Founded in 2014, the Caravel is Georgetown University’s only international affairs newspaper and fastest-growing publication. We take pride in our staff of more than 100 students dedicated to providing quality journalism about under-reported, international and domestic news. The Caravel publishes online weekly and prints six editions per year. For the latest international and thematic news delivered directly to your inbox, subscribe to our Compass newsletters.
Our History
Founded in February 2014 by three Georgetown undergraduate students, the Caravel launched online in October 2014. By December of the same year, Georgetown University recognized the Caravel as an official campus publication. We published our first print edition in April 2015.
Global trade in 2010 was 50 times larger than in 1913, and 90 percent of that trade passed over the oceans. They are arteries for the global exchange of goods that underpins an interdependent world economy.
The seas are also a stage for conflict. Governments invest hundreds of billions of dollars a year militarizing the oceans. Small maritime disputes can have far-reaching effects on the other side of the world.
Oceans represent complex interaction. The very caravels our newspaper is named for brought death and oppression across the seas to a “new world.” We represent a new Caravel for a new age: we shed light on continuing systems of oppression that prevent us from building a more peaceful, just, and equitable world.
Over the years, we have grown far beyond our founding mission. In pursuit of this expansion, we have hosted major events to further inform our readers, including the Ambassadors Summit: Climate and Conflict in April 2017 to bring together representatives from more than a dozen embassies. We also created a collection of digital platforms to bring the Caravel into the 21st century. We founded Compass World in January 2017 to expand our coverage, followed in September 2018 by Compass Gender, Compass Money, and Compass Futures. Our digital platforms have tripled our online subscriptions and broadened our readership to an international audience.
As the fastest-growing student publication at Georgetown, we are a work-in-progress—made possible only by the hard work of our staff. Today, we take pride in a staff of more than 100 students dedicated to providing quality reporting on international affairs. We have no doubt that our current and future staff members, with reliable determination, will renew the Caravel’s determination to understand and inform our complex world.
The Caravel’s mission is threefold:
Highlighting Under-Reported News
Traditional media organizations report news of importance to and from the perspective of their origin nation. As a result, major news outlets are oversaturated with international crises, crowding out other significant economic, political, and social developments from around the globe. The Caravel deviates from this model of reporting, instead prioritizing the news significant to each region—the very news often overlooked by traditional Western media. In doing so, the Caravel offers its readers a more in-depth view of the news than traditional organizations.
2. Enhancing Cross-Cultural Understanding
The Caravel uses a twofold reporting system that combines regional perspectives with contextual analysis. Much indebted to the diverse student population at Georgetown, we rely on local-language sources and substantial academic or personal background in the regions we cover in order to meet this goal. We stress that our articles strike a balance between reporting and analyzing, framing each news event as a coherent story through which all readers, regardless of their expertise, can understand the underlying dynamics of our interconnected world. We aim to give our readers a more nuanced and holistic view of the world.
3. Fostering Regional Specialization
As a campus publication, the Caravel recognizes that our mission goes beyond our product, encompassing our staff and on-campus presence. The organization is structured to foster a culture of continuous improvement, be it through academic enrichment, professional development, or personal growth. We pride ourselves on giving our staff the opportunity to immerse themselves in the region of their choice and transform their interest into a valuable product.