I am a child of this earth.

My responsibilities and loyalty are to this earth.

My identity goes beyond geographical  and political borders. I belong to “humanity’ before I belong to any political,religious or social class. This is what it means to be a global citizen; to identify with people from every part of the world based on common values such as respect for human rights and diversity. To be empathetic, to advocate for the rights of people regardless of our different affiliations. This is not to mean that we denounce our national identities. Not at all. If anything, a good global citizen acknowledges their local culture, is patriotic and takes up responsibilities in his/her local community.

Recently, I had the pleasure of representing Kenya at the 4th Youth Leadership Workshop on Global Citizenship Education organised by UNESCO APCEIU in Seoul, South Korea. The workshop brought together 50 leaders from 46 countries in Africa, Latin America, Europe, Carribean, Arab States and the Asia Pacific regions to share and learn from each other.

To be able to interact with global youth leaders, to visit the most innovative city in the world and to finally learn about the history of Korean War from the people themselves was a great privilege. The workshop opened my mind to globalisation, human interconnectedness and interdependence but most importantly to understanding my role as a leader in achieving sustainable development. All these and more from the sessions on understanding the concept of global citizenship and global citizenship education to developing advocacy plans, study visits to Demilitarized Zone, 15th Eco Film Festival, HEYGROUND civic hub, cultural exchange and the GCED youth summit.

Nothing makes you feel more interconnected than the similarities when discussing the concepts of culture, religion, philosophy, peace and more with someone from a different continent. Like you read each others’ minds. Friendships first built on social media before the workshop were later cultivated during health breaks, pillow talks and the night tours through the city of Seoul. We danced in the rain at Gangnam, visited the temple on Buddha’s birthday, caught the night view of the entire city from the top of Namsam Seoul Tower, tried out the delicious street food at Myeongdong market and had a taste of Korean royalty at Changdeokgung Palace. Not to forget the people of Korea who, despite the language barrier were kind enough to start and keep conversations going. It was very interesting how when we went out sight seeing, we would look after each other like family. Aren’t we children of mother Earth anyway?  There is a lot of beauty in diversity, whether in thought or practice and together it enhances our potential to be better human beings.

As a P/CVE practitioner, I was keen on learning how other young people in different countries are tackling the issues of youth radicalisation and recruitment to extremist groups. Even though the dynamics are different, the factors that drive young people are similar; identity crisis, inequalities, marginalisation, religious ideologies among others. Violent extremism and terrorism is one of the biggest global security concerns. Not a day goes by that we do not hear of extremist groups attacks. Like all other global challenges such as climate change, inequalities and refugee crisis, the effects of terrorism can be felt by different countries. In one way or another we are interdependent, the sooner we embrace this, the better for us and our countries. What happens in my small town affects other people who are several miles away. On my study visit to the Eco-film festival, I watched a film on the effects of climate change on a country called Kiribati Island. Kiribati Island is a small country with a population of 100,000 people. The people of Kiribati live in fear that their country will be no more because of the effects of climate change. It is heartbreaking that a country that contributes little if any, to climate change faces extinction. Our decisions however small, play a huge role in the well being of this earth. We need to think of best practices of recycling and re use of waste products,  clean and renewable energy, proper disposal of plastics, conservation of our forests and parks if we want to save our planet.

Choices have consequences! Let us make them count.

Speaking of choices, during my stay in Seoul, I was able to share in depth on the decision of the people of South Korea to impeach their president Park Geun-hye in 2017 because of how deeply involved she was in corruption. Park was sentenced to 24 years in prison. Although a difficult process, the people impeached the President in a constitutional process that entailed peaceful protests. This was interesting for me, coming from a country where news of corruption scandals compete for airtime on national television and thieves are rewarded with higher political offices. I couldn’t help but admire and envy the courage and patriotism of the people of South Korea.

Maybe one day Kenyans will stand up against such atrocities. I look forward to that day when corrupt government officials will be sentenced to years in jail for abuse of power. To the day, we the people will take back our power and claim what is rightfully ours. Or when enjoyment of human rights will no longer be a privilege but a basic need. Most importantly, It will be a great time to be alive when everyone of us regardless of our nationalities, race, religious and political affiliations will be responsible enough for their environment, communities, power, be actively involved in citizenship and governance processes and bold enough to speak up against injustices.

That is what global citizenship is all about! Taking up responsibility for action beyond borders! Making our small actions matter.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to travel to Seoul, to meet the most inspiring young leaders from around the world, to search and finally find the global citizen in me🌍