Global Citizenship
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A “GLOBAL CITIZEN”
We live in a “global” world now. Corporate globalization is prevalent nearly everywhere. Travel is more common than ever before. We get news in our homes about any place in the world seconds after it happens. The internet allows us to connect with people all over the world. It allows us to stay in touch with people as we move all over the world as well. We even have an international language! English is spoken (by at least some portions of the population) nearly everywhere you go. Everyone has the potential of being a Global Citizen if they wish to but it takes courage, commitment, and a sense of humour to become one. Global citizenship might sound like a vague concept for academics but in fact it’s a very practical way of looking at the world which anyone, if given the opportunity, can relate to. In the context of globalization, thinking and acting as a global citizen is immensely important and can bring real benefits.
To have a full insight of what it means to be a “global citizen”, one needs to understand what it means to be a citizen. A citizen is a native or naturalized member of a state or nation who owes allegiance to its government and is entitled to its protection (distinguished from alien). It also refers to a person owing loyalty to and entitled by birth or naturalization to the protection of a state or nation. According to some accounts, citizenship is motivated by local interests (love of family, communal fairness, self-interest), global interests (a sense of universal equality), and concern for fellow human beings, human rights and human dignity. The key tenets of global citizenship include respect for any and all fellow global citizens, regardless of race, religion or creed and give rise to a universal sympathy beyond the barriers of nationality.
At Oxfam Education, Global Citizenship is believed to be more than the sum of its parts. It goes beyond simply knowing that we are citizens of the globe to an
We live in a “global” world now. Corporate globalization is prevalent nearly everywhere. Travel is more common than ever before. We get news in our homes about any place in the world seconds after it happens. The internet allows us to connect with people all over the world. It allows us to stay in touch with people as we move all over the world as well. We even have an international language! English is spoken (by at least some portions of the population) nearly everywhere you go. Everyone has the potential of being a Global Citizen if they wish to but it takes courage, commitment, and a sense of humour to become one. Global citizenship might sound like a vague concept for academics but in fact it’s a very practical way of looking at the world which anyone, if given the opportunity, can relate to. In the context of globalization, thinking and acting as a global citizen is immensely important and can bring real benefits.
To have a full insight of what it means to be a “global citizen”, one needs to understand what it means to be a citizen. A citizen is a native or naturalized member of a state or nation who owes allegiance to its government and is entitled to its protection (distinguished from alien). It also refers to a person owing loyalty to and entitled by birth or naturalization to the protection of a state or nation. According to some accounts, citizenship is motivated by local interests (love of family, communal fairness, self-interest), global interests (a sense of universal equality), and concern for fellow human beings, human rights and human dignity. The key tenets of global citizenship include respect for any and all fellow global citizens, regardless of race, religion or creed and give rise to a universal sympathy beyond the barriers of nationality.
At Oxfam Education, Global Citizenship is believed to be more than the sum of its parts. It goes beyond simply knowing that we are citizens of the globe to an