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GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP
In this chapter, the concept of global citizenship will be introduced which covers the connections among global citizenship,
citizenship in general, and globalizing influences in the modern world, distinct characteristics of a global citizen and the
importance of global citizenship education.

Learning Objectives

After studying this chapter, you should be able to

 Define global citizenship
 Explain the dimension of global citizenship
 Explore the connections between citizenship and global citizenship
 Identify distinct characteristics of a global citizen
 Articulate the rights and responsibilities of citizenship at the local, national, and global levels
 Describe global citizenship education
 Examine the approaches of global citizenship education
 Appreciate the importance of global citizenship education

Introduction

Global citizenship is not a new concept, but in the current world order it takes on new meaning and greater importance. While
once reserved for people of high social standing or those preparing for roles in politics or economics, global awareness is now the
responsibility of all people everywhere. The opportunity for people to be global citizens increased dramatically with the
globalization of technology and since today’s world is becoming more interconnected every day due to commerce, technology,
and transnational challenges, the need to educate students in how to become active global citizens is greater now than ever before.
https://kirstenmintun.home.blog/2018/11/19/why-global-citizenship-2/

The Concept of Citizenship (in General)

Citizens are constituent elements of a nation state: a state needs its population in order to exist in the first place (Baubock/Vink
2013). Citizenship means being a member of a political community. In this way, legal equality of all “members”, i.e. citizens, is
established in democratic states. The members of this political community have the same rights and duties towards the state and
the other members of the community.

The concept of citizenship, that developed historically, comprises three aspects (Stack, 2012): legal status, political participation
and feeling of belonging.

The term citizenship not only refers to the legal relationship between citizen and state, which comprises rights and obligations,
but also to (expectations regarding) various forms of social participations. The legal relationship between citizen and state is
sometimes also referred to as ‘the formal dimension of citizenship’ (Schinkel, 2008). The participation dimension is ‘the moral
dimension of citizenship’.

What is Global Citizenship?

Global citizenship means an awareness of our interconnectedness with people and environment around the globe and their
contribution to a global society and economy. It is a way of living that recognizes our world is an increasingly complex web of
connections and interdependencies. One in which our choices and actions may have repercussions for people and communities
locally, nationally or internationally.

National Community Development Organization (NCDO) uses the following description of the global dimension of citizenship: ‘The
global dimension of citizenship is manifested in behavior that does justice to the principles of mutual dependency in the world, the
equality of human beings and the shared responsibility for solving global issues.’

According to Professor Carlos Alberto Torres, “Global citizenship is marked by an understanding of global interconnectedness and
a commitment to the collective good.”

Global Citizenship nurtures personal respect and respect for others, wherever they live. It encourages individuals to think deeply
and critically about what is equitable and just, and what will minimize harm to our planet. Exploring global Citizenship themes
help learners grow more confident in standing up for their beliefs, and more skilled in evaluating the ethics and impact of their
decisions. http://www.ideas-forum.org.uk/about-us/global-citizenship

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Two Dimensions of Global Citizenship

1. The formal dimension of citizenship. Focuses on citizens’ rights and obligations. Democratic states entail social
rights, such as entitlement to social benefits, access to education and health services, as well as civil rights and
freedoms like personal freedom and integrity, freedom of assembly, freedom of opinion and religion or right to free
information and media, which may be restricted to the citizens of a state.

2. Moral Dimension. This dimension focuses on the citizens’ contributions to create a better world. People have rights
and obligations towards each other irrespective of any political authority (Dower, 2010). Citizens’ contributions to
society. Global citizenship relates to awareness, responsibility, behavior, or at least a willingness to take action, and a
notion of equality.

Rights of a Citizen (Formal Dimension of Global Responsibilities of a Citizen (Moral Dimension of

Citizenship) Global Citizenship)
 Freedom to express yourself.  Support and defend the Constitution.
 Freedom to worship as you wish.  Stay informed of the issues affecting your
 Right to a prompt, fair trial by jury. community.
 Right to vote in elections for public officials.  Participate in the democratic process.
 Right to apply for employment requiring.  Respect and obey laws.
 Right to run for elected office.  Respect the rights, beliefs, and opinions of
 Freedom to pursue “life, liberty, and the pursuit of others.
happiness.”  Participate in your local community.
 Pay income and other taxes honestly, and on
time.
 Serve on a jury when called upon.
 Defend the country if the need should arise.

Four Parts of Global Citizenship

1. Civic responsibilities are the actions that people do to help their communities be successful. If you've ever helped
your neighbor, volunteered to clean up a park, donated food to the homeless, or read books to younger kids, then you've
done your civic responsibility. They care about their communities becoming better places to live and work towards
making them this way. If people in local communities all over the world are well taken care of, supported, and
successful, then the global community is successful.

2. Cultural Awareness. This is another part of global citizenship which means that you search for opportunities to
learn about other people's languages, food, religions, governments, homes, families, history, and daily lives.

3. Environment. Oil spills, toxic fumes, and trash in the ocean are just a few examples of dangers to the environment.
Global citizens understand that the environment is shared by everyone.

4. Global Economy. Global economy describes the interconnected worldwide economic activities that take place
between multiple countries. These economic activities can have either a positive or negative impact on the countries
involved. Understanding the complexities of the forces and factors that governs the modern global economy is
important for a global citizenship.

Characteristics of a Global Citizen

For Oxfam, global citizenship is all about encouraging young people to develop the knowledge, skills and values they
need to engage with the world. And it's about the belief that we can all make a difference.

A global citizen is someone who is aware of and understands the wider world - and their place in it. They take an active role in
their community, and work with others to make our planet more equal, fair and sustainable.

Who is a global citizen? There is a great deal of debate and discussion around this question, as there is around the whole
concept of globalization. A useful working definition, however, is offered by Oxfam:

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A Global citizen is someone who:

 is aware of the wider world and has a sense of their own role as a world citizen
 respects and values diversity
 has an understanding of how the world works
 is outraged by social injustice
 participates in the community at a range of levels, from the local to the global
 is willing to act to make the world a more equitable and sustainable place
 takes responsibility for their actions.

Noddings (2005), in his journal “Educating Citizens for Global Awareness” distinctly characterizes a global citizen is someone
who:

 Respects multiculturalism
 Realizes that unity and cooperation are the basic features of global citizens.
 Is aware that his/her actions affect the world around him/her.
 Behaves respectively, and acts in an empathetic way.
 Has team-work spirit.
 Helps other people and appreciates cooperation.
 Takes the responsibility of global issues concerned with his/her society.
 Knows his/her duties and rights very well.
 Acts as an active member of the society for the sake of improving it.
 Understands that all parts of the world are interconnected.
 Behaves ethically in all situations.

Falk (1994) identified five categories of global citizens which he named as:

1. Global reformers
2. Elite global business people
3. Global environmental managers
4. Politically conscious regionalists
5. Trans-national activists

United Nations Millennium Declaration

The certain fundamental values underlying the United National Millennium Declaration which are essential to
international relations in the twenty-first century are outlined as follows:

 Freedom. Men and women have the right to live their lives and raise their children in dignity, free from hunger and
from the fear of violence, oppression or injustice. Democratic and participatory governance based on the will of the
people best assures these rights.
 Equality. No individual and no nation must be denied the opportunity to benefit from development. The equal rights
and opportunities of women and men must be assured.
 Solidarity. Global challenges must be managed in a way that distributes the costs and burdens fairly in accordance
with basic principles of equity and social justice. Those who suffer or who benefit least deserve help from those who
benefit most.
 Tolerance. Human beings must respect one another, in all their diversity of belief, culture and language. Differences
within and between societies should be neither feared nor repressed, but cherished as a precious asset of humanity. A
culture of peace and dialogue among all civilizations should be actively promoted.
 Respect for nature. Prudence must be shown in the management of all living species and natural resources, in
accordance with the precepts of sustainable development. Only in this way can the immeasurable riches provided to us
by nature be preserved and passed on to our descendants. The current unsustainable patterns of production and
consumption must be changed in the interest of our future welfare and that of our descendants.
 Shared responsibility. Responsibility for managing worldwide economic and social development, as well as threats
to international peace and security, must be shared among the nations of the world and should be exercised
multilaterally. As the most universal and most representative organization in the world, the United Nations must play
the central role.

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What is Global Citizenship Education?

With the interconnected and interdependent nature of our world, the global is not ‘out there’; it is part of our everyday lives, as
we are linked to others on every continent. The opportunities of our fast-changing ‘globalized’ world offers young people are
enormous. But so too are the challenges. Young people are entitled to an education that equips them with the knowledge, skills
and values they need in order to embrace the opportunities and challenges they encounter, and to create the kind of world that
they want to live in.

Global Education is education that opens people’s eyes and minds to the realities of the world, and awakens them to bring about a
world of greater justice, equity and human rights for all. (Maastricht Global Education Declaration, 2002)

Education for Global Citizenship deals with issues of global interdependence, diversity of identities and cultures, sustainable
development, peace & conflict and inequities of power, resources & respect. These issues are addressed in the classroom through
a wide and evolving variety of participatory teaching and learning methodologies, including structured discussion and debate,
role-play, ranking exercises, and communities of enquiry. Such active methods are now established as good practice in education,
and are not unique to global citizenship.

When students develop a sense of global citizenship, they learn to respect key universal values such as peace, sustainability and
upholding the rights and dignity of all people. Global citizenship education develops students' knowledge, skills, attitudes, values
and competencies.

The Global Citizen Approach

The global citizen approach corresponds with the school of thought known as “individual cosmopolitanism”. It defines the
qualities that distinguish global citizens of today – namely as a combination of knowledge, competences, values and attitudes.

1. Knowledge. Global citizens are able to recognize global problems and topics in their social, political, cultural,
economic and eco-political dimension and combine their understanding of people’s diverse (often also multiple)
national, religious, cultural, social, etc. identities with their own awareness of a common overarching identity (as
humans), which bridges individual cultural, religious, ethnic and other differences.

2. Competencies. Global citizens have competences that allow them to question and reflect their own (local or national)
situation critically, systematically and creatively, and to take different perspectives to understand topics from diverse
angles, levels and positions; they have social competences like empathy, the ability to solve conflict, communication
skills, the ability to engage in social interaction with people from different contexts (origin, culture, religion, etc.) and
the ability to collaborate in cooperative and responsible ways with others in order to find joint global solutions to global
challenges.

3. Values. Global citizens use their knowledge about global issues in order to convey universal values like justice,
equality, dignity and respect.

Knowledge Competencies/Skills Values/Attitudes

 Awareness of diverse  Collaboration and cooperation  Comfort with ambiguity
perspectives  Communication, including  Commitment to social justice
 Economic and political verbal, nonverbal, written, and and equity
processes visual, in a variety of contexts  Concern for the environment and
 Environment and sustainable  Communication with individuals commitment to sustainable
development of diverse cultures practices
 Globalization and  Conflict resolution, including the  Curiosity about the world
interdependence ability to compromise and  Empathy for others
 Human diversity and cross- negotiate  Open-mindedness
cultural understanding  Critical and creative thinking  Respect for the rights of others
 Human rights  Media, digital, and information  Sense of identity and self-
 Peace and conflict literacy awareness
 World geography  Multilingualism  Sense of responsibility for
 Perspective taking helping others
 Sense of unity with individuals
and causes within and outside
one’s borders (solidarity)
 Values diversity

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The Quality Nationality Index

Kälin and Kochenov’s Quality of Nationality Index (QNI) ranks the objective value of the world’s nationalities as legal statuses
of attachment to states. Looking beyond simple visa-free tourist or business travel rights, the QNI takes several other crucial factors into
account to demonstrate that the world’s nationalities are not equal, and that some nationalities afford a better legal status than others to
develop one’s talents while living a rewarding life. The emerging picture reveals that while some nationalities are welcomed bundles of
rights, others — the majority, in fact — are clear liabilities for their holders.

For the reliable comparison of nationalities, both internal and external factors were considered. Internally, the QNI looks at how
successful nationalities are in terms of economic strength, human development, peace and stability. Externally, the QNI evaluates
the worth of nationalities in terms of weight and diversity, travel freedom and settlement freedom.
Table 16.1
General 2018 Quality National Index Ranking (Top 10)
Rank Country Quality Nationality Index Level of Quality
Value
1 France 83.5 Very high quality
2 Germany 82.8 Very high quality
2 Netherlands 82.8 Very high quality
3 Denmark 81.7 Very high quality
4 Sweden 81.5 Very high quality
4 Norway 81.5 Very high quality
5 Iceland 81.4 Very high quality
6 Finland 81.2 Very high quality
7 Italy 80.7 Very high quality
8 United Kingdom 80.3 Very high quality
9 Ireland 80.2 Very high quality
10 Spain 80.0 Very high quality

Level of Quality of World’s Nationalities

Figure 16.1 - World Map of Quality of the World’s Nationalities based on QNI

Source: https://www.nationalityindex.com/

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