The Key Concepts in Global Citizenship

There are several terms you may be familiar with, such as Global Learning, the Global Dimension, Global Education or Development Education. We prefer to use the term Global Citizenship Education because it implies that this is more than just a part to the curriculum and more than just something we learn about. The term ‘citizenship’ reflects the ethos of action taking, of us and young people being aware of how our lives contribute positively and negatively to the lives of others.

You do not need to be an expert in every global issue in order to educate for Global Citizenship. Much more important is an ongoing willingness to grapple with what the following ‘big ideas’ mean for your classroom practice.

Diversity

We all live with the objective of being happy; our lives are all different and yet the same.
Anne Frank

Human beings have the same basic needs but many different ways of meeting them. Differences in gender, sexuality, culture, class, nationality, religion, ethnicity, language and status may all be significant in explaining these variations and in shaping identity. To thrive in such a diverse and fast-changing world, pupils need to feel confident in their own identity; but they should also be open to engaging positively with other identities and cultures, and able to recognise and challenge stereotypes.

Social justice and equity / human rights

If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.
Desmond Tutu

The world is not going to change unless we change ourselves
Rigoberta Menchu

Central to Global Citizenship is the idea that all human beings belong to a single human race, share a common humanity and are of equal worth. Hence they should all have the same basic rights and be treated accordingly. Yet beliefs about the superiority of different groups, and about which groups ‘belong’ and which do not, continue to be expressed through words, behaviour and systems – and sometimes (albeit often unintentionally) through the practices and curricula of schools.

Globalisation and interdependence

Before you finish eating breakfast this morning, you’ve depended on more than half the world.
Martin Luther King

We live in an interconnected world in which decisions taken in one place can affect people living on the other side of the planet – or down the road: Globalisation affects us all. However, the idea of global interdependence goes further, recognising that even the wealthiest countries rely heavily on other countries’ riches – from physical commodities such as foodstuffs and minerals to knowledge, culture and communications.

Sustainability

There is enough in the world for everyone’s need, but not for everyone’s greed.
Mahatma Gandhi

The environment and the economy are really two sides of the same coin. If we cannot sustain the environment, we cannot sustain ourselves.
Wangari Maathai

How we share and use the earth’s resources affects the health of the planet and of everyone with whom we share it – now and in the future. There are many different interpretations of sustainable development, but at its heart lies a recognition that our relationship with the earth needs to acknowledge the limits of finite resources and the human rights of all.

Peace and conflict

Peace, in the sense of absence of war, is of little value to someone who is dying of hunger or cold. Peace can only last where human rights are respected, where people are fed, and where individuals and nations are free.
The 14th Dalai Lama

When a man or woman doesn’t have a gun in their hand, he or she tries harder to use his or her mind, send of compassion and intelligence to work out a solution
Aung San Suu Kyi

In all communities – from school to international level – there are conflicts of interest and disagreements. As a result there is a continual need to develop rules, laws, customs and systems that all people accept as reasonable and fair. Issues of peace and conflict are thus inevitably bound up with questions of social justice, equity and rights.