Global Citizenship
Convention 2022

Reconvening in a new era - High Impact Global Citizenship

The Global Citizenship Convention aims to provide a platform for Melton Fellows, Global Solver Accelerator participants, and partners from our Global Citizenship Hubs around the world to convene and connect, explore, exchange, and collaborate to further Global Citizenship and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Welcome to the ‘new and improved’ GCC! 

After the Covid-19 pandemic struck, paralyzing mobility, the Melton Foundation community could not meet in person on a global platform since the Global Citizenship Conference in Bangalore, in September 2019. Hence, the primary motive of the Global Citizenship Convention 2022 is to bring members of the community together again under the umbrella of the Melton Foundation’s new Global Citizenship Impact Model. 

With the intention to connect and empower global citizen peers from around the world, the rechristening of the Global Citizenship Conference as a ‘convention’ emphasizes a sharpened focus on productive interactions between young pioneers, practitioners, and experts, that spell the creation of collaborative solutions through creative thinking and paradigms. 

Thematic Background

The pandemic led to a vacuum in the field of hands-on projects, and collaboration across borders. It put issues such as lack of empowerment and adaptability under the spotlight. Attempting to start a fresh chapter in networking, the Global Citizenship Convention also finds itself coinciding with the 30th Year Anniversary of the Melton Foundation!

To mark this milestone, the Convention will be held under the overarching theme of ‘Connect, Empower and Transform’. It draws inspiration from the four pillars of the Global Citizenship Impact Model: self-development, co-creation, global thinking, and innovative action. Consequently, every session/event during the GCC will aim to address a (selection of) topic(s)/skills/competencies under the four pillars of the impact model while ensuring that all pillars are covered during the six days of the Convention.

Jena – A Global Citizenship Hub steeped in history

The city of Jena in Germany is one of our six Global Citizenship hubs. At Jena, we have previously hosted Global Citizenship Symposiums, Global Citizenship Conferences, and various other events, including New Fellow orientations and campus visits! It figures as a high-tech location, with over 16,000 employees in high-tech companies and technology-intensive services, contributing to innovations by the day. Melton Fellows from Jena, along with our partner university Friedrich Schiller Universität, have contributed immensely to the intercultural and enterprising fabric of the Melton Foundation, and have graciously agreed to host us this year too!

Our Purpose and Vision

The Global Citizenship Convention, under the banner of ‘Connect, Empower, and Transform’, aspires to create a holistic community experience, connect changemakers to grassroots organizations and facilitate a rich and diversified learning environment. It provides an intercultural ground to develop pathways for action while building meaningful partnerships. Consolidating the lessons of the past two years, it also seeks to enhance the virtual experience by employing hybrid mechanisms to increase visibility and accessibility. 

The Global Citizenship Convention is embedded in an experiential and peer-learning journey. It aims to convene the global community and also give participants a platform to contribute with their skills, ideas, and showcase innovations. As part of the Convention, they will not only explore the history and culture of the local area but also critically analyze and reflect upon their individual learnings by connecting them back to their own individual cultures and the meaning of a Global Citizen. To further their understanding of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, they will also team up with local project partners to explore and better understand the local challenges.

Our Global Citizenship Convention follows four primary purposes:

• To further the learning and leadership development of participants as global citizens and advocates of Global Citizenship under the proposed Global Citizenship Impact Model;
• To bring global citizenship to the ‘glocal’ level, by working on local aspects of global issues at the host university and surrounding local communities;
• To build the intercultural and global competency of participants through experiential learning. 
• To reconnect and strengthen the MF community.