Global Citizenship is the bringing together of two powerful words: Global and Citizenship. Global means the world, all of it, its land, its people, its cultures, its opportunities, and its problems. Citizenship means responsibility and participation. Together it means that we have a responsibility to participate and to engage with the collective citizens of our planet.
In the 21st century it has become clear that we share the future of the world together across borders and boundaries. Social media, Skype, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and others are allowing us to learn cross-culturally and cross-politically. Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and other online fundraising platforms have helped turn iPhone-generated films into creative endeavors that change the lives of people near and far. These forms of technology allow us to participate, to take responsibility, and to engage with a global community.
Global Citizenship empowers individual human beings to participate in decisions concerning their lives, including the political, economic, social, cultural and environmental conditions in which they live. A Global Citizen is someone who identifies with being a part of an emerging world community and whose actions contribute to building this community’s values and practices. Global Citizenship is an umbrella term for the networked lens through which to analyze the history and development of our changing world. Global Citizens seek to interact with and understand topics on a local, regional, national and global level.