GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
1. discuss the idea of global citizenship and its implications;
2. discuss the values, rights and responsibilities of a global citizen

Global citizenship is the idea of all people has rights and civic responsibilities that come with
being a member of the world, with whole-world philosophy and sensibilities, rather than as a
citizen of a particular nation or place.
At The Global Citizens’ Initiative we say that a “global citizen is someone who identifies with
being part of an emerging world community and whose actions contribute to building this
community’s values and practices.”
To test the validity of this definition we examine its basic assumptions: (a) that there is such
a thing as an emerging world community with which people can identify; and (b) that such a
community has a nascent set of values and practices.

Historically, human beings have always formed communities based on shared identity. Such
identity gets forged in response to a variety of human needs— economic, political, religious and
social. As group identities grow stronger, those who hold them organize into communities,
articulate their shared values, and build governance structures to support their beliefs.

Today, the forces of global engagement are helping some people identify as global citizens
who have a sense of belonging to a world community. This growing global identity in large part
is made possible by the forces of modern information, communications and transportation
technologies. In increasing ways these technologies are strengthening our ability to connect to
the rest of the world.
Those of us who see ourselves as global citizens are not abandoning other identities, such as
allegiances to our countries, ethnicities and political beliefs. These traditional identities give
meaning to our lives and will continue to help shape who we are. However, as a result of living
in a globalized world, we understand that we have an added layer of responsibility; we also are
responsible for being members of a world-wide community of people who share the same global
identity that we have.

A global citizen is someone who sees themselves as part of an emerging sustainable world
community, and whose actions support the values and practices of that community. There are
two types of values that can characterize our emerging world community: (a) political,
economic and humanitarian values and (b) personal values. Each of these types of values is
evolving over time, as the nature of global issues change and as a greater interest emerges
regarding the common ethics and morals that underlie the world’s great wisdom traditions
(Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and others).

GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP VALUES

(a) Political, economic and humanitarian values:

These include: human rights, environmental protection, sustainable development gender

equity, religious pluralism, digital access, poverty alleviation and the reduction of resource
inequalities, global peace and justice, the elimination of weapons of mass destruction, and
humanitarian assistance. These values are reflected in the nature of a growing number of global
issues that the world community needs to solve collaboratively, such as climate change, human
rights violations, gender inequities, religious intolerance, increases in civil conflicts, and others.

(b) -Social, cultural and behavioral values:

Most wisdom traditions share universal values such as love, peace, nonviolence, compassion,
service, caring for others, forgiveness, tolerance, patience, humility, surrender, inclusivity,
truth, joy, gratitude, and happiness. If people actually practiced their values, there would be no
need for my organization or yours. There is lots of evidence that we’re not practicing the
universal values.”

GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP RIGHTS

The rights of global citizens are embedded in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, first
drafted in 1948 after World War II. The core nature of the Universal Declaration—grounded in
individual liberty, equality, and equity—has remained constant. However the ways in human
rights are applied change over time, with changes that occur in the political, economic and
social fabric of society. Also new rights, that were not on the 1948 human rights agenda have
emerged, for example, digital access rights, LGBT rights, and environmental rights.

The main problem related to human rights has been the difficulties that the world has had in
enforcing them. There is a long and shameful history of disrespect for and abuse of human
rights on the part of sovereign states, religious institutions, corporations and others. A growing
number of international mechanisms have been established for reporting human rights abuses.
There also are global, regional, and national courts that exist to adjudicate incidences of human
rights abuse.
GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP RESPONSIBILITIES

A global citizen, living in an emerging world community, has moral, ethical, political, and
economic responsibilities. It is a tall order that requires the provision of education, training and
awareness raising, starting at an early age and extending through secondary and post-
secondary education. The great challenge for those of us interested in promoting global
citizenship is to educate and nurture a new generation of global citizen leaders. The
instructional framework for global citizen leadership should help participants fulfill the
following responsibilities.

Craft-Create-Connect

1. To understand one’s own perspective and the perspectives of others on global issues.. It is
the responsibility of global citizens to understand these different perspectives and promote
problem-solving consensus among the different perspectives and the building of common
ground solutions. A global citizen should avoid taking sides with one particular point of view,
and instead search for ways to bring all sides together.

2. To respect the principle of cultural diversity: In building a sustainable values-based world

community it is important to maintain respect for the world’s different cultural traditions; to
make an effort to bring together the leaders of these different cultural traditions who often
have much in common with one another.; and to help leaders bring the best elements of their
cultures to the task of solving global issues and building world community.

3. To make connections and build relationships with people from other countries and
cultures. Global citizens need to reach out and build relationships with people from other
countries and cultures.. It is quite easy to build global relationships. Most countries, cities, and
towns are now populated with immigrants and people from different ethnic traditions. The
Internet offers a range of opportunities to connect with people on different issues. So even
without traveling abroad (which is a useful thing to do), it is possible to build a network of
personal and group cross-country and cultural relationships. Building such networks help those
involved better understand their similarities and differences and search for common solutions
for the global issues that everyone faces.

4. To understand the ways in which the peoples and countries of the world are inter-
connected and inter-dependent: Global citizens have the responsibility to understand the many
ways in which their lives are inter-connected with people and countries in different parts of the
world. They need for example to understand they ways in which the global environment affects
them where they live, and how the environmental lifestyles they choose affect the environment
in other parts of the world. They need to understand the ways in which human rights violations
in foreign countries affect their own human rights, how growing income inequalities across the
world affect the quality of their lives, how the global tide of immigration affects what goes on in
their countries.

5. To understand global issues: Global citizens have the responsibility to understand the
major global issues that affect their lives. For example, they need to understand the impact of
the scarcity of resources on societies; the challenges presented by the current distribution of
wealth and power in the world; the roots of conflict and dimensions of peace-building; the
challenges posed by growing global populations.

6. To advocate for greater international cooperation with other nations: When a global issue
arises, it is important for global citizens to provide advice on how their countries can work with
other nations to address this issue; how it can work with established international organizations
like the United Nations, rather than proceed on a unilateral course of action

7. Advocating for the implementation of international agreements, conventions, and treaties

related to global issues: Global citizens have the responsibility to advocate for having their
countries ratify and implement the global agreements, conventions, and treaties that they have
signed.

8. Advocating for more effective global equity and justice in each of the value domains of the
world community. There are a growing number of cross - sectoral issues that require the
implementation of global standards of justice and equity; for example the global rise in military
spending, the unequal access by different countries to technology, and the lack of consistent
policies on immigration. Global citizens have the responsibility to work with one another and
advocate for global equality and justice solutions to these issues.
References:
https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/what-it-means/

By Ron Israel, Director, The Global Citizens’ Initiative