The mission of Journey of Action is to inspire the youth to become active citizens. Apart of being an active citizen is being a global citizen. There are many ways one can become educated, but the most obvious one is schooling. We believe the purpose of education is to prepare students to become socially responsible global citizens. The need for global citizenship education is now more than ever necessary as we live in an interconnected global world that is increasing integrated. The context in which education now occurs has been re-shaped by globalization and technology. Educational systems need to recognize their transformative power, and their ability to become responsive to contemporary global changes. Students should be educated to understand the connections between their local actions and experiences and what is happening in the rest of the world. For the first time, we have a plan of action and the tools that will allow us to join forces to create a better world.
For the reasons listed above, we highlighted Global Citizen Corps while in Portland, Oregon. Global Citizen Corps is a program of Mercy Corps, which is a year long program that works with 500 youth leaders. The leaders of GCC are apart of an international movement of youth who connect globally and act locally During the span of the year, leaders work with Mercy Corps to get the training, knowledge, resources and tools to raise awareness and organize effective local actions that make a global impact. Leaders mobilize their schools and communities around a series of Global Action Days, which connect to international campaigns.
Leaders gain skills in four areas: action planning, leadership development, multi-media and global issues. With this training, leaders have the knowledge and skills to organize powerful actions that address the problems such as global health, hunger, climate change and lack of access to education. Their motto is awareness plus action equals impact.
Programs like Global Citizen Corps deserve praise and need to be integrated into our school systems, because if we want American students to be able to compete in the global market place, they need to be globally aware. As America continues to evolve its education system, we must also evolve our understanding of the necessary skills to succeed in the 21st century.