also of my intellectual life. [...] KGC is for me an oasis in the desert."
"To simply reflect on the great learning and growth that has touched everyone who has participated [in KGC] is awe-inspiring. My objective during my association with KGC was to learn how to share the business plan incubation process with entrepreneurs around the world thus strengthening the growth and change in global outreach. This can be best seen especially within the great emerging economy and culture of India. It is in India, where the use of digital technology in the hands of students to capture narratives and stories, and hence myths and meaning, provides guidance to the urban world. The sharing of narrative has a positive influence whose benefit will unfold for generations to come."
"During the time I was involved with the [KGC], I saw the possibility of change at the grassroots level. [...] The perspective I gained during this time focused on the importance of building relationships and 'being the change I wish to see.'"
"My participation in the Kozmetsky Global Collaboratory Co-DiViNE project is like a tattoo mark in my heart. The magical phrase of 'visual literacy' opened a path for me. [...] This work lead me to question why a particular community has difficulties. What prevailed is all individuals have their own talents within them yet, with the unavailability of an external symbolic system, these talents are not seen."
"I shall never forget the great honor and pleasure of having lunch with Dr. Kozmetsky in Santa Monica in 2002. [...] Dr. Kozmetsky challenged me (as he had done to each of us) to think about my project at once more deeply and more grandly than I had thought to do before. It was at that table, waiting for my turn to tell George about my work, that the notion of my mission as being one of helping groups of people 'become more than the sum of their parts' took shape."
"I was privileged to be present at the founding of the KGC Family Center. [...] Representing Philips Electronics in 2002, I quoted H. de Bruin, VP Philips International, 'Philips is enthusiastic about the proposed KGC Family Center. We think it could provide a unique incubator, tapping into the full range of knowledge in Stanford University coupled with the development agencies and contacts in Silicon Valley. KGC promises an environment where the new venturing models we need can be brought rapidly to fruition.' [...] This expectation truly has been surpassed."
"I was brought into the family of Kozmetsky Global Collaboratory through a project named Co-DiViNE (Community Digital Visual and Voice Narrative Enactment) which aimed at creation and acceleration of prosperity through introduction of visual narrative literacy by converging technologies for the perpetual self-sustainability of the chronically poor. Deliberations, interactions, and sharing of ideas during the course of the project not only immensely enriched my knowledge but also challenged me to look for alternative methodologies."
"To be able to share with people, who understand that perspective is a gift and camaraderie results in peace for the person who is involved shows me how fortunate I am for this gift of KGC. [...] There is power of collective knowledge and wisdom, and that is what social development is all about."
"It was at KGC where I met people who are committed to do what they are passionate about. [...] The support of the KGC community encouraged me to not only follow my research but expand it in unexpected, yet exciting ways. [...] They have pushed me to think about impacting the world at a scale I had not thought about before."
"KGC offered an incredible opportunity to study sustainable ventures and actually chip away at a goal of creating shared global prosperity in a tangible and practical fashion."
"The way people talk about things influences how they act. That was my main research topic when I came to KGC as a visiting research in 2005. People can learn to understand how they are influenced by even subtle changes in the way they perceive the world, and this can be used to create prosperity and quality of life. That was my main research topic when I left KGC in 2006."
"By using both objective and subjective research methodologies, the Kozmetsky Global Collaboratory has enabled its work to impact multiple disciplines in innovative and experimental ways that has certainly added to the body of knowledge of how the world can work in ways that benefit others."
"I am deeply grateful for the Kozmetsky Research Fellowship I received at Stanford. The Fellowship enabled my research on Integrated Concurrent Engineering to produce significant research contributions and to jumpstart an influential trend in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction industry."
"The mission of Friends of the Future is to create trust and harmony among the diverse cultures of Hawai'i through a process where all people can openly contribute their deepest values, create shared visions and continuously improve their communities. Spending time with [scholars at KGC] has forever altered my perspective, both of my life's purpose and of Friends of the Future's work."
"As a scholar of media spaces and the architectural forms for collective experience and contemporary social life, I cannot thank KGC enough. I first began puzzling through the connections between spaces, processes, and that sense of being part of a shared experience in the context of the Real Time Venture Design Laboratory and this early work was formative in my scholarship and practice."
"I had the opportunity to participate in in-depth qualitative research for the first time at KGC. I believe that the frameworks and principles that I learned significantly assisted my thinking today and have provided me a valuable holistic perspective to problem solving. [...] Being a part of the KGC community has been a very rewarding and nurturing experience for me."
"The KGC's vision of social inclusion cutting across the Occident and the Orient cultures towards global prosperity is worthy of praise as it did not leave even the poorest of the poor from reaping the fruits of prosperity."
"KGC has provided me with some amazing and life-changing experiences, including the opportunity of presenting my research on trust to delegates from Israel and Palestine at a conference devoted to water rights."
"The interactions I have had with my colleagues in KGC enabled me to discover my own potential from the inner core of my personality and utilize the same in motivating and energizing the members of SMILE [Selfless Movement Improving Life Everywhere] in translating their intentions into concrete action plans for the beneficiaries."
"The experience with KGC serves as a guiding spirit for my current and future research with pre-literate communities and to work for their transformation and empowerment."
"The Real-Time Ventures Lab and the Center for Everything, two projects within KGC, emphasized alignment between the personal values of an entrepreneur or a scholar, and the venture that is undertaken in a community. KGC encouraged me to follow my passion in improvisation and design to create a unique doctoral program in engineering that combined performing arts, improvisation and engineering design research. KGC's objective to create shared global prosperity validated my desire to work towards the alleviation of poverty that I had seen around me in Mumbai. For the first time, doing my research was no longer dissociated from the broader vision of creating a tangibly prosperous world."
"These interactions [between scholars at KGC] have led to greater rigor, as we have had to explain and prove the value of our work to those beyond our fields, methods, perspectives, and tools of inquiry from other disciplines, a profoundly fruitful multidisciplinary approach to inquiry and exploration, time and space for deep, collaborative reflection and a place and various ways to reunite our deepest personal motivations with our work. I have experienced all of this at levels that [...] none of us have ever encountered in any other working environment."
"In the highest compliment I can give an academic (and George was an academic among his many other aspects of his life): he changed the way that I look at the world."
"My association with KGC and the Co-DiViNE Project has given me an important insight, which is the realization of the undercurrent of narratives that is at play within human life."
"The KGC provides an open space for the exchange of knowledge and ideas, and its collaborative practice has brought many students across disciplines together to engage one another in a shared vision of a more equitable and prosperous future."
"At KGC, I have learned how to connect my research work to my daily practices and ethics. This process has uplifted my spirit and given me a new passion for research. My interest in finding ways to achieve successful, multicultural collaboration emerged via the affordances provided by the KGC."