Global Citizenship embodies the spirit of an individual to be an agent of change by tapping into the collective capacity of humankind to solve local problems with a global mindset. Our virtual week of action from 17-25 April embraced the spirit of Global Citizenship!
Many challenges such as poverty, climate change, or systemic discrimination seem too overwhelming for individuals to make a difference. However, it is often the little things that create ripple effects that can bring great progress. Taking a global mindset when dealing with problems allows for new perspectives and ideas on how to approach a challenge. Bringing diverse perspectives together triggers innovation.
The real strength of Global Citizenship lies in the fact that it ties together nationalities, cultures, and personalities in the pursuit of the common good whilst keeping its distinctive traits intact. Much potential lies in taking a collaborative approach in dealing with the challenges we face.
Over the course of a week, we curated a host of virtual activities ranging from panel discussions, TownHalls, an Ideation Marathon, and local grassroots initiatives!
In a series of carefully curated activities, we explored the practical dimension of Global Citizenship! Through dynamic and interactive sessions, we worked collectively to solve today’s challenges. Using the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as a framework, we pursued opportunities to make a difference.
Curious about the sessions that made the Week what it was and our takeaways from it?
The full event schedule is available here – a 7-day long ride of Global Citizenship action!
Our most sought-after, unique, and open-to-all sessions of the Global Citizenship Week 2021!
Confronting Discrimination2020 witnessed many people and organizations declaring themselves as allies for the cause to condemn racism and other forms of discrimination.
In an attempt to confront discrimination in all forms, we inaugurated our Virtual Global Citizenship Week 2021 with an Anti-Discrimination Townhall.
Inspirational educators, trainers, and activists in the exploration of how individuals and organizations can successfully fight discrimination together!
Global Citizenship is a concept which intertwines our identity with the interconnected, interdependent world of today.
Together with experienced Global Citizenship practitioners and advocates from diverse fields, we explored ways to elevate the concept from the realm of theory to the realm of action!
An Intercultural Open Mic
The Open Mic was an experience of Global Citizenship and Intercultural dimensions through Art! This Melton Foundation showcase offered a platform for talented Bangaloreans to showcase their art in any of its various forms as we celebrated Global Citizenship and the value of cultural diversity!
Be a Post-COVID City Mayor for a Day
In this interactive workshop, participants had the opportunity to look under the hood of Sustainable Development Goal 11 (Sustainable Cities) and explore the citizen dimension of city planning. The workshop gave the participants the feel of Global Citizenship hands-on and left them with impressions of building an equitable future post-COVID19 at the city level!
A TownHall in Spanish
In this session, we learned about simple and practical self-care tools, and explored the myths and barriers that stand between us and a better quality of life. The session was organized by our colleagues in Temuco, Chile, and conducted in Spanish.
Take a walk down the memory lane! A week of celebrating Global Citizenship, intercultural diversity, and sustainable development: from TownHalls, workshops, ideathons to cultural showcases - we've covered it all!
Take a look at our full schedule below or and a copy of the full event schedule here
What can people and organizations do to make a difference?
In an attempt to confront discrimination in all forms, we are inaugurating the Virtual Global Citizenship Week 2021 with an Anti-Discrimination Townhall. Join inspirational educators, trainers, and activists in the exploration of how individuals and organizations can successfully fight discrimination together!
The session was conducted English. The recording is available here : https://youtu.be/J-PY1ZR9IXo
A meeting with the Board of Directors and learnings about the Melton Foundation, our programs, and structure.
This event was directed at the Melton Foundation community. Further session details - timings, link to join, brief of activities, and so on, was shared via internal communication channels.
For as long as we can remember, art has been a form of communication. It keeps cultures alive, showcasing diversity in all its beauty and often acting as a bridge from one culture to another. With this Open Mic, we offered a platform for talented Bangaloreans to showcase their art in any of its various forms (you define what Art is to you) as we celebrated Global Citizenship and the value of cultural diversity.
The session was conducted in English and was streamed live on the Melton Foundation's YouTube channel. Watch the showcase here : https://youtu.be/kkp4La7QF50 and enjoy the show!
Melton Fellows from Accra, Ghana, and Jena, Germany, hosted a Cultural Quiz Prior to the presentation, and both hubs exchanged resources relating to common aspects of their cultures.
This event was directed at the Melton Foundation community. Further session details - timings, link to join, brief of activities, and so on, was shared via internal communication channels.
Building Back Better: Be a Post-COVID City Mayor for a Day
At the heart of policy-making and city building is the citizen. In this dynamic Workshop, participants became a city major for a day and explored the citizen dimension of city planning as they took a look under the hood of Sustainable Development Goal 11 (Sustainable Cities) to help build an equitable future at the city level.
The session was conducted in English. Watch the impulse session of the workshop here : https://youtu.be/01kOVCJHV9k
Melton Fellows from Bangalore, India, and Hangzhou, China, built bridges of understanding through deep discussions on how Chinese culture and Indian culture are quite similar yet different.
This event was directed at the Melton Foundation community. Further session details - timings, link to join, brief of activities, and so on, was shared via internal communication channels.
Estos tiempos han sido bastante complicados debido al contexto mundial actual, ya sea en el Colegio, la Universidad, la vida Laboral entre muchos otros. Pero... ¿te has preguntado como esta tu bienestar o el de los demás? Pues el bienestar es un tema fundamental en el desarrollo de cada individuo!! Mas aún en un contexto como el de hoy. Es por eso que te invitamos a que participes de este conversatorio, donde podrás escuchar a expertos en el tema y dar opiniones al respecto, no te quedes fuera!!
¿Cuando? - miércoles 21 de abril a las 19:00 hrs (CL)
Regístrate aquí para participar!
Melton Fellows from New Orleans, USA, and Temuco, Chile, shared intercultural care packages of snacks and sweets from both countries prior to the event, which they enjoyed together during the session. What's more, a dance challenge of university party music formed part of the encounter and served as a conversation starter to learn about the history of these popular art forms.
This event was directed at the Melton Foundation community. Further session details - timings, link to join, brief of activities, and so on, was shared via internal communication channels.
Putting Global Citizenship into Practice
Global Citizenship can be shortly described as care of the world and of each other. As an overarching concept Global Citizenship promotes the idea that all humans are equal and when working together across boundaries of place and identity we are able to solve the challenges we face in our interconnected world. But how do we do this in practice?This panel discussion revealed telling details.
The session was conducted in English. The full recording is available here : https://youtu.be/OaT61f1j8ag
In a 72-hour Ideation marathon (Ideathon) participants from around the world worked together in interdisciplinary teams to develop creative, practical ideas for initiatives that contributed to solving pressing issues while promoting a global mindset.
For more information on the Global Citizenship Virtual Ideathon, visit : https://meltonfoundation.org/global-citizenship-ideathon-2021-impact/
72-hours later, the virtual ideation marathon (Ideathon) came to an end. By now, participants had ideated, developed, tested, and pitched practical ideas for initiatives that contributed to solving pressing issues while promoting a global mindset. While the winning teams of the Ideathon were yet to be identified, we celebrated the accomplishment ... of having made it together!
For more information on the Ideathon Showcase, watch the recording : https://youtu.be/hwUn7IdfF68
In a 72-hour virtual Ideation marathon, participants from around the world worked together in interdisciplinary teams to develop creative, practical ideas for initiatives that contributed to solving pressing issues while promoting a global mindset.
Find out what it takes to be part of the solution and soldier on for grassroots action!
This pristine opportunity of being part of a diverse, global team of participants, panelists, mentors, amateurs, and experts, all working round the clock in a hackathon-like environment to frame fresh, innovative, and comprehensive solution ideas that implemented Global Citizenship in action and spirit was indeed a unique sight to behold! Uncover the details of Ideathon 2021!
Meet our host of panelists, workshop presenters, partners, and speakers for the virtual Global Citizenship Week 2021!
Meet Manju Patel-Nair
Speaker - Confronting Discrimination: TownHall
Founder, ChangeMakers UnLtd
Read Bio
Meet Kelli McLoud-Schingen
Speaker - Confronting Discrimination: TownHall
President, KMS Intercultural Consulting
Read Bio
Meet Ediola Pashollari
Panelist - Putting Global Citizenship into Practice
Secretary-General - World Assembly of Youth (WAY)
Read Bio
Meet Shehzia Lilani
Panelist - Putting Global Citizenship into Practice
Country Director (India) - Amani Institute
Read Bio
Meet Sartaj Anand
Panelist - Putting Global Citizenship into Practice
Founder - EgoMonk
Read Bio
Meet Patricija Virtič
Panelist - Putting Global Citizenship into Practice
Head of Global Education - SLOGA | Bridge 47 Representative
Read Bio
Meet Fransiska Tirtoadisurja
Facilitator - A world Post-COVID19: Workshop
UN Rep. in Business Innovation Research to UN ECOSOC
Read Bio
Meet Constanza Alonqueo
Panelist - Temuco Townhall on Well-being
Senior Melton Fellow and Well-being Specialist
Read Bio
Meet Bruno Hauenstein
Panelist - Temuco Townhall on Well-being
Med. Veterinarian, Triathlete, and Triathlon Trainer
Read Bio
Meet Kwabena Twumasi Ankrah
Keynote Speaker - Global Citizenship Ideathon 2021
Co-Founder of Divergent and Senior Melton Fellow
Read BioSpeaker - Confronting Discrimination: TownHall
In her own words, Manju Patel-Nair shares, “After 17 years as a teacher, I set up ChangeMakers UnLtd to deliver training and international consultancy, focusing on racial justice, community cohesion, global citizenship, and development education. Today I am committed to creating safe and courageous learning environments, beyond formal education spaces. My practice is informed by philosophies both within and beyond familiar western thinking and incorporates the best parts of my unique upbringing. I thrive when my work leads clients to find in themselves the ability to hold difficult conversations.”
Speaker - Confronting Discrimination: TownHall
Kelli McLoud-Schingen, President of KMS Intercultural Consulting, is a Global Diversity and Inclusion Specialist with over 30 years of experience in the Diversity and Intercultural Fields. Kelli specializes in global diversity, equity and inclusion, healing racism, cross-cultural competence, conflict resolution/mediation, storytelling, and inclusive leadership. Kelli is co-author of the “Cultural Detective: African American”, a contributing author for Sage Publications of “Prejudice, Bias, and Discrimination”, and a certified professional mediator and administrator for the Intercultural Development Inventory. She holds a B.A. in Communication, an M.A. in Cross-Cultural Studies, and is based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA.
Panelist - Putting Global Citizenship into Practice
An Albanian by nationality, Ediola Pashollari holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (UK); a Master’s Degree of Arts in Political Science (UK), a Master’s Degree in Entreprenology (USA), and also a Degree in LLB (UK). Presently, she is the Secretary-General of the World Assembly of Youth (WAY) which is headquartered in Melaka, Malaysia. Through her capacity as the Secretary-General of WAY and the Director of the World Youth Institute (WYI), she has been instrumental in assisting and supporting various youth initiatives, events, and activities at local, regional, and international levels. Her heart’s desire is to see that the youth around the world are prepared to face the many changing challenges that are occurring globally, and educate them on achieving a sustainable future!
Panelist - Putting Global Citizenship into Practice
Shehzia Lilani, is the Country Director (India) of Amani Institute! Responding to the widely recognized shortage of leaders in the social sector, Amani Institute’s mission is to develop professionals who create social impact through a new approach to education and talent development. As one of the founding team members of Amani Institute in India, Shehzia is responsible for leading Amani’s work in India, their base for supporting change-makers across Asia, where she manages their flagship Certificate in Social Innovation Management program. She has been an integral member of Amani’s custom-design programs team, and has led pieces of training with The Rockefeller Foundation, The U.S. Consulate General Chennai, University of Chicago, CRY, Upaya Social Ventures, Melton Foundation, to name a few.
Panelist - Putting Global Citizenship into Practice
Sartaj Anand is the founder of EgoMonk. Deeply committed to improving the state of the world through proximate partnerships, EgoMonk helps make sense of change. It is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. Sartaj’s EgoMonk and the Melton Foundation jointly convened a roundtable in 2019 in Bangalore which also led to the publication of our maiden whitepaper on the State of Global Citizenship.
Panelist - Putting Global Citizenship into Practice
Patricija Virtič is the Head of Global Education at SLOGA and a Bridge 47 Representative. Bridge 47 was created to mobilize civil society from all around the world to contribute to a transformation towards global justice and eradication of poverty through Global Citizenship Education. SLOGA Platform is the Slovene national NGOs platform for development, global education, and humanitarian aid, where Patricija has developed and managed several projects funded by the EU, Slovene government, and private funds, focusing on Global Citizenship Education, Awareness Raising, Development Cooperation, and numerous other areas. She is a co-author of various publications and has developed, implemented, and spoken at several national and international events. She believes anyone can change the world!
Facilitator - A world Post-COVID19: Workshop
Fransiska Tirtoadisurja is a United Nations Representative in Business Innovation Research and Dev NGO (Paris) to The United Nations Economic and Social Council (UN ECOSOC). She is a chosen Young Urban Leader by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solution Network (UN SDSN) by the Local Pathways Fellowship in 2018. She has spoken internationally to more than a thousand young people from more than 50 countries to engage them with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). She is also a co-founder of Kita Peduli Indonesia Foundation, a humanitarian relief organization for natural disasters in Indonesia, and a nominated best volunteer in the United Nations Volunteer Award.
Panelist - Temuco Townhall on Well-being
Constanza Alonqueo is Melton Fellow from Chile, with a plethora of experience in health and wellbeing.
Panelist - Temuco Townhall on Well-being
Bruno Rolf Hauenstein Araya, in addition to being a trainer and triathlete, is a Veterinarian and a health expert.
Keynote Speaker - Global Citizenship Ideathon 2021
Kwabena Twumasi Ankrah is a Senior Fellow who joined the Melton Foundation in 2016. Through the fellowship program, he became fascinated by the endless possibilities design thinking presents in innovatively solving problems. Through its application, he won both the New Business Challenge and The German Institute of Business and Technology Innovation Hackathon and went on to become a Kectil Leadership Fellow, An Azubi Africa Fellow, and a Clinton Global Fellow.
He graduated from Ashesi University in 2020 with a B.sc in Business Administration and is currently working in the Office of the Vice President of Ghana as a Design thinking and technology analyst. He is the Co-Founder of Divergent, a Non-Profit Organization focused on equipping young people in underserved communities with design thinking skills for them to come up with innovative solutions with economic potential to scale.
The Global Citizenship Week is a 7-day long celebration of Global Citizenship comprising of TownHalls, Ideation Marathons, Panel discussions, intercultural showcases, and much more! It is a convention of global citizenship advocates, experts, practitioners, and passionate youth from around the world, and also the perfect opportunity to take your first step towards experiencing collaborations across boundaries first-hand!
The Global Citizenship Week is a melange of sessions and interactions. You can choose to participate in one or more sessions. Register for each of them individually. For more information, refer to the Schedule for Global Citizenship Week above!
From the 17th to the 25th of April 2021. For a more detailed insight into the daily schedule and timeline, refer to the Schedule section.
The Global Citizenship Week provides you a unique opportunity to be a part of a week-long convention where you stand to:
Open sessions are open to all members of the community. Our aim is to engage with anyone keen on practicing Global Citizenship and seeing it in action! Anyone looking to take their first step towards becoming a Global Citizen, curious about how to effect change in their local sphere, a social impact leader, and/or anybody who is already a Global Citizenship practitioner is invited to participate in our open sessions!
Internal sessions are reserved for the members of the Melton Foundation. These involve discussions on internal organizational working, team building activities for our Melton Fellows from our different local hubs, and so on!
There is no participation fee for any of the sessions scheduled. We firmly believe in increasing accessibility of resources to people from all socio-economic backgrounds, and stand for inclusivity, diversity, and equity.
If you relate to our organization’s vision and mission and would like to lend a hand, you can support us by making a small donation at meltonfoundation.org/donate.
You can participate in multiple activities and engage with open platforms to share, showcase and put your knowledge into practice. Since the theme is “Putting Global Citizenship into Practice”, the week gives you a platform to learn, formulate and implement your ideas on the ground. We believe every individual has unique insights and skills to offer no matter how simple their ideas/actions are!
You can engage with us through the following routes :
