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During the past years, students have had interests in international studies and this concept has expanded from just a national focus to one of a global focus on civic education with students wanting to engage in responsibilities extended beyond their national boarder.
The idea of global citizenship is not new and it bases its origin to ancient Greece although the concept now seems to have a new face now. Many institutions especially those of higher learning cite global citizenship in their mission to expand their services to other parts of the world; most institutions now have a program with “centers of global citizenship.” A global citizen is one who identifies themselves as being part of an emerging world and whose efforts and activities contribute to the building of these community’s values and practices (Thanosawan & Kevin 39).
In the world today the forces of globalization are helping some people to identify themselves as global citizens in the sense that they belong to a global community and not a specific country. Global citizenship has been made possible by the growing global and identity as well as information technology, communication and transportation. The booming technology is making it possible for people to connect liberally globally with fewer struggles(Reysen, & Katzarska-Miller, 78).
With the invention of internet, people are able to participate in the global economy activities as well as engage in humanitarian and philanthropic activities. Technology has made movement very easy and we can now travel and visit different parts of the world anytime we want (Reysen, 870). By being global citizens we have concern for what is not happening in our own country but to the whole universe and we are able to share ideas and solve emerging problems as one big community.
Since the world war two several nations have taken the effort to develop a global policy that will provide support various values that require our attention. International organization as well as NGOs have come together to provide an international agreement and treaties to help the world in development but despite these efforts we have a long way to go before we establish a global policy which will cater for the institutional infrastructure. We have to establish a global structure that will support the emerging global communities with its growing number of people practicing global governance. Governance at a global level is not easy because there is need for mechanisms that will enable global citizen to engage in global activities (Reysen, 870).
Most people who cannot participate feel a bit disconnected to the world which makes it difficult to build a grass-root community at the global level. There is need for leaders who can play the roles of an activist in forming the global community. Most countries do not participate in global governance because they think that it is the work of the sovereign states to manage the global communities. Global leaders should take part in advocating for adoption and promotion of changes in the way people behavior to help protect the environment.
Humanitarian groups can arrange for events that celebrate and bring people together to practice diverse cultures and spiritual traditions for all the communities in the world. In one way or the other most of us feel connected to those sharing similar challenges around the world but we lack proper tools and mechanisms to act and solve these problems. By itself global citizenship has its legal democratic overtones because it is wrapped up in the rights and obligation to the sovereign states. Most European countries have embraced the issue of global citizenship and have allowed people to move freely, work, live as well as participate in other member states.
A visible evidence of the massive global citizenship is the many global activists who tirelessly continue to fight for environmental protection and human rights. Most global citizens are not recognized as legal citizens and their existence is usually represented as “associatively.” This happens because there is no global bureaucracy that helps in providing sanctions that protect global citizens from any form of harassment (Thanosawan, 304).
According to Steenburgen global citizens are very lucky since they represent a more holistic community where you have the freedom to choose where you want to work, live, play and move and you are not tied down to your land of birth. Many of the newly global citizens are actively engaging in global efforts in business ventures and environmental maintenance against nuclear weapons. With the exception engaging in global other global citizens have grassroots’ activism.
Globalization has brought about both positive and negative impacts on the nation with the highest registration being the cultural diversity has more serious impacts on our lives. In a global supply chain all the local issues affecting a certain region take on worldwide significance. For most businesses human rights are relatively new, in 2008, the UN human right council introduced the “protect, respect and remedy “campaign that helped better management of human rights which are mostly abused by businesses whole they conduct their business (Reysen, & Katzarska-Miller, 78). Most companies do not mind about the dangers they expose their employees to and they do not take the required protective measures.
This is what the UN is advocating for in the world because it is the high time these businesses took responsibility of their actions. The corporate responsibility requires that the company’s policies or other public or any other public organization incorporate all the human rights (Reysen, & Katzarska-Miller, 78).
It is required to periodically access human rights impact it has on the people and integrate the results and implication across its decision making processes. It is also required to keep all the tracks and records on its performance from time to time, this process requires authority from the top accompanied by an alignment of other staffs in the company. Those at risk of being impacted and denied venues to raise their concerns are the ones who are involved in the process (Reysen, 870).
This program if well enacted in a company it will help the company know and respect human rights and concerns. More companies are now working closely with human right activists to ensure that they meet baseline expectations on human right preservations. Affordable health care is another issue that has been raised in the global community. There is need for affordable health service delivery which can easily be improved but technology and more resources.
If technology and growing economic factors do not allow us to see ourselves as global citizens then some might want to look at the government for inspiration and support (Reysen, 870). Being a global citizen is a choice, a state of mind with each one of us being able to manifest in our own lives. In the times we are living it is no big deal being a global citizen and it does not require any formal qualifications or any inherent condition. There are several principles that will be essential for one to be a global citizen (Galpin, 47).
- One must be holistic and collaborative to approaches win.
- Know that change is not loss.
- Relationship deepen humanity.
- Note that difficult problems want collective action.
- Respect for others is golden.
- Make your contribution ns where you live.
- Find comfort with ambiguity.
- Take responsibility.
These principles are the most important for one to be able to reveal their thoughts a bit widely and become a global citizen with no worries. In the world we are living today economics, politics and security are the most alarming issues being addressed every day. Citizen diplomacy is a concept that involves private citizens engaging in their personal endeavors to serve their own interprets and diplomacy which involves a framework for cooperation between countries to work together towards a common goal.
There are various methods of measuring the impact of diplomacy but many focus on measuring the results based on individual contribution to the community (Thanosawan & Kevin 39). A fascinating attribute of globalization is the fact that the world is being made international and at the same time, it is being localized to one big community was people are living as one people. The world’s ability to shrink to one local community has brought about great impacts especially to the economy of the world.
Global citizens now have the right to travel within any boundary in the world without any restrictions. Lack of rights to govern and protect global citizens has led to some of them taking initiatives to ask the world body to put laws that protect them as global citizens. As result there have been several initiatives like the “worldwide declaration of human rights” these rights help solve problems for those citizens trapped in various conflicts as they travel the world for different duties (Thanosawan & Kevin 39).
As a result of global citizenship the have been the emergence of various issues in the world, for increased crime rates have gone high because people do not observe their boundaries and tend to extend their criminal activities to the world. There have been several security calls by many nations to make the world a better and peaceful place for all to live in peace. Several human right activist groups and government have called to the world to help reduce criminal rates in every way possible.
This can only be done by identifying those nations that support and fund these criminal and terror activities. Another issue is the emergence of other cultural practices. Most citizens who decide to become global tend to forget their origins and cultural practices and adopt new ones (Reysen, & Katzarska-Miller, 78). This is slowly affecting our origins and cultures and most nations are finding it a bit challenging. It is very difficult for one to maintain their original cultures in the evolving world full of new innovations and massive technology growth. This issue has been discussed far and wide and a solution has not yet been found that can help solve this problem which is slowly taking our rich cultural practices away.
In one way or another globalization has helped students especially those who want to further their studies do so without any worries, this has made the education sector one of the largest beneficiaries of globalizations. Improved education programs have also led to adoption and innovations especially in technology and science. Students are getting exposed to a wide variety of ideas which help them expound their minds and become more innovative.
They are also able to travel and interact with people from various regions and share diverse cultures and ideas. This has promoted peace and love among many nations in the world (Reysen, 870). The world has become one global village where people live as brothers and sisters without any regional barriers. People have also learnt how to share and live together without discrimination of either race or social class.
Philanthropic groups and NGOs have also come together especially in times of disasters to help in solving regional problems. These lobby groups are the pillars of global citizenship because without their support people cannot be able to live the way they are living, they bring people together through various volunteer activities and people get to interact and share ideas and at the same time be friends (Myers, 502).
Students who engage in global education have more advantage than those who study locally because the quality of education cannot be compared. They also have the advantage to get employment anywhere in the world without ant limitations provided that they qualify for the jobs. Anybody who wants to engage in global humanitarian activities can freely do so since there are no laws limiting one to do so (Reysen, 870). Many global citizens have engaged themselves in these activities and helped save many lives.
Global citizenship has more advantages than disadvantages and it is the high time that people started viewing it at a greater perspective. Most people believe that being a global citizen will make you lose your identity and origin which is not the case. In fact being a global citizen enables you enjoy more rights and identity to yourself. You get to interact and enjoy with people from all over the world and join in building the world to be a better place for all.
Davy, Benjamin, Ulrike Davy, and Lutz Leisering. “The Global, The Social And Rights. New Perspectives On Social Citizenship.” International Journal Of Social Welfare 22.(2013): S1-S14. Academic Search Premier. Web. 7 Dec. 2014.
Galpin, Timothy. “Creating A Culture Of Global Citizenship.” Journal Of Corporate Citizenship 49 (2013): 34-47. Business Source Complete. Web. 7 Dec. 2014.
Myers, John P. “‘To Benefit The World By Whatever Means Possible’: Adolescents’ Constructed Meanings For Global Citizenship.” British Educational Research Journal 36.3 (2010): 483-502. Professional Development Collection. Web. 7 Dec. 2014.
Reysen, Stephen, and Iva Katzarska-Miller. “A Model Of Global Citizenship: Antecedents And Outcomes.” International Journal Of Psychology 48.5 (2013): 858-870. Business Source Complete. Web. 7 Dec. 2014.
Thanosawan, Prapassara, and Kevin Laws. “Global Citizenship: Differing Perceptions Within Two Thai Higher Education Institutions.” Journal Of Higher Education Policy & Management 35.3 (2013): 293-304. Business Source Complete. Web. 7 Dec. 2014.
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