Focus Your Lens

When finding inspiration for my final blog I came across UNAI’s definition of Global Citizenship: “Global citizenship is an interdisciplinary lens through which to analyze the history and development of our changing world.”

When reading this I was impressed at how they could take such a complex subject and focus it into a small definition. I give them credit for it. I especially like the first part. Interdisciplinary lens. There’s so many different areas of knowledge that are included in being a global citizen. Just thinking back to my trip I already image the health there, the water, the food, the dancing, clothes, language, weather, land, people, etc. etc. etc. The list is endless.

I liked how the definition used the symbolism of a lens. We use that lens to analyze. I agree with that definition. We take everything in and then we analyze. As a global citizen it is important to do the steps in the right order. You have to learn the knowledge areas then analyze, not vice versa. So many times in today’s society people make pre conceived notions without anything to back it up.

The last part of the definition: history and development. This was an impacting portion of the definition as well because I seemed to fail to address the history while thinking of being a global citizen. I think it is crucial to know the history to make sure it doesn’t (or does) repeat itself. A lot can be learned from the past and applying it to the future- development. It is good to continue to grow.

In our trip, we took their past and applied medical assistance. Now hopefully since we left they are taking what they learned from us and applying it towards their everyday lives so they can continue to grow. That way it is a positive chain of events stemming from past events and leading to better development.

Global citizenship is such a broad and complex term. It is up for interpretation and there are endless definitions for it. But it is important to remember that no matter what it is addressing multiple aspects and not just focusing on what people think it should be.

What is Aid?

The very question of the title of this blog was what left me wondering and inspired. These thoughts came about after reading Nicholas D. Kristof’s article, entitled How Can We Help the World’s Poor (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/22/books/review/Kristof-t.html?ref=nicholasdkristof&_r=1&). It spoke much about aid in a global sense.

Many believe that providing aid from the US to other countries is monetary, while others believe it is physical help. So I was trying to figure out where on the spectrum I was. The economists saying that it is crucial to have more funding. The opponents argue money may actually hurt them.

Reading their debates left me thinking why there was even a debate to begin with. Why is money always the issue? In order to figure out how to provide the best aid, why not simply ask them what they need. There’s no simple solution or one cure all for how to provide aid to all countries in need of it. Every country, just like the people in them, is unique. In order to understand how to help you need to understand them. You need to be a global citizen. This doesn’t mean writing a check every month or donating supplies for a school to be built. If that’s what they need, yes that helps.

But you can’t be sure until you find out. Being a global citizen means LEARNING. You must learn about the place, the people and the situation. Only then can you address what kind of aid needs to be given.

Global Citizenship 1

When the term “global citizenship” first comes to mind, I can’t help but to think of an elite world-traveler, trendy mid 20 year old girl. I imagine her traveling the world on daddy’s credit card and staying at the best places in town.

But dig a little deeper, and go through a life changing experience and I can assure you, that term is redefined. It was for me anyways.

Global citizenship is not only about being well traveled. It is also about being cultured. It is embracing the country’s culture in which you are visiting. It requires learning about the language, the food, the religion, the music, the fashion, etc. before even traveling there. My first take on global citizenship was ignorant. I had no idea what it meant to be a global citizen because before I had just traveled to Italy and had been led on tour after tour after tour.

I wasn’t able to fully immerse myself into the culture because frankly I didn’t even interact with the people of the community there. I stayed with my friends I came with and other than attempting to communicate with a waiter or a cashier, I never really had conversation with someone in Italy. 

Thankfully, my privileged little self was able to have a second chance at this term when arriving in Ghana.

Here, I was a member of the community. I saw their schools, ate their food, walked their land, but most of all, I became friends with the community members. I did my best to communicate with them and learn some of their language. I bought their clothes and ate their food. We took pictures together, and played games. Nothing that I did there had to do with tourism. I was able to connect on a personal level when in triage. I took their vitals and heard their symptoms. 

This is what global citizenship is and what it means to be a global citizen. You must completely dive into the culture and lives of the people’s land you are staying on. It is crucial to learn as much as you can from them because you are the visitors. Being a global citizen is important in today’s society. Often times we get too caught up in our own lives and tend to live in a bubble. The world is massive, but by learning about different people from all over, it becomes smaller and we become closer. It is our responsibility to take care of others in the world and let them take care of us. We are not just citizens of Illinois or citizens of America. We are citizens of the World and we must take pride in living up to that title.