Our Pillars | Global Citizenship
Why are we introducing Global Citizenship?
World ORT’s international network of schools works to provide young people with the knowledge and skills to thrive in all aspects of their lives. Our students are already living in a globalized world and it is likely that global interdependence and interconnectivity will remain a key feature of their future lives and work.
The opportunities to connect students with their peers around the world are easily accessible and allow us to offer programs that will enrich their education considerably.
Global Citizenship Education aims to highlight the moral and ethical aspects of global issues, helping young people to make better-informed choices and actions. It also develops invaluable skills and competencies, encouraging them to be proactive and enabling them to participate in change to improve their own lives and those of others, and to positively influence the world.
What’s unique about this program?
Global Citizenship does not downgrade or replace national, religious or other identities. The central themes of fairness and responsibility resonate well with both the Jewish and international character of the ORT network.
The development of students’ social and emotional skills, to empathise with others and seek resolutions to conflict through justice, dignity and respect, can all be explored with reference to Jewish teachings and experiences.
Our program will support students throughout the year to introduce Global Citizenship to their schools, providing practical ways to introduce new perspectives.
What does it mean to be a Global Citizen?
The term ‘global citizen’ can be understood in many ways but in essence it involves living with awareness and understanding of the wider world, and a sense of one’s own place in it. When a person acts with a global awareness and they are inspired to contribute locally to creating a more peaceful, just and sustainable world, they can be described as a Global Citizen. The starting point for Global Citizenship is the idea that there can be parts of our identity that transcend geographical or political borders and that there are responsibilities and rights that are universal.
Why is Global Citizenship currently so popular?
Although Global Citizenship and similar concepts can be found in many forms across different cultures throughout human history, the concept of Global Citizenship has most recently become familiar after being embedded in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly through SDG 4.7 which, by the year 2030, aims to: “ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development.”
Global Citizenship has become the umbrella term internationally for social, political, environmental, and economic actions of globally-minded individuals and communities on a worldwide scale
Promoting Global Citizenship in sustainable development will allow individuals to embrace their social responsibility to act for the benefit of all societies, not just their own.
Global Citizenship Education can be thought of as a broad heading, bringing together different existing school subjects as well as introducing new skills and competencies. These include:- Citizenship Education- Human Rights Education- Sustainability and Environmental Education- Peace and Social Justice Education- Education for Equality (Gender and Racial among others)- Social and Emotional Learning.
Meanwhile ORT’s International Cooperation (IC) department responds to needs and challenges with a range of development programs, community training initiatives and humanitarian aid missions.
Read about Global Citizenship Education Program