As part of our internship, Larissa (our coordinator) has asked us to reflect on the term "global citizenship." Sometimes I feel that the term that has lost its integrity since it is so overused in the discourse at York. With the global population hovering around 7 billion, how could this term possibly be relevant to so many people in so many different situations? Given the influence of politics, religion, freedom, security, economics and many other factors, each individual has a different interpretation of what global citizenship means to them. Instead of painting a broad picture of global citizenship to be applied to every person on Earth, I will define what the concept means to me.
Part of my interpretation of global citizenship is the realization that my life has an impact on a much larger scale than what I see at home. In the age of globalization, our lives are becoming increasingly intertwined with places and people we cannot even fathom. Every action that you make, every item that you consume comes from somewhere and I feel that part of global citizenship is the responsibility to be aware of this. For example, seeing banana plantations in Costa Rica has made me realize how much of a negative impact the industry has on the environment and people. Banana plantations are monocultures that have to be maintained with intense applications of chemicals, making them highly unsustainable. Communities that work for the plantations suffer social and health problems such as inequality and sterility from exposure to pesticides. To me, this seems a high price to pay for such a cheap fruit which is why I now refuse to buy bananas. Since returning to Canada, I am trying to be more aware of the broader impacts my life has on those around the world, though it's impossible to live one's life entirely "sustainably." I feel that since I was born into a society with freedom of access to information, part of my responsibility as a global citizen is to use that information to be more aware, and to use that awareness to better the world.
Another part of what I think global citizenship means is respect for cultures or beliefs different than my own. As someone travelling to a foreign country, it is easy to criticize another person's culture against your own, but much harder to be non-judgemental about things you may not agree with. The poaching of turtles on Playa Norte was something I did not agree with and I tried to not to judge people who poached turtles. Tolerance is crucial if all 7 billion of us are to get along. Though I had a life changing experience this summer, I don't know if I can qualify to call myself a true global citizen after travelling to only a few countries, it seems like an awfully onerous term to me.
