What is a Global Citizen?

I believe a global citizen is someone who respects cultural diversity and is aware of what is happening in the world, politically, economically, socially and environmentally. I do not believe that one necessarily needs to be well travelled in order to become a global citizen, as being aware of situations in the world and helping to facilitate change do not necessarily involve being in the place of change.

I think that a global citizen is someone who can make the most of the situation they are in. For example, if they were not able to travel to a country which needed help in order to give physical aid, they could look into alternate ways of helping such as giving donations or starting advocacy groups. These examples emphasize not only an understanding of world issues but also the desire to challenge injustice and make the world more sustainable, both of which are components of Oxfam’s definition of global citizenship.

I really liked the key message in Tanja Shulze’s description of global citizenship. She said that we should forget about the superficial things and rather work on our attitudes. If we do this, we can create a more equal, sustainable and peaceful world. Attitudes are a fundamental component of global citizenship because the way a person behaves towards any situation is a reflection of their attitude. A global citizen would have a positive and open attitude towards world issues and they would not allow lust for insignificant things to get in the way of this.