Founding

Taj Global Understanding was founded in July 2006, as a Not-For-Profit Organization and located in the Commonwealth of Virginia (United States of America).   Originally created to facilitate volunteer tourism to India, Taj Global Understanding quickly expanded to include a wide variety of student and professional educational and cultural exchange programs.   Taj Global Understanding grew out of a desire to promote peace and understanding between the United States and India, but through its development has seen a multinational growth and seeks to expand those same principles between the United States and nations throughout the world.     Taj Global Understanding operates offices in both the United States & India.

 
Mission

Taj Global Understanding was formed to create a foundation for world peace through mutual understanding, dialogue, human interaction, and global thought. Through engaging in both volunteer service and educational exchange programs, Taj Global Understanding seeks to build bridges between nations, create more responsible global citizens, and promote democratic values.   Taj Global Understanding welcomes the participation of global citizens, regardless of race, creed, gender, or ethnicity.
 
Philosophy

Taj Global Understanding seeks to help create a world which fosters an appreciation and an understanding of humanity. It is often written about the 20th Century and the lessons of Tolerance that were learned. It is the hope of Taj Global Understanding that the 21st Century can move beyond the notion of ‘tolerating’ other cultures, other nations, other faiths, other people to the creation of a world in which we learn to appreciate and understand one another. It is very easy to complete our ‘life cycle’ within a very limited context.  Often times our only true exposure to life outside of our box is that of the media, whether it be a news program, a documentary film, a magazine headline, or even a commercial Hollywood blockbuster. These images and these texts present only one side of a multi layered story.   Taj Global Understanding seeks to provide opportunities to take people ‘out of the box’ and place them into unique environments, whether it be a rural Indian village or a rural town in America, in an effort to move beyond the sound bite and the stereotyping which exists in modern society.

 
Our Name
While the name ‘Global Understanding’ is quite obvious, the name Taj may not be so in this context.   It was in April 1992 that Brad Baldwin visited Agra, India and the site of the famous Taj Mahal.  He later wrote;
 
“… I can remember traveling alone, at the age of 16, from New Delhi to Agra by train. I almost missed Agra station. I was sitting and looking at the Taj Mahal as the sun set. It was the second time I had visited that very day before heading by late night train to Delhi. I calculated the time it was in the United States, in Virginia (10.5 hours earlier) and realized that I should to be sitting in Advanced Chemistry class. I was in 11th Grade and had utilized my Spring Break and one additional week to visit India. The thought occurred to me that I knew exactly how life was back in Virginia, back in that high school desk. But in India, I did not know what to expect next. It was a total saturation of the senses. I thought to myself that I was indeed having a unique experience and that I wished more people could have the same.”

Since 1999 Brad Baldwin has lived and worked for much of the time in India, engaged in projects which fostered greater ties between India and the United States.   With the formation of Taj Global Understanding, Brad and his wife, Kavita, continue to work toward that goal.

 
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