edtwist Launches Collaborative Research Platform, Announces Seed Round From Angel Investors
Launching in Partnership with UNESCO, edtwist to power UNESCO's Youth-Driven Research Program, #AgentsofChange
LOS ANGELES and PARIS, Oct. 28, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Launching today, edtwist is a dynamic collaborative research platform that takes a fresh twist on research by integrating premium content sources in one place and providing people with tools to collaborate and collect quality information. The company is announcing seed funding to accelerate growth and expand the platform from angel investors including Joanne Wilson of Gotham Gal, Ted Kang, Founder/Managing Partner of Kylin Management LLC, Peter Halt, CFO of Rovi, Luke Kallis, head of West Coast Sales, Snapchat, and Michael Lum, Co-founder/CTO of Gradient X.
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With 90B searches conducted monthly in the U.S. alone, 7.8M app downloads per day (iOS), 1B websites, 1M Vines watched every minute, people are lost in the thick data smog caused by information overload. edtwist removes the information barriers by streamlining the connection to quality resources for individuals and knowledge networks such as libraries, museums and schools.
edtwist is also announcing a partnership with the Global Network of UNESCO Chairs on Children, Youth and Communities and United National Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the intellectual agency of the United Nations, to officially kick off the #AgentsofChange program at the 9th UNESCO Youth Forum currently taking place in Paris, France. The partnership was created to provide researchers with a simplified tool to work together and knowledge base to grow ideas to better themselves and the world.
"UNESCO is the perfect partner for us to launch the edtwist platform which is designed to bring people, ideas and content together in one place to grow as a community," said Julie Lee, founder and CEO of edtwist. "As we speak, thousands of change agents from all over the world are using edtwist to identify and collaborate on research and brainstorm ways to activate change around the globe. I believe knowledge has transformative powers to change the world for the better and it's exciting to help support in UNESCO's effort in engaging youth to ideate together and share their findings to create a chain action for change."
UNESCO's #AgentsofChange is a year-long program where the youth is given the tools and the stage to direct research and the change they want to see, culminating at the 2016 UN Assembly where select participants will have the opportunity to present their research on the World Youth Day 2016. The program activates youth as researchers to create awareness, educate and move the world to engage on the most pressing issues that face our society. These youth ambassadors, also known as change agents, hail from leading universities and NGOs and will work together to utilize the edtwist platform, creating boards and sharing their knowledge and research with their communities to help drive change.
"We are incredibly excited to partner with edtwist. The ability to bring together the best of knowledge, applied youth researchers, and passionate youth engaged for social change in one place – namely, edtwist – is a game changer. Half of the planet is under age 25 and desperately wants to be connected and engaged in making a better world. This partnership between edtwist and the UNESCO Chairs Network makes this a reality," said Mark Brennan, UNESCO Chair in Community, Leadership and Youth Development. "Every two years at the UNESCO Youth Forum, thousands of inspiring youths from all over the world gather and tackle some of our society's greatest issues, and we are thrilled to put the power of change in their capable hands."
ABOUT EDTWIST
edtwist is a collaborative research platform that enables both knowledge networks such as libraries, schools and NGOs as well as individuals, by providing a simplified research tool containing quality content, curation, and co-creation tools to grow ideas as a community. The LA-based company was founded by Julie Lee, one of Fast Company's Most Influential Women in Tech in 2010. To begin your collaborative research project, visit www.edtwist.com or connect on Twitter @edtwistdotcom.
ABOUT UNESCO
UNESCO is known as the "intellectual" agency of the United Nations. At a time when the world is looking for new ways to build peace and sustainable development, people must rely on the power of intelligence to innovate, expand their horizons and sustain the hope of a new humanism. UNESCO exists to bring this creative intelligence to life; for it is in the minds of men and women that the defences of peace and the conditions for sustainable development must be built.
ABOUT THE UNESCO CHAIRS
The UNESCO Chairs Network on Children, Youth and Communities delivers immediate responses to emerging needs and ongoing research, program development, and educational programs. The Network is unprecedented in size, spanning 6 continents, 10 geographic regions, dozens of universities and NGOs, and an extensive list of the world's best multidisciplinary scholars/practitioners. All are committed to pooling their resources, both human and material, to contribute to the development of stable, civil, and just societies worldwide.
Media Contact:
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SOURCE edtwist
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