Global Identity and Global Competence

Scholars claim that as migrant populations seek employment, investment opportunities and new geographical spaces to enjoy better security and peaceful coexistence, the goal of building a global community that can work in harmony due to global personalities becomes a very significant phase of our lives this century (Lagos, 2002; McIntosh, 2005; Noddings, 2005; Neuliep, 2006; O’Byrne, 2003; Patel et al, 2011; Scorza, 2004; et al.). The notion of building a global community refers to a willingness by individuals and groups to integrate acceptable cultural norms and values in a meaningful and respectful way into their everyday lives [Patel et al., 2011, pp. 5-6]. Implementation of the goal of building global communities within an identified context - corporate organisation, educational institution, as well as corporate and community services - encourages a favourable partnership in which social responsibility and accountability for actions are situated within the framework of the broader participating community that engages in that intercultural communication event in any way whatsoever. All societies have in common a deeply ingrained integrity and compassion that allow them to create and to nurture a harmonious relationship [ibid.]. This harmonious relationship can come to reality if there are enough people who have mastered global competence and can refer themselves to global personality.

D. O’Byrne identifies a global person as a member of a multicultural society whose rights shift from citizenship and civil liberties towards the “public sphere” of humanity; from the consciousness of a national citizen to the consciousness of belonging to a global community of mankind and whose major focus shifts from national interest to the survival of the planet, from viewing oneself as an individual or a local actor to viewing oneself as an actor of the world, and finally in taking responsibility to address global challenges [O’Byrne, 2003, p. 21].

J. Scorza states that a global citizen may be a member of any community that is based on the principle of equality and on the concept of citizenship that transcends the state [Scorza, 2004, p. 6]. Such a person is expected to live a global way of life and work effectively anywhere in the world (Noddings, 2005), has a sense of belonging in a global community, cares about global issues, gets involved in global politics, social and cultural activities, and develops “habits of mind, heart, body, and soul that have to do with working for and preserving a network of relationships and connections across lines of difference and distinctness, while keeping and deepening a sense of one’s own identity and integrity’ [McIntosh, 2005, p. 23].

M. Fleming notes that the global citizen can “assert some sort of transcendental belonging to a world community”, embrace the particular as well as the universal, belong to particular local and national communities and have “a higher degree of awareness of the contingency of those allegiances”. The global citizen should be able to step outside the perceptual confines and constraints and develop “an ability to see one’s own behaviour and values from “outside” [Fleming, 2006, pp. 140-142].

R. Falk (1994) identifies five categories of global citizens: global reformer, elite global business people, global environmental managers, politically conscious regionalists and transnational activists. In Falk’s view, global citizenship can be understood from the five layers explained in the following list.

1. Inspirational orientation in spirit, adhering to a normative perspective to create a better world, to broaden and globalise our outlook, and to achieve global integration, especially economically.

2. Global citizen as a man and woman of transnational affairs, focusing on the impact of globalisation of economic forces.

3. Management of the global order in economic and environmental dimensions.

4. Global citizenship that is associated with the rise of regional political consciousness.

5. Global citizenship that is associated with the emergence of transnational activism.

T. Lagos (2002) notes that global citizens are people who travel within these various layers or boundaries and claim the rights accorded by the citizens themselves and by the general public in favour of “universal rights”. He emphasised that that a national citizenship is more closed and a global citizenship is more flexible and inclusive [Lagos, 2002, p. 9]. Global means planetary, but as M. Byers explains, it can also mean local, individual and personal: global could mean spherical, well-rounded, so that describing someone as global would mean that they were widely read, holistic in their appreciation of the world around them, and therefore understanding of the situations and perspectives of others. Global could even mean adaptable, like a travel plug for a hairdryer or electronic razor. In this sense, a person who was global could readily fit into various positions, locations, even countries and cultures [Byers, 2005, p. 2].

M. Byers argues that we all dwell in two communities: the local community of our birth and the broader community beyond our national border. Global citizenship is formed on the basis of the values of collective responsibility inherent in these two communities, such as environmental protection, human rights, democracy, peace, freedom, dignity and justice. Byers concludes that, global citizenship empowers individual human beings to participate in decisions concerning their lives, including the political, economic, social, cultural and environmental conditions in which they live... It is expressed through engagement in the various communities of which the individual is a part, at the local, national and global level. It includes the right to challenge authority and existing power structures, to think, argue and act with the intent of changing the world [ibid., 8].

The global people, as can be seen from the above discussion, need to be equipped with some core competencies to transcend national and cultural boundaries and engage with the global community in global activities.

Global personalities face many complex and pressing global issues and challenges that require them to take individual and social responsibilities to recognise and address these trends and issues that affect each personally [Patel, 2011, p. 75] . To meet such challenges of global issues, they need to develop three dimensions of skills: knowledge, motivation and behaviour, as multicultural individuals, considered above.

More than that a person with global identity should develop the following competencies:

1. knowledge of world geography, current world affairs and the role of one’s country in the world;

2. critical thinking, collaborative skills and cross-cultural skills; and

3. attitudes such as curiosity, open-mindedness and empathy [Scorza, 2004, p. 6].

Global people need to develop intellectual and critical abilities to grapple effectively and meaningfully with critical global issues. They need to apply the knowledge of these issues, based on their understanding of the current international context in relation to local and global stakeholders, and be motivated to engage with local and global communities to serve the values and ethical norms of global citizenship. To achieve such a goal, some core global competencies are required and need to be nurtured.

P. Kubow, D. Grossman and A. Ninomiya identified eight core competencies that should be cultivated by global people. These are:

1. The ability to look at and approach problems as a member of a global society.

2. The ability to work with others in a cooperative way and to take responsibility for one’s roles/duties within society.

3. The ability to understand, accept, appreciate and tolerate cultural differences.

4. The capacity to think in a critical and systemic way.

5. The willingness to resolve conflict in a non-violent manner.

6. The willingness to change one’s lifestyle and consumption habits to protect the environment.

7. The ability to be sensitive towards and to defend human rights, like rights of women, ethnic minorities, etc.

8. The willingness and ability to participate in politics at local, national and international levels [Kubow et al., 1998, p. 132].

J. Scorza identifies four perspectives of global competencies that a global citizen needs to develop: global, individual, cross-cultural and experience [2004, p. 15].

In the global perspective, the global citizen needs to become familiar with the complexity of global issues, including economic, environmental, health and population concerns, apply knowledge to address these concerns, understand what it means to be a global citizen, and use technology for research, communication and community building.

In the individual perspective, a global citizen needs to have the ability to “examine numerous personal philosophies and value systems incorporating ideas from multidisciplinary perspectives” [Ibid., p. 16].

In the cross-cultural perspective, a global citizen needs to become familiar with multiple cultural perspectives, examine and deconstruct inherent ethnocentrism in light of these perspectives, and engage in a comparative analysis of complex social, economic and political structures.

In the experience perspective, a global citizen needs to have “the ability to integrate knowledge of the world, the personal self and other cultures in a capstone course”, examine one’s own cultural norms and practice and critically evaluate one’s own cultural perceptions [Ibid., p. 16].

All of these four perspectives require seven core competencies:

1. Ability to be thoughtful, open-minded and curious;

2. to live with the complexity, ambiguity and difficulty of modern life;

3. to participate responsibly and effectively in multiple communities (including the global community);

4. to integrate multiple bodies of knowledge to help solve complex problems;

5. to integrate discursive and non-discursive (e.g., music, art) forms of expression;

6. to participate in an ongoing common intellectual discourse without fear or prejudice; and

7. to practice critical thinking, writing and interpretation.

J. Neuliep (2006) emphasises that a competent global citizen needs to understand verbal and non-verbal scripts. Verbal scripts include language in the form of writing and speaking. Ability to speak another foreign language would facilitate a global citizen’s knowledge of another culture and the world. It is obvious that the ability to speak one or two or more foreign languages and the ability to understand non-verbal scripts would help the global personality broaden his or her vision, enhance cross-cultural understanding, facilitate her active participation in global affairs and function effectively and constructively in today’s interconnected world. J. Neuliep also suggests that the global citizen should develop the ability to examine one’s ethnocentric attitudes, racism and racial discrimination, that deter interaction with others. Awareness of racial discrimination and determination to eliminate it may be viewed as an important global competence.

The people of the world come from different races and different cultural backgrounds. They are different in skin colour, eye and hair colour, language, religion, values, beliefs, assumptions, traditions, nationality, behaviour, festivals and celebrations, ideas, thoughts, socio-political and economic systems, and ways of communication. This cultural diversity enriches our lives and helps people respect one another’s contribution to the advancement of the world. The main mission of global people is to keep our fragile world and to make it a little bit happier and harmonic place for living.

Date: 2015-12-17; view: 886