Karanga: The Global Alliance for SEL & Life Skills

What Karanga: The Global Alliance for SEL & Life Skills does

Karanga: The Global Alliance for SEL & Life Skills is a non-profit alliance founded in 2019 and headquartered at c/- Salzburg Global Seminar in Salzburg, Austria. Its stated mission is to inspire and equip practitioners, policy makers, and researchers worldwide to promote quality and equitable Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and Life Skills through initiatives that connect, coordinate, and drive action. The organization emerged from the Salzburg Global Seminar series "Education for Tomorrow's World" and is anchored by the Salzburg Statement on Social and Emotional Learning, released on March 19, 2019. Karanga operates as a free, non-transactional convening platform rather than a product vendor; it does not sell goods or services and does not disclose revenue.

Karanga's core product is a global community platform that connects three primary segments — SEL practitioners (educators and teachers), policy makers (government and education officials), and researchers (academics) — through quarterly online conferences, an annual SEL Week, the SEL Global Leadership Series (co-developed with Knowledgehook and Salzburg Global Seminar), the SELinEdu Facebook community, and a multilingual newsletter in English, French, Portuguese, Danish, and Arabic. The Ecosystem Resources Hub curates content from partner organizations including CASEL, EASEL Lab (Harvard Graduate School of Education), UNESCO, UNICEF, and Think Equal. A distinct programmatic initiative, SEL for Peace, is funded by the Nippon Foundation and operated under the Asia Peace Innovators Forum (APIF) Fellowship, with implementation partners running pilots in Sri Lanka, Kenya, and South Korea that target marginalized and conflict-affected youth ages 13-25.

The operating model is community-led and event-driven, supported by a small team of approximately 31 staff and a volunteer Steering Committee of SEL experts. Strategic partners include Salzburg Global Seminar (organizational host and origin partner), Committee for Children (co-organizer of the Autumn Festival of SEL), Dream a Dream, Amal Alliance, the Power of Zero campaign, and Think Equal. Karanga monetizes none of its offerings directly; the underlying technology stack is a Squarespace-hosted website plus standard virtual event platforms (Zoom, YouTube), with no proprietary AI, data, or software product components. Visible organizational leadership includes co-founder Giancarlo Brotto (Steering Committee; co-founder of Catalyst; Global Education Advisor at SMART), Dominic Regester (Program Director, Salzburg Global Seminar; Karanga executive), and Louka Parry (newsletter author and international forum representative).

Name

Karanga: The Global Alliance for SEL & Life Skills

Legal name

Karanga: The Global Alliance for Social Emotional Learning and Life Skills

Website

https://karanga.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Karanga is a Salzburg-based, non-profit global alliance that convenes educators, researchers, and policy makers to advance Social Emotional Learning and Life Skills through free online conferences, multilingual newsletters, curated resources, and youth-focused pilots in conflict-affected regions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Advocacy & Community Services

NAICS

Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations (8139)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAMAIAJ

Health, Wellness & Self-Care Skills (Sleep, Nutrition, Habits)

Education/Supplemental & Enrichment Programs (Arts, STEM, Language)/Life Skills & Personal Development (Study Skills, Executive Function, SEL)

SECONDARYBPADAFAL

Post-Conflict Recovery, Reconciliation & Social Cohesion Programs

Business & Public Services/International Organizations & Development/Peacekeeping, Conflict Resolution & Security Cooperation

SECONDARYTHAHACAM

Virtual/Hybrid Conference Production & Platform Management

Travel & Hospitality/MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions)/Professional Conference Organizers (PCOs) & Meeting Planners

Keywords

• Social emotional learning
• Life skills education
• Education advocacy
• Global education alliance
• Nonprofit education organization

Headquarters

HQ city

Salzburg

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Alliance Operations: Karanga operates as a non-profit global alliance, facilitating connections and providing resources in the SEL and Life Skills ecosystem. The organization hosts free events and provides resources at no cost to participants.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Karanga operates a non-profit global alliance that connects SEL and Life Skills practitioners, policy makers, and researchers through an online community platform, quarterly online conferences, an annual SEL Week event, the SEL Global Leadership Series webinars, the SEL for Peace pilot project, and a curated ecosystem resources hub. All events and resources are offered free of charge to participants globally.

Product overview

Karanga: The Global Alliance for SEL & Life Skills is a global alliance organization rather than a software product company. It operates through a connected community platform, collaborative projects, and international events to advocate for and support Social Emotional Learning and Life Skills education worldwide. The organization's offerings include the core Global Alliance Platform connecting practitioners and policymakers, SEL Week 2022 event programming, the SEL for Peace pilot project, an Ecosystem Resources Hub featuring partner resources, the SEL Global Leadership Series webinar program, and quarterly Global SEL Conferences. These components work together to connect, coordinate, and drive collective action for SEL worldwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Karanga Global Alliance Platform
• Global SEL Conferences (Quarterly)
• SEL Global Leadership Series

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 1000 participants in online SEL conferences
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major, notable and supporting.

• Salzburg Global SeminarcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKaranga grew out of Salzburg Global Seminar's Education for Tomorrow's World program series. The Salzburg Statement on Social and Emotional Learning (March 2019) formed the foundation for the alliance. Salzburg Global Seminar provides ongoing organizational hosting and partnership for events and initiatives.
• KnowledgehookcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKaranga partners with Knowledgehook to organize the SEL Global Leadership Series - interactive webinar discussions on the intersection between SEL and key topics.
• Committee for ChildrencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization in hosting the quarterly online SEL conferences and co-organizer of the Autumn Festival of SEL.
• Asia Peace Innovators Forum (APIF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSEL for Peace project is designed by a team of APIF Fellows and the pilot is implemented under the APIF Fellowship program.
• Educate Lanka FoundationcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerImplementation partner for SEL for Peace project in Sri Lanka, carrying out SEL interventions for socioeconomically marginalized youth ages 13-25.
• Peace Ambassadors Integration OrganizationcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerImplementation partner in Kenya led by APIF Fellow Samuel Karuita, focused on marginalized youth from urban informal settlements.
• CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeading SEL organization featured in Karanga's ecosystem resources. CASEL's Guide to Effective SEL Programs and research are highlighted.
• EASEL Lab (Harvard Graduate School of Education)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStephanie Jones leads EASEL Lab, which developed Explore SEL project and tools featured prominently in Karanga's resources and newsletters.
• Dream a DreammajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured steering committee member organization co-founded by Vishal Talreja, leading the #WhatIf education reimagining movement. Works with vulnerable children using creative life skills approach.
• Power of Zero CampaignnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal initiative on early childhood online safety founded by Nicholas Carlisle (Karanga steering committee member) with founding partners including UNESCO, UNICEF, Hasbro, Facebook, and Microsoft.
• Think EqualnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured organization working on SEL in early childhood education across 15 countries. Founder Leslee Udwin featured in Karanga blog content.
• Amal AlliancenotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of Karanga steering committee. CEO Danielle de la Fuente contributes blog content on humanitarian contexts and early childhood education.
• Local Civil Society Organizations (Kenya)supportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLocal organizations and universities support SEL implementation efforts in Kenya pilot programs.
• Local Civil Society Organizations (South Korea)supportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLocal organizations collaborate on pilot implementation in South Korea targeting youth who identify as female, feminist, or LGBTQIA+.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning): CASEL is the leading U.S.-based SEL standards and research organization that defines SEL frameworks used by schools globally. It is directly comparable to Karanga as both convene and curate SEL research, policy, and practitioner communities, and is itself listed as a Karanga partner.
• Dream a Dream: Dream a Dream is an India-based nonprofit using a creative life-skills approach with vulnerable children and is a Karanga steering committee member. It is a direct peer operating at the intersection of SEL, life skills, and youth empowerment in marginalized contexts.
• EASEL Lab (Harvard Graduate School of Education): EASEL Lab develops research-based SEL tools (including Explore SEL) and convenes researchers and practitioners. It is a direct peer in the SEL knowledge-production space and is featured as a core partner in Karanga's ecosystem resources.
• Amal Alliance: Amal Alliance applies SEL and life skills to humanitarian contexts including early childhood development. It is a Karanga steering committee member and a direct peer working at the SEL/humanitarian interface.
• Committee for Children: Committee for Children is a global nonprofit focused on SEL curriculum in K-8 classrooms and co-organizes Karanga's quarterly online conferences and Autumn Festival of SEL. It is a direct peer as both a developer and disseminator of SEL programming.

Emerging players

• HundrED: HundrED is a Finland-based global education innovation community that curates and disseminates K-12 innovations including in SEL. It overlaps with Karanga's mission of surfacing global SEL innovations but focuses on product/program selection rather than convening practitioners.

Broad incumbents

• UNESCO (Education sector): UNESCO sets global education norms including on SEL, life skills, and holistic learning through its education sector programs. It is a broad incumbent operating at much greater scale than Karanga across the same thematic territory.
• World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE): WISE is a Qatar Foundation initiative that runs a large global education forum, awards, and research agenda on education innovation including SEL. It is a broad incumbent in global education convening, intersecting with Karanga's SEL advocacy work.
• OECD Directorate for Education and Skills: The OECD's Education and Skills directorate produces cross-country studies on social and emotional skills (including SSES) and convenes policymakers on education reform. It is a broad incumbent shaping SEL evidence at national-policy level.

Others

• Salzburg Global Seminar: Salzburg Global Seminar is the parent convener that incubated Karanga and continues to host it at Schloss Leopoldskron. Comparable as an enabling/institutional partner rather than a competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/karangaglobal
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCAhNAr_9eKk7dx6wTwpKE1Q
• Facebookfacebook.com/karangaGlobal
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/karanga

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Karanga: The Global Alliance for SEL & Life Skills