A Global Citizen is said to be someone who identifies themselves as being part of the interdependent interconnected emerging community of nations and cultures. A global citizen connects with others all over the world in terms of common values and concerns.  They see themselves as fighting for the rights of people all over the world and protecting the less advantaged from the more powerful.

Idealists and activists have always existed and in recent memory such social movements as the Civil Rights movement in the USA  to the anti-Apartheid movement in South Africa have succeeded in overturning social evils on a national level.

Today the world is one in which causes and issues are seen as concerns beyond national borders.  Climate change, religious fundamentalism etc. affect the entire world, not just countries. People increasingly identify themselves as global citizens, belonging to a worldwide. As technology connects us all instantly, crises such as environmental disaster, economic meltdowns, humanitarian disasters as a result of wars and climate change are felt immediately and their human face is visible to everyone, making the issues seem closer and more personal.

Becoming a global citizen doesn’t mean you don’t forsake you beliefs, your culture or other allegiances.  But for the global citizen, it means rather that there is an additional layer of responsibility to living in the world. Global citizens have much more concern about the overall health of the planet and other communities and they feel an obligation to share the responsibility to help make a better world.