PSU Urdaneta Campus

College of Computing

Complex Analysis in Contemporary World

Presented to General Education Department

Submitted by:
Mark Jaysie Olimpiada
Jerison Lopez
Juan Miguel Almacen

Submitted to:
Mr. Aristeo Aquino
Lesson 6: Global Divides
The Global Divides: The North and South

The North-South Divide is a socio-economic and political categorization of countries.

The Cold-War-era generalization places countries in two distinct groups; The North and the
South. The North is comprised of all First World countries and most Second World countries
while the South is comprised of Third World countries. This categorization ignores the
geographic position of countries with some countries in the southern hemisphere such as
Australia and New Zealand being labeled as part of the North.

GLOBAL NORTH

- these countries are basically rich countries where they experienced advancements in modern
technology and all services are accessible.

Top 10 countries that have the best work-life balance (2019)

1. Netherlands 6. Lithuania

2. Italy 7. Norway

3. Denmark 8. Belgium

4. Spain 9. German

5. France 10. Sweden South

GLOBAL SOUTH

- poor and developing countries

- these countries are left behind. Even access to basic social services is a matter of privilege.
Many places remain stricken by underdevelopment, poverty, and inequality.

Top 10 world’s poorest countries

1. DR Congo 6. Haiti

2. Mozambique 7. Ethiopia

3. Uganda 8. Tanzania

4. Tajikistan 9. Kyrgyzstan

5. Yemen 10. Uzbekistan

The gap between the ‘North’ and ‘South’

Despite very significant development gains globally which have raised many millions of
people out of absolute poverty, there is substantial evidence that inequality between the world’s
richest and poorest countries is widening. In 1820 western Europe's per capita income was
three times bigger than Africa’s but by 2000 it was thirteen times as big. In addition, in 2013,
Oxfam reported that the richest 85 people in the world owned the same amount of wealth as the
poorest half of the world’s population.

Today the world is much more complex than the Brandt Line depicts as many poorer
countries have experienced significant economic and social development. However, inequality
within countries has also been growing and some commentators now talk of a ‘Global North’
and a ‘Global South’ referring respectively to richer or poorer communities which are found both
within and between countries. For example, whilst India is still home to the largest
concentration of poor people in a single nation it also has a very sizable middle class and a very
rich elite.

There are many causes for these inequalities including the availability of natural
resources; different levels of health and education; the nature of a country’s economy and its
industrial sectors; international trading policies and access to markets; how countries are
governed and international relationships between countries; conflict within and between
countries; and a country’s vulnerability to natural hazards and climate change.

Contemporary Global Divide

How can we consider if the country is under Global North or Global South? It is based on the
level of development or improvement that the country achieved, to be specific… is what we
called GDP per capita (Gross Domestic Product per Capita)

 Average income per person

 This measure of income is a useful way for comparing levels of development.
 Increase in GDP is caused by increase in national productivity.
 In terms of development, using GDP per capita approach was about following the rich
industrialized countries.
 Income Inequality- a measure of how the wealth in the economy is distributed among the
population. Economic Growth is a plus for poverty alleviation, but only when inequality is
constant. Income Inequality is an important part because it tells about the conditions in
the society. Income Inequality is also a constraint on development

Poverty

 Is defined as an extremely low level of income.

Types of Poverty

 Absolute Poverty
-refers to income below minimum level required for physical survival. (1 dollar per day)
 Moderate Poverty
-is typically an income of 2 dollars per day, a level in which basic needs are barely met
but survival is not actually threatened.
Lesson 7: Asian Regionalism

What Is Regionalism?

Regionalism is defined as a political ideology that favors a specific region over a greater
area. It usually results due to political separations, religious geography, cultural boundaries,
linguistic regions, and managerial divisions. Regionalism emphasizes on developing the
administrative power and swaying the available or some inhabitants of a region. Activists of
regionalism claim that instituting the governing bodies and civil authorities within an area, at the
expense of a national regime, will significantly increase local populations by improving the local
economies through the distribution of resources and execution of local policies and strategies.

Asian Regionalism

Asian regionalism is the product of economic interaction, not political planning. As a

result of successful, outwardoriented growth strategies, Asian economies have grown not only
richer, but also closer together. In recent years, new technological trends have further
strengthened ties among them, as have the rise of the PRC and India and the region’s growing
weight in the global economy. But adversity also played a role. The 1997/98 financial crisis dealt
a severe setback to much of the region, highlighting Asia’s shared interests and common
vulnerabilities and providing an impetus for regional cooperation. The challenge now facing
Asia’s policy makers is simply put yet incredibly complex: Where markets have led, how should
governments follow?

In the early stages of Asia’s economic takeoff, regional integration proceeded slowly.
East Asian economies, in particular, focused on exporting to developed country markets rather
than selling to each other. Initially, they specialized in simple, labor-intensive manufactures. As
the more advanced among them graduated to more sophisticated products, less developed
economies filled the gap that they left behind. The Japanese economist Akamatsu (1962)
famously compared this pattern of development to flying geese. In this model, economies
moved in formation not because they were directly linked to each other, but because they
followed similar paths. Since these development paths hinged on sequential—and sometimes
competing—ties to markets outside the region, they did not initially yield strong economic links
within Asia itself.

Now, though, Asian economies are becoming closely intertwined. This is not because
the region’s development strategy has changed; it remains predominantly nondiscriminatory and
outward-oriented. Rather, interdependence is deepening because Asia’s economies have
grown large and prosperous enough to become important to each other, and because their
patterns of production increasingly depend on networks that span several Asian economies and
involve wideranging exchanges of parts and components among them. Asia is at the center of
the development of such production networks because it has efficient transport and
communication links, as well as policies geared to supporting trade. As these new production
patterns tie Asian economies closer together, they also boost the international competitiveness
of the region’s firms.
 Against this background, the financial crisis that swept through Asia in 1997/98—in this
chapter, referred to simply as “the crisis”—put the region’s interdependence into harsh new
focus. Emerging Asian economies that had opened up their financial markets—Indonesia, the
Republic of Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand—were worst hit, but nearly all Asian
economies were eventually affected. Most then used the crisis as an opportunity to pursue
wide-ranging reforms in finance as well as in other areas of weakness that the crisis exposed.
Asia emerged with a greater appreciation of its shared interests and the value of regional
cooperation. Since the crisis, Asia has become not only more integrated, but also more willing to
pull together.

The Difference Between Regionalism, Autonomism, and Nationalism

The three terms usually are interconnected concepts but they differ in their meanings
and in some cases, they are antonyms to each other. For example regionalism in Spain is said
to have strong association with nationalism. On the other hand, in Italy regionalism means
federalism but is the antonym of “nationalism”. Federalism is well-defined as the distribution of
power in a government among a central authority and the component units; this is criminal
behavior and is thus the complete opposite of nationalism. Movements or parties that are
championing for liberation repeatedly demand for autonomy. Therefore, autonomism can be
defined as a movement or belief towards self-governance. There are several regional parties
across the globe, but the most recognized ones include the Coalition Avenir Quebec and Parti
Québécois located in Quebec, Canada and the National Liberation Movement of Angola. It’s not
necessarily that political parties that are regional are always campaigning for greater autonomy
or federalism. Most of these parties mostly cannot get enough votes to form a government or be
politically influential. They, therefore, create coalitions or seek to be part of the government. In
most nations, the advance of regionalist legislation might be a preface to additional demands for
bigger autonomy and even full split-up, especially when tribal, traditional and financial
differences are present.

What Are The Merits Of Regionalism?

Since regionalism is a political ideology that only favors a specific region, its impact may
affect the entire society or just a segment of the community. Regionalism can impact a region’s
economy through various ways. A well-formulated trade bloc can raise productivity and
economic welfare in its associate countries by enhancing consumer choice and growing the
competition that producers encounter. Dropping tariff barriers expands markets and gives more
efficient producers access into states where their prices had been exaggerated by duties and
other trade barriers.However, it is important to note that trade blocs easily add up instead of
removing distortions and trade efficiency.

In regionalism, it is essential to note that economic profits do not only come from trade
as some benefits may also come as a result of cooperation in investment and financial activities.
Economic impacts of regionalism can be categorized into different classes, those effects arising
from trade, effects arising due to investment and monetary cooperation. Trade-related
consequences have its positive impact in that regional integration entails the promotion of free
trade among the associate countries of a local organization. The main reason for the benefits
from trade is that the universal, unrestricted trade permits buyers and organizations to buy from.
the cheapest source of supply; this ensures that production is located according to comparative
advantage.

Importance of Regionalism and It’s Impact to Asia and the World

A positive, dynamic and outward-looking Asian regionalism could bring great benefits not
just to the Asian region, but to the whole world. It could help sustain the region's continued
expansion and self reliance, and underpin its growing stability, and with the right policies
between Asian nations help reduce inequality.

Benefits of Regionalism and Drawbacks

“More wins for everyone”

That’s the biggest benefit of regionalism, according to Clay Walker, CEO of NETWORKS —
Sullivan Partnership. But he adds this condition, “When done properly.”

Most drawbacks to regionalism, Walker said, are connected to how a regional initiative is
executed.

For example, the effort must be fair and inclusive, involving the proper people. It must also
honor each of the partner communities’ own identity and branding efforts and find a common
message that doesn’t compete with any of those brands.

The drawbacks of regionalism include the possibility for each individual city or county to lose
their respective independence and/or identity.” Jenny Brock, Johnson City vice mayor: “The
outside world does not see city or county boundary lines when they are making a decision to
locate in our area.

Lesson 8: Intercontinental Drift: Culture, Media, and Globalization

A Drift

Drifting generally means carried slowly by a current of air or water.

Continental drift is the hypothesis that the Earth’s continent’s have moved over
geologic time relative to each other, thus appearing to have “drifted” across the ocean bed.
Theidea of continental drift has since been subsumed into the science of plate tectonics, which
studies the movement of the continents as they ride on plates of the Earth’s lithosphere.

Drift is often conceptualized as a primary process of culture change. Whether or not

perceived as a cultural analog of biology’s genetic drift or similar sampling phenomena, “drift” is
generally vaguely defined and/or used nonproductively. This in correct usage often masks the
proper processes, which might more clearly elucidate particular change phenomena. This paper
posits, by reference to examples of change, a clear exposition of “cultural drift” as a necessary
contribution toward a unified genetic analog model of culture change.

CULTURAL DRIFT – the slow, eventual, unregulated altering of a society, with its unique
traditions, morals, and behavioral trends, in time. Commonly referred to as culture drift.

Cultural drift is a process of slow change within a culture that results from disproportional
loss of an old or gain of a new cultural element or practice within the culture. Fads and styles
are examples of cultural drift.

Globalization of Culture

Cultural globalization refers to the transmission of ideas, meanings and values around
the world in such a way as to extend and intensify social relations.

This process is marked by the common consumption of cultures that have been diffused
by the Internet, popular culture media, and international travel.

This has added to processes of commodity exchange and colonization which have a
longer history of carrying cultural meaning around the globe. The circulation of cultures enables
individuals to partake in extended social relations that cross national and regional borders.

The creation and expansion of such social relations is not merely observed on a material
level.

Cultural globalization involves the formation of shared norms and knowledge with which
people associate their individual and collective cultural identities. It brings increasing
interconnectedness among different populations and cultures.

Cultural globalization, phenomenon by which the experience of everyday life, as

influenced by the diffusion of commodities and ideas, reflects a standardization of cultural
expressions around the world.

Although homogenizing influences do indeed exist, they are far from creating anything
akin to a single world culture.

Basic Tenets

1. Diffusion of ideas and cultures amongst all of the civilizations of the world.
2. Trend that will eventually make all of human experience and customs the same since all
cultures are coming together into one.
3. Occurs in everyday life, through wireless communication, electronic commerce, popular
culture, and international trade.
4. Attempt to promote a Western lifestyle and possibly Americanize the world.

Contributing factors

1. New technology and form of communication around the world help to integrate different

Cultures into each other

 2. Transportation technologies and services along with mass migration and individual travel

Contribute to this form of globalization allowing for cross-cultural exchanges

3. Infrastructures and institutionalization embedded change (e.g., teaching languages such

as English across the world through educational systems and training of teachers).

Benefits of cultural globalization

1. Allows for profits to companies and nations

2. Offers opportunities for development and advancement in economics, technology,
information and usually impacts developed countries
3. Less stereotypes and misconception about other people and cultures
4. Capacity to defend one’s values and ideas globally
5. Generates interdependent companies amongst companies
6. Access to other cultures

Cultural globalization, phenomenon by which the experience of everyday life, as

influenced by the diffusion of commodities and ideas, reflects a standardization of cultural
expressions around the world. Propelled by the efficiency or appeal of wireless communications,
electronic commerce, popular culture, and international travel, globalization has been seen as a
trend toward homogeneity that will eventually make human experience everywhere essentially
the same. This appears, however, to be an overstatement of the phenomenon. Although
homogenizing influences do indeed exist, they are far from creating anything akin to a single
world culture.

Emergence of global subcultures

Some observers argue that a rudimentary version of world culture is taking shape
among certain individuals who share similar values, aspirations, or lifestyles. The result is a
collection of elite groups whose unifying ideals transcend geographical limitations.

“Davos” culture

One such cadre, according to political scientist Samuel Huntington in The Clash of
Civilizations (1998), comprises an elite group of highly educated people who operate in the
rarefied domains of international finance, media, and diplomacy. Named after the Swiss town
that began hosting annual meetings of the World Economic Forum in 1971, these “Davos”
insiders share common beliefs about individualism, democracy, and market economics. They
are said to follow a recognizable lifestyle, are instantly identifiable anywhere in the world, and
feel more comfortable in each other’s presence than they do among their less-sophisticated
compatriots.

The international “faculty club”

The globalization of cultural subgroups is not limited to the upper classes. Expanding on
the concept of Davos culture, sociologist Peter L. Berger observed that the globalization of
Euro-American academic agendas and lifestyles has created a worldwide “faculty club”—an
international network of people who share similar values, attitudes, and research goals. While
not as wealthy or privileged as their Davos counterparts, members of this international faculty
club wield tremendous influence through their association with educational institutions
worldwide and have been instrumental in promoting feminism, environmentalism, and human
rights as global issues. Berger cited the antismoking movement as a case in point: the
movement began as a singular North American preoccupation in the 1970s andsubsequently
spread to other parts of the world, traveling along the contours of academe’s global network.

Nongovernmental organizations

Another global subgroup comprises “cosmopolitans” who nurture an intellectual

appreciation for local cultures. As pointed out by Swedish anthropologist Ulf Hannerz, this group
advocates a view of global culture based not on the “replication of uniformity” but on the
“organization of diversity.” Often promoting this view are nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs) that lead efforts to preserve cultural traditions in the developing world. By the beginning
of the 21st century, institutions such as Cultural Survival were operating on a world scale,
drawing attention to indigenous groups who are encouraged to perceive themselves as “first
peoples”—a new global designation emphasizing common experiences of exploitation among
indigenous inhabitants of all lands. By sharpening such identities, these NGOs have globalized
the movement to preserve indigenous world cultures.

Globalization of Media

The media industry is, in many ways, perfect for globalization, or the spread of global
trade without regard for traditional political borders. As discussed above, the low marginal costs
of media mean that reaching a wider market creates much larger profit margins for media
companies. Because information is not a physical good, shipping costs are generally
inconsequential. Finally, the global reach of media allows it to be relevant in many different
countries.

However, some have argued that media is actually a partial cause of globalization,
rather than just another globalized industry. Media is largely a cultural product, and the transfer
of such a product is likely to have an influence on the recipient’s culture. Increasingly,
technology has also been propelling globalization. Technology allows for quick communication,
fast and coordinated transport, and efficient mass marketing, all of which have allowed
globalization—especially globalized media—to take hold.

Globalized Media Culture and Market

Much globalized media content comes from the West, particularly from the United
States. Driven by advertising, U.S. culture and media have a strong consumerist bent (meaning
that the ever-increasing consumption of goods is encouraged as an economic virtue), thereby
possibly causing foreign cultures to increasingly develop consumerist ideals. Therefore, the
globalization of media could not only provide content to a foreign country, but may also create
demand for U.S. products. Some believe that this will “contribute to a one-way transmission of
ideas and values that result in the displacement of indigenous cultures (Santos, 2001).”

Globalization as a world economic trend generally refers to the lowering of economic

trade borders, but it has much to do with culture as well. Just as transfer of industry and
technology often encourages outside influence through the influx of foreign money into the
economy, the transfer of culture opens up these same markets. As globalization takes hold and
a particular community becomes more like the United States economically, this community may
also come to adopt and personalize U.S. cultural values. The outcome of this spread can be
homogenization (the local culture becomes more like the culture of the United States) or
heterogenization (aspects of U.S. culture come to exist alongside local culture, causing the
culture to become more diverse), or even both, depending on the specificsituation (Rantanen,
2005).

Making sense of this range of possibilities can be difficult, but it helps to realize that a
mix of many different factors is involved. Because of cultural differences, globalization of media
follows a model unlike that of the globalization of other products. On the most basic level, much
of media is language and culture based and, as such, does not necessarily translate well to
foreign countries. Thus, media globalization often occurs on a more structural level, following
broader “ways of organizing and creating media (Mirza, 2009).” In this sense, a media company
can have many different culturally specific brands and still maintain an economically globalized
corporate structure.

Vertical Integration and Globalization

Because globalization has as much to do with the corporate structure of a media

company as with the products that a media company produces, vertical integration in
multinational media companies becomes a necessary aspect of studying globalized media.
Many large media companies practice vertical integration: Newspaper chains take care of their
own reporting, printing, and distribution; television companies control their own production and
broadcasting; and even small film studios often have parent companies that handle international
distribution.

A media company often benefits greatly from vertical integration and globalization.
Because of the proliferation of U.S. culture abroad, media outlets are able to use many of the
same distribution structures with few changes. Because media rely on the speedy ability to react
to current events and trends, a vertically integrated company can do all of this in a globalized
rather than a localized marketplace; different branches of the company are readily able to
handle different markets. Further, production values for single-country distribution are basically
the same as those for multiple countries, so vertical integration allows, for example, a single film
studio to make higher-budget movies than it may otherwise be able to produce without a
distribution company that has as a global reach.

In many ways, globalization presents legitimate concerns about the endangerment of

indigenous culture. Yet simple concerns over the transfer of culture are not the only or even the
biggest worries caused by the spread of American culture and values.
Lesson 14: Global Food Security

 Food security is defined as the availability of food and one's access to it. A household is
considered food secure when its occupants do not live in hunger or fear of starvation.
 The World Food Summit of 1996 defined food security as existing "when all people at all
times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active
life". Africa has the worst food security
 the concept of food security is defined as including both physical and economic access
to food that meets people's dietary needs as well as their food preferences.
 As cited by International Food Policy Research Institute, Food security, as defined by the
United Nations’ Committee on World Food Security, means that all people,have
physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets
their food preferences and dietary needs for an active and healthy life.
 Food Security is when families are able to afford and obtain enough nutritious food. A
family is food secure when its members do not live in hunger or fear of hunger.
 food insecurity is often linked to poverty.
 Many of the world’s major challenges – climate change, instability in financial markets,
food and water insecurity, infectious diseases, migration, war and terrorism are
Complex, interdependent and borderless.

Food availability is achieved when sufficient quantities of food are consistently

available to all individuals within a country. Such food can be supplied through household
production, other domestic outputs, commercial imports or food assistance. 

Food access is ensured when households and all individuals within them have
adequate resources to obtain appropriate food for a nutritional diet. Access depends upon
income available to the household, on the distribution of income within the household and on
the price of food. 

Food utilization is the proper biological use of food, requiring a diet providing sufficient
energy and essential nutrients, potable water, and adequate sanitation. Effective food utilization
depends in large measure on knowledge within the household of food storage and processing
techniques, basic principles of nutrition and proper childcare.

Food security is a public good

Government's first task

Government’s first task is to provide “the public goods needed by societies to remain
peaceful and prosperous, goods that are unlikely to be produced in sufficient quantity by private
markets alone or by non-governmental institutions” (Paarlberg 2002).

Public goods are goods with benefits that are available to all (i.e., they are “non-
excludable”) and not diminished in their availability even when consumed (i.e., they are “non-
rival” or “non-subtractable”). Paarlberg argues that provision of public goods is only the first task
of government, and would include some non-public (sub tractable) goods as well; in this
category he includes food security.
Why the poor are food-insecure

Food insecurity result from various factors, some of them generic, such as poor
governance and lack of institutional support21. Food insecurity can be transitory (when it occurs
in times of crisis), seasonal or chronic (when it occurs on a continuing basis). Most often, food
insecurity is owing unequal distribution… to regions, countries, households and individuals.
Indeed worldwide there is currently plenty of food – too much sometimes – but the poor are still
food insecure.

Other factors relate to the different elements of food security already mentioned:
unavailability of food because of drought, flood, crop failure or other disasters; lack of access to
food owing inadequate purchasing power; and poor utilization of food because of poor health,
poor sewage, or debilitating disease such as AIDS.

But lack of income and access to adequate incomes is paramount, and is closely related
to asset poverty. The poor have few assets. They benefit from growth only when it raises
returns to the few assets they hold. For the poor to benefit from growth in the agriculture sector
will require effective mechanisms for the transparent allocation of rights to land and other
natural resources as well as training in the sustainable use of these resources. The policy and
legal processes by which poor people, especially women, gain access to and maintain security
over land are vital (DFID 2002). The same can be said for common property resources such as
water, forests and rangelands. Too often the entitlements of poor people have been eroded.

Food security is a social and economic good

Agricultural economists have maintained that greater concentration on small farmers

leads to faster growth rates of both aggregate economic output and employment (Johnson and
Kilby 1975; Eicher and Staatz 1984). Nevertheless, as already noted other analysts argue that
production-focused service delivery directed solely at the poor as producers in isolated areas
will yield low and probably diminishing returns (Ellis 1998 and 1999; Farrington, Christoplos,
Kidd and Beckman 2002; Berdegu and Escobar 2002; and Orr and Orr 2002).

“Hunger incurs huge economic cost” (Diouf 2002): “one-point loss of annual rate of
economic growth, with loss of productivity, higher incidence of disease, and greater vulnerability
of people, especially children”. Meanwhile, official development assistance continues to fall
each year and the proportion to agriculture and rural development has shrunk by 50 percent
since 1990. The transfer of funds from the OECD countries to the rural populations of the
developing countries amounts to some eight billion dollars per year, against over 300 billion to
their own rural populations

Additional investment required to achieve the objectives of food security will have to
come mainly from the private sector. As the FAO Director General notes, “All the studies have
shown that very few countries have achieved rapid economic growth without preceding or
accompanying agricultural growth. Local entrepreneurs and multinationals need to be involved
in the construction and development of such an economic and political environment” (Diouf
2002). Multi-sectoral cooperation is essential.

Importance of Global Food Security

Growth in the agriculture sector has been found, on average, to be at least twice as
effective in reducing poverty as growth in other sectors. Food insecurity – often rooted in
poverty – decreases the ability of countries to develop their agricultural markets and economies.

Access to quality, nutritious food is fundamental to human existence. Secure access to

food can produce wide ranging positive impacts, including:

 Economic growth and job creation

 Poverty reduction
 Trade opportunities
 Increased global security and stability
 Improved health and healthcare

The challenge

Food security occurs when all people are able to access enough safe and nutritious food
to meet their requirements for a healthy life, in ways the planet can sustain into the future.
However, food security faces a number of challenges across both production and consumption
which research will be essential to solve.

Many countries are facing the double burden of hunger and undernutrition alongside
overweight and obesity, with one in three people across the globe currently suffering from some
form of malnutrition (ref 1). Indeed it is not unusual to find people with different forms of
malnutrition living side-by-side in one country, in one community, or even in the same
household.

The prevalence rates of overweight, obesity and diet-related non-communicable

diseases (NCDs) such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, certain cancers and type II diabetes
(ref 2), are increasing in every region, in both developed and developing countries. Globally
there are now more people who are overweight or obese than underweight, with the two
combined accounting for more than half of the world population: a new normal (ref 3). The
estimated cost to the world economy of disease and death from overweight and obesity is $2
trillion (ref 2).

At the same time, around 795 million people face hunger on a daily basis and more than
two billion people lack vital micronutrients (e.g. iron, zinc, vitamin A) (ref 1), affecting their health
and life expectancy. Nearly a quarter of all children aged under five today are stunted, with
diminished physical and mental capacities, and less than a third of all young infants in 60 low-
and middle-income countries meet the minimum dietary diversity standards needed for growth.

Climate change will only make things worse as elevated levels of CO2 reduce the
nutritional content of grains, tubers and legumes, affecting key nutrients such as zinc and iron
(ref 4). The estimated impact of undernutrition on gross domestic product (GDP) is 11% every
year – more than the annual economic downturn caused by the global financial crisis (ref 1).

A growing population means more mouths to feed. The expanding global population is
getting wealthier, and richer people tend to eat more and demand food that is resource intensive
to produce, particularly meat and dairy.

It has been estimated that we need to produce more food in the next 35 years than we
have ever produced in human history, given the projected increases in world population, and on
the basis that rising incomes will continue to change diets.

A major challenge is understanding how can we re-design the food system to be healthy,
sustainable, and more resilient to climate change, helping to meet both the Sustainable
Development Goals and the Paris Agreement.

The Global Food Security programme brings together the major UK public funders to
address these challenges, increasing coordination and collaboration on research and facilitating
its translation into policy and practice.

Lesson 15: Global Citizenship

What is global citizenship?

Global citizenship is about the shared human experience. It acknowledges and

celebrates that, wherever we come from and wherever we live, we are here together. Our well-
being and success are ultimately interdependent. We have more to learn from one another than
to fear about our future.

Global citizenship is also about shared values and shared responsibility. Global citizens
understand that local events are significantly shaped and affected by global and remote events,
and vice-versa. They champion fundamental human rights above any national law or identity,
and social contracts that preserve elements of equality among all people.

Global citizenship is not the same as globalization. Globalization — the process by

which organizations develop international influence or operate on an international scale — is
driven by economics, business and money. It’s about the flow of products, capital, people and
information. Global citizenship, on the other hand, is driven by identity and values. Global
citizens build bridges, mitigate risk and safeguard humanity. While globalization is under hot
debate today, we have never needed global citizens more than now.

At first glance, global citizenship seems like an abstract concept. What does it mean to
be a global citizen anyway? Global citizenship doesn’t do away with passports or borders, and it
isn’t a legal status. Still, according to a BBC World Service poll, many people are increasingly
identifying themselves as global citizens rather than national citizens.
So, what does it mean to be a global citizen?

Defined by OXFAM, “A global citizen is someone who is aware of and understands the
wider world – and their place in it. They take an active role in their community, and work with
others to make our planet more equal, fair, and sustainable.”

Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, if you’re taking actions that are good for the
greater world, like maintaining social distance, you’re a global citizen.

Global citizens…

1. Know generally how the world works

2. Can contextualize their local community within our global one
3. And actively collaborate with diverse people (even virtually!) to improve the state of the
world.

Being a global citizen means understanding that global ideas and solutions must still fit
the complexities of local contexts and cultures, and meet each community’s specific needs and
capacities. As OXFAM notes in one of their helpful, practical guides to global citizenship, it is not
just about distant places and peoples. Instead, global citizenship involves “exploring local-global
connections and our views, values and assumptions.” Sound familiar? Intercultural exchange
enables just such exploration and examination of how we think, feel, and act across cultures,
countries, and environments. Global citizens prize diversity – they value having multiple
standpoints from which to consider an issue, increasing the chances of coming up with creative,
effective solutions to humanity’s most pressing problems.

Why is global citizenship important?

It encourages collaboration across typical divides. It’s easy to wear blinders and look out
for one’s own, but global citizenship changes the meaning of “one’s own.” A global citizen
chooses to remove barriers instead of creating them.

Global citizenship helps people see their morals as relative to their cultures and
backgrounds while driving people to reckon with their differences so they can work together to
ensure a sustainable future for humanity. It stimulates healthy debate and strengthens creative
problem-solving skills. Global citizens appreciate the variety of perspectives that exist in the
world.

Global citizens apply knowledge and empathy to real-life problems and situations. They
are grounded in action and impact. Global citizenship instills confidence that people can change
the world. It teaches learners to “take informed, reflective action and have their voices heard.”
(Education for Global Citizenship: A guide for schools, OXFAM).

It fosters the skill of listening. Listening to the needs of a community. Learning by

listening, rather than speaking or projecting.
 It encourages people to question and challenge inequality both in their communities and
on a global scale. Global citizens passionately support social justice and sustainable practices.
They are champions of a more secure and fair future for all on our planet.

We need global citizens and solidarity now more than ever.

Why does global citizenship matter?

Global citizens are not born; they are created. Children do not have an innate
understanding of their shared humanity; they learn this over time. The importance of education
and enabling global perspectives cannot be understated.

Historically, global citizenship was rooted in a common desire to prevent war. Common
reasoning was that the more we knew about each other, the more likely we would ensure
peace, progress and prosperity. More recently, the Human Genome Project has shown us — for
the first time in human history — that scientifically, we are all one. New technologies also enable
us to connect with more people in more ways than ever before, allowing us to discover our
similarities and differences, better understand our interdependencies, and expand our
worldviews.