Be A Global Citizen!

This is the third interview with a VCE alumnus and it is a fantastic conversation with Alex Munro. Alex is a teacher who has experience in special education and taught at an international school in Bangkok, Thailand. For the episode, he shares some of his educational background and his views on global citizenship. In particular, we discuss the issues of American exceptionalism and the racial divid...

Gandhi, King, and Ikeda have contributed to transforming society and the world through non violence. What can be said about the contributions of each one to build hope for the future? In what ways does the term 'community builder' connect to global citizenship? Let's find out on this episode! Here is a link to the video I reference in the episode: https://youtu.be/l9VexOP9PDg

The current moment in American history is one of heightened racial tensions and political polarization. However, the deep roots of discrimination and racism date back to the United States' founding. Let' fast forward a bit though to the 1950s and 60s. The work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and many other civil rights activists sought new pathways toward the expansion of democracy. With the vast ex...

What allows a person to kill? What enables humans to treat the planet like a commodity? What stokes the fear we feel as a nation in moments of crisis? The theory of abstraction helps frame these important questions. Moreover, the process of 'Othering' is dangerous and leds to acts of dehumanization. In this short episode, I introduce Gabriel Marcel's theory of abstraction and discuss the views of...

Here is the second interview from the incredible Value Creating Education (VCE) cohort that I graduated with. Today I speak with Nitesh Sil about his experiences and knowledge on the topic of global citizenship. Not only are we graduates from the same masters program, but also from the same undergraduate program at Soka University of America. We share experiences living abroad, the idea of interco...

For over four decades, Ikeda has engaged numerous world leaders and experts as a way to explore new models and approaches to spreading seeds of hope and change. Many of these dialogues get published into book form and for today's episode we will look at his 2002 dialogue with economist and futurist Dr. Hazel Henderson. Enjoy this discussion on Ikeda's approaches to these dialogues, their insights...

Sustainability has indeed become a buzz word in our current times. We take for granted just how important this term is for addressing larger global concerns like the climate change. The term successfully merges the economic, social, and environmental agendas of development to establish a new precedent for global cooperation and humanity's own self preservation. Let's begin by introducing this term...

Let's dive into more episodes and interviews of Be A Global Citizen! with Season 2. I'm excited to jump back into the swing of things with weekly episodes on this increasingly relevant and important topic of global citizenship. Stay tuned and enjoy! :)

The annual peace proposals that Ikeda writes to the UN are significant in our discussions on Soka global citizenship. On today’s episode, I speak with Dr. Andrew Gebert who has extensive experience and knowledge about Ikeda’s peace proposals. For many years, Andrew has worked to translate them from their original Japanese to English versions. Through this conversation I had with Andrew, I hope tha...

We were all poets at one point in our lives. The carefree demeanor of a child and the insatiable curiosity that comes with youth are emblematic of this spirit. And then as we grow up something happens... Some disconnect between ourselves and the nature. A philosophical void or empty yearning for connectedness and love? What Ikeda calls the poetic spirit is our topic for today's episode. Learn abou...

I'm excited to kick off a new series of interviews on the podcast with the help of my former classmates. In 2019, I graduated with a masters of education in 'value creating education for global citizenship' as part of the first cohort. There are several other amazing individuals who graduated with me and one of them is Lynn Harper. She is a fellow educator with a wealth of teaching experience in K...

History is alive! It is happening right now. And no, we are not doomed for! In this episode, I introduce the theme of history and how it is vital for global citizenship. I reference Yuval Noah Harari's book 'Sapiens: A brief history of humankind' to offer greater perspective about the current course of humankind. Also, I bring in some exerpts from Ikeda to compare how each one of them approaches t...

The act of writing a peace proposal is powerful. When you sustain this action over the course of 38 years, you can imagine that people will take notice. In this episode we look at Daisaku Ikeda's annual peace proposals to the United Nations. As this episode is being published on January 26, it coincides nicely with the submission of Ikeda's 38th peace proposal. Find out what all the fuss is about,...

Are you a competitive person? Would you agree that our current notions of competition are positive indicators of a society that values each person? This episode introduces Makiguchi's concept of humanitarian competition while challenging the values that underpin cut-throat competition from the military, political, and economic realms. There is a better way forward! There is a more humanitarian app...

There is a movement happening and you are a part of it! Let's learn more about what the Soka movement has to say on global citizenship. This episode serves as a brief introduction to the Soka progenitors and introduces a new concept that Ikeda has written about: world citizenship. Enjoy!

When was the last time you did community service? How would you define it? And how can we understand the role of global citizenship through our efforts to engage the community? I share a recent scholarship essay I wrote that explores the theme of community service and describes some of my own efforts to engage in it. There is much to say about all of this, so let's take it slow and simply focus on...

What does value creation mean in your life? How does one apply value creation? Is value creation the right framework to address the current realities of this pandemic? During the 16th annual Ikeda Forum, the theme of value creation was explored through online dynamics and an intergenerational panelist discussion. In this episode I share my thoughts on the online event and the theme in relation to...

Responsibility, Intensity, Creativity: Global Citizenship Education and the Crises of 2020. This was the title of Lehigh University's online global citizenship education conference. I participated in some of the many sessions that were held on December 10 and 11, 2020. In this episode I share my thoughts about some of these sessions and how they relate to the theme of global citizenship.

Learning from our differences is hard work. It can be frustrating when we are faced with a person who does not seem to share the same beliefs and values that we hold. What can be done to surmount these constraints that society places on us? Well, the Cynics of old can tell us more about how cosmopolitanism helped challenge conventional norms. I look at its history and definition as well as provide...

Let's begin to unpack the question: What is global citizenship? There are many notions of what is global citizenship and this episode offers greater insight into the etymology of this neologism. What do we mean by 'global' and 'citizenship' ? What possibilities are out there to transform our notion of citizenship into something more suitable for the great challenges we face as a society?

In this episode, we look at what Ikeda views to be the 3 essential qualities of a global citizen. The main reference for our discussion comes from Ikeda's 1996 speech at Columbia University, Teachers College. Enjoy!

In this episode, I discuss how Daisaku Ikeda embodies the idea of a 'citizen of the world.' From his humble origins to the numerous, decades-long peace building initiatives he has done, Ikeda has shown through his actions what global citizenship looks like in practice. This introduction to Ikeda serves to anchor our upcoming episode on his thoughts on global citizenship, principally the three qual...