The Global Citizenship Alliance is dedicated to promoting education for engaged knowledge and responsible action in an interdependent world.
Our Story
The GCA is dedicated to promoting education for engaged knowledge and responsible action in an interdependent world. It was founded in 2015 as an independent, non-profit organization, however, the origin of this enterprise dates back to 2004 when this work began under the aegis of the Salzburg Global, a renowned international policy forum based in Salzburg, Austria, with which the GCA has continued a working relationship.
Initially a pioneering effort to promote a critical engagement with the effects of rapid globalization as they relate to the aims and purpose of college education, over time the Alliance has succeeded in running one of the most systematic and inclusive programs on global citizenship education in the United States.
partnered with nearly
colleges and universities
close to
participants
conducted more than
week-long seminars
Why Global Citizenship Education?
Never before have the lives of people across the globe been more interconnected than they are today. The changes caused by the political, economic, technological and environmental developments in the course of the past two to three decades have been momentous.
We are no longer living in national communities of fate, but in overlapping communities of fate.
Therefore, we must develop and share the knowledge of how to manage this unprecedented interdependence in a way that makes globalization a positive force for the majority of humankind and not a precept for increasing inequality and conflict. Failure to do so is resulting in damage that jeopardizes the welfare of humanity and the planet we inhabit.
Approach
The Alliance’s focus is on institutional development and change with the goal of enabling colleges and universities to graduate students who are aware of their place in a globalizing world, have a sound understanding of the challenges we are confronting, and are willing and able to make a positive difference in the world.
Our Seminars offer a unique combination of intense, short-term study abroad experiences for students and weeklong workshops for faculty and administrators aimed at initiating, promoting, and informing strategies for global citizenship education throughout the campus and making it part of the institutional fabric.
Until recently, programs were held exclusively in Salzburg, however, the Alliance is in the process of expanding its areas of operations to additional locations in Europe, the U.S., and other parts of the world.
Outcomes
Partner institutions have
- re-oriented mission/vision statements, strategic plans, and student learning outcomes to include global perspectives.
- created countless new global education courses, programs, certificates, etc.
- built critical mass among faculty and administrators to launch and sustain an institution-wide change process to “globalize campus".
- formulated their own, institution-specific response to global literacy of their students.
- won prestigious national recognitions for their achievements in promoting global citizenship education such as NAFSA’s Paul Simon Awards for International Education, the Andrew Heiskell Awards for Innovation in International Education by the Institute for International Education, and “Top 10 Programs on Global Citizen Diplomacy” conferred by the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy.
Participating students have attested to the transformative impact of the seminars and have been inspired to pursue further education and career choices with civic and global impact.
Participating faculty and administrators have returned to their institutions with a new sense of purpose and new insights on incorporating global perspectives into their teaching and leadership practices.