New Zealand Centre for Global Studies;
Global Citizenship Report
March 2014
Contributors: Isabella Brown, Tremayne Reid, Katrina Seno, Sedef Duder-Ozyurt, Amanda Ngo, Benjamin Huxford, Nardos Tilahun, Isabella Lenihan-Ikin
Statement of Intent
We are a group of young New Zealanders ranging from ages 15 to 18 with a common interest in global citizenship.
Our interest for global citizenship has stemmed from our passion and involvement in social and environmental justice groups and organisations. The purpose of this report is to inform and inspire other young people to engage in the notion of global citizenship. In doing so we want to transform this seemingly contradictory phrase to one that is tangible and able to be understood. The 21st Century paradigm shift in which is changing our society into one that uses collaboration and creative thinking to address issues, needs to be the driver in transforming our insular national perspectives into global outlooks. It is imperative that we institute this transition in the light of current environmental, social, economical and political issues that need to be addressed in a united manner. As we will further explain uniting in a global manner involves all societies working together not just small groups of countries working internationally.
We want to live in a global society - let’s ensure it happens in our lifetime.
Global Citizenship and National Citizenship
Global citizenship, at first glance, may seem like an oxymoron. Citizenship, on the surface, is the legal act of belonging to a state or nation. As the globe is not a state, one may ask how it is possible to be a global citizen. What we must do in order to prove the existence of global citizenship, is look deeper into the definition of national citizenship.
We believe national citizenship is the loyalty, connection and identity to one nation state and its ruling body. Across the world, citizenship is officially recognised as a legal status/is a legal state of being…. In New Zealand, a period of four years is required as proof of an understanding of the responsibilities and privileges associated with this country. Citizenship, then, is founded on the identification that one feels with a country, and confirmed by the law. Global citizenship, although not confirmed by law, is defined by the values and loyalty to the globe as an entity; an understanding and acceptance of our universal morals and responsibilities.
To us, global citizenship encompasses five main concepts. Accepting universal values and responsibilities, acting for the common good, understanding diversity, being proactive to improve the world, and honouring this global promise regardless of others' actions.
What unifies a people is a common understanding of what our purpose and goals are. Communities are formed from groups of people who share commonalities of many different aspects. Even though we are all part of communities made up of our cities, countries and ethnicities, it is crucial to remember that one undeniable commonality that we share as humans is that our home is planet Earth. As this is a given, there are universal values and morals that we share despite our location on Earth. In fact, we have more similarities than we do difference. These truth of this can be seen in the Earth Charter, a document written by tens of thousands of civilians, united by their understanding of universal moral truths. In order to be a global society, it is vital we recognise and uphold these values to ensure we have the same purpose (the betterment of the world as a whole) in mind.
By the same token, we as global citizens have universal responsibilities. We gain benefits from being part of a global community, thus we have the responsibility to uphold the values of this community. What we gain from living on Earth, we must repay by respecting our natural environment. The privilege of having human rights means we have the responsibility to uphold them for others. Essentially, global citizenship requires individuals to become leaders. The issues we face today will not simply fix themselves; our world needs innovation, initiative and pro activeness. Currently, this is not coming from nation states. Instead, it is the responsibility of the global citizen.
Multinational corporations today have manipulated the idea of 'public good'. Governments, motivated by economic advancement, are often guilty of putting on a positive front to citizens, but in reality, acting in economic self interest. While this seems to advance a society, the selfish mindset leads to... A key aspect of a global citizen is that people act for the common good, as opposed to for their own good at the expense of others. Everything we do to benefit ourselves, we must make sure also benefits others. Only when people have the wellbeing of others and the planet in mind and we move past our selfishness, can we progress in solving issues which affect everyone such as climate change. What global citizens should have is a goal of symbiotic relationships: between humans, between countries, and nature.
While we share the commonality of being a human on the planet, we have differences based on the situations into which we are born and raised (for example, location, language, culture). A community which accepts the differences of each individual nurtures its citizens to fulfill their true potential. The global community full of global citizens should celebrate diversity to ensure sections of society are not excluded.
The final and most important aspect of global citizenship is a concept of trust and honouring of the promise we make to other human beings and to the planet. As so often happens with treaties (essentially agreements based on common values), one party violates the terms and conditions due to the their own personal interests. The other party, left betrayed, then violates the agreement to the same or greater extent. Global citizenship is founded on a trust that people will retain the values of a global citizen regardless of actions of others. Even the process of negotiation to centralise these values in treaties, global or otherwise, can result in this trust being built.
Every person has the potential to be a global citizen. It requires an understanding of universal values and responsibilities, an acceptance of diversity, a goal for symbioses and common good, a proactive leadership mindset, and an honouring of a global values and truths. In essence, a global citizen should relate to the world as they relate to their country.
Rights of a National Citizen compared with Rights of a Global Citizen
The New Zealand Bill of Rights Act (NZBRA) 1990 covers the fundamental rights found in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Its aim is to affirm, promote and protect fundamental freedoms in New Zealand, and thus applies to all citizens of New Zealand and all people visiting New Zealand. It is a… to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which New Zealand is committed. Thus in a legal sense, a person has much the same rights as a citizen of New Zealand as they do a human being. Because of this harmony, it should be a conflict-free concept to consider oneself both a citizen of a nation, and a global citizen.
Below are basic fundamentals of both the UDHR and NZBRA:
New Zealand Bill of Rights key headings
● Life and the security of the person
● Democratic and civil rights
● Non-discrimination and minority rights
● Search, arrest, and detention
● Criminal procedure
● Right to justice
Some of the rights in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights
● Right to Life, Liberty and Personal Security
● Right to recognition as a person before the law
● Right to be considered innocent until proven guilty
● Right to free movement in and out of a country
● Right to marriage and family
● Right to peaceful assembly and association
Question 1: What would a global world look like according to us?
‘I do well for myself which enables good for others. This is the makings of a global society, this is the making of a connected one.’ – NZGCS 2014 Youth
A global world in a social sense is the universal community sharing the same intentions, ambitions, morals and ethics as well as endorsed core values that we can all recognize and relate our individual lives that also affects others. This world will prosper and flourish with ideas that will benefit the global community and not a singular entity or nation state.
A global understanding of different cultures and minorities will be prevalent in this community. Since human beings are more accepting of other cultures, and the desire to be and act as a global citizen make language barriers not as large of an issue. Although these hindrances will still be present, we must not treat it as a limitation to this interconnected society, but rather, a celebration of cultural diversity, which is an integral part of the universe. There will a global culture in which different nation states and its people will find a common ground that will be defined as this global society becomes fully indulged in the growth of the global community.
Politically, this global community will unite for a good purpose and ‘end’ situation. These politically globally connected states will not be shape based on drastic circumstances that previously defined the political structures of the past. Decisions will be made through a proper and politically correct process partly decided by the people for the people in the global community.
There will be a possibility of a new innovative way of politics that takes into consideration various aspects that defines our way of life as a global citizen (eg. the eco-system, core and universal values, global economy). This will be a significant change from our current politics that work towards a common goal but from opposing ideas of different ideologies. (Same boat analogy for the common issues).
In the global age, taking into consideration that we are that we are part of the ecosystem, it will enable us to combat critical environmental issues that we struggle to resolve today. We expect human beings, as they are part of the ecosystem, to be more mindful, more purposeful and more conscious of the environment in a global sense. Environmental importance is not state-based or of land-area based but globally based, as since we are connected it will affect us all. (An example could be the Brazil Deforestation Issue)
In terms of economics in a global community, freedom to travel in different nation states will be less strict (eg. no visas), however a nation state must still protect their country from possible threats that includes both humane and environment. Economics will have a massive shift in this connected global world, which is too explicit and comprehensive to fully understand in our current age. However, one must know that the future of economics in this world will not singularly be driven by finance – should not be singularly drive by finance. A good example, we think, is that the world will adopt the ‘doughnut economics’ model (see annex 1). This model shows how these big dynamics, the social foundations and the environmental ceilings; need to work together to achieve peaceful coexistence in the ecosystem. This model could be refined in other aspects of global life.
Question 2: To what extent is our world global? Do we live in a global age?
It is common belief in modern society that our world has progressed from a nationalised to a globalised society, and to a certain extent this is true.
A large number of developments have occurred in the last century, as humanity has increasingly faced issues that transcend national borders, such as inter-continental wars, climate change and international financial dependency – leading to the formation of international organisations like the UNO, Amnesty International, Greenpeace and many others who have a global and humanitarian focus and not constrained by national boundaries.
Of course, the technological advances of the last century can’t be ignored. The rapid growth in the use of digital devices have almost dominated our perspective of our current globalised world. Our access to media, entertainment, and networking have been globally enhanced using technology like radio, television, and the internet. Through this we have become significantly more aware of what is occurring in other parts of the world. We are able to not only observe these people, places and events, but also communicate ideas, look at different perspectives and influence people as though we are right there with them. And if this is not enough, through aviation advances we are able to go to those very places, and physically contribute, fraternise and impact anywhere we wish on this planet.
International corporations are also able to do this en masse – extracting and distributing resources and products anywhere on the globe – facilitating global economic connections and consumerism – making all economies directly and indirectly involved and dependent on each other. One of thousands of examples from around the world could include coffee bean farmers in Ethiopia supplying coffee beans to Starbucks that produces and distributes coffee to millions of people around the world – several of whom live in China and happen to be key developers in farm engineering industries.