How to Become a Global Citizen

A large number of people suffer from poverty, climate change and gender inequality.

You know why?

Because almost everyone on earth, identifies themselves as a member of only one nation.

To think like that is a dangerous thing.

And it’s not only dangerous for those suffering today. It’s even dangerous for those who are ignoring what’s happening outside of their backyard.

We live in the time of hyper-connectivity, both online and offline. Most of the things we interact with on daily basis are somehow connected to a global world.

Yet, we don’t consider ourselves as global citizens.

We define who we are by our place of birth and passport. But at the same time, we like traveling abroad and enjoying foreign products.

So why only consume in a global way when you can also think like a global citizen.

But what does it mean to think global and how do you become a global citizen?

Since I’ve lived in different parts of the world, I don’t have a strong nationalistic feeling for any particular country.

This has always made me consider myself as a citizen of the world. But a couple of years ago I found out about an organization that started a movement to mobilize “global citizens”.

And guess what? It’s even called Global Citizen!

Hugh Evans has started this movement and here’s how he describes what a Global Citizen is:

“A Global Citizen is someone who self-identifies first and foremost not as a member of a state, tribe or nation, but instead as a member of the human race.” — Hugh Evans

I LOVE reading that.

Every time I read that quote, it makes me imagine a world where everyone thinks like that.

It gives me hope that one day we will live in a world where what happens outside our backyards matters as much as what happens inside them.

Now you may ask why would I care about what happens in Bangladesh, Ivory Coast or Agbogbloshie?

And I’m here to remind you that you should care because a large part of the products you consume take resources from those places or are made there.

And in some cases like Agbogbloshie, the waste we produce is dumped there.

But what kind of products are we talking about?

Your clothes, your chocolate, your gadgets. Should I go on?

See, it’s easy to think inside of a box that we call a country or a nation. But that won’t get you everything you want in life.

If you want to continue enjoying everything the global economy offers, you also need to start caring about its after effect.

To solve issues like poverty, climate change or gender inequality, we need to take action NOW.

We don’t need to wait until we become the next Bill Gates before we start caring. We also don’t need to wait for the politicians or “world leaders”.

We all have the ability to take action in some way. Even if that means not buying cheap clothes often or getting a new gadget every 6 months.

I’d like to leave you with this inspiring Ted Talk from Hugh Evans who shares the story behind Global Citizen movement:

I hope this has inspired you to think in a global way and I’d love to hear from your experience as you go along this journey.

I wrote this piece as part of a 90-day challenge I took on to get better at this type of writing. To learn more about me you can visit my website here.