YIIP Assignment # 4 - What is Global Citizenship?

I’m quite sure that I’ve described myself as a global citizen at some point of my life.  This isn’t because my identity has been found in the places I’ve visited but because I look at global citizenship as I do the golden rule.

For whatever reason I feel most like myself while I’m travelling.  Far away from routine and commutes, scheduled breaks and study groups – I have a chance to look at the world in a different way, without the distractions of every day life. More importantly however, I am able to acclimate (to a degree) to a different way of life.  To different vocabulary, customs, foods, social queues.  Some of these are easier to pick up on than others, but I think as an intern, as a traveler as citizen of the world it is my duty to try and learn from these things, to try and enrich my mind through the people that surround me on my travels. I consume the experiences selfishly at times, relishing in a beautiful sunset or an inside joke with a local friend – but where I think global citizenship comes in is through my own sharing and story telling.

I think that the time I spent in St.Kitts was especially helpful in developing my idea of global citizenship because of the challenges I faced.  Sure, I spent the summer on a tropical island in the West Indies – I got to spend my Saturdays at the beach, eat fresh mangoes everyday and go on hikes through the rainforest, but I also experienced frustrating conversations about homosexuality, learned of the corrupt practices of national officials, and was dragged into office politics.  It is both these great experiences and these challenging ones that have given me better insight into how we are limited as global citizens and how we can develop.  So I guess in all, we have the capacity to be global citizens, but its not as simple as a stamp added to your passport.  Again I’ll say that it’s like the golden rule – represent and present the countries you’ve seen and experienced in the way that you would wish your country was represented. The whole picture is hard to show, but the more we see and know the more we can show and tell.