The seminar aims at exploring the ideas of global citizenship and global ethics, and the intellectual contentions those concepts arouse. Are global citizenship and global ethics possible? Are students being shaped into “global citizens” with its ethical implications? Why should they be so taught? To what extent can we teach global citizenship and global ethics without being advocates of “western universalism” or cultural imperialism? Can cosmopolitanism, the belief that all human beings belong to a world community, coexist with local identities or patriotism? Participants will discuss and reflect on these questions through a dialogue with Dr. Nigel DOWER after reading a set of materials suggested by him.
About the Speaker |
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 | Nigel DOWER is Honorary Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, where he taught for most of the period 1967-2004. He has also been a visiting professor a number of times in America and Iceland. He was President of the International Development Ethics Association from 2002 to 2006. His research interests in the last thirty years have focused on various issues in global ethics, including development, the environment, human rights, peace & security, and global citizenship. He is author of numerous articles and four books: World Poverty Challenge and Response (Ebor Press 1983); World Ethics: The New Agenda (Edinburgh University Press, 1998; 2007); An Introduction to Global Citizenship (EUP, 2003) and The Ethics of War and Peace (Polity, 2009). |
In response to the topic of "global citizenship," the MaD Team will share on how they engage citizens for positive actions towards local and global situations through a variety of initiatives, from community art projects to the cross-sector Social Lab, and how they practice stakeholders engagement, silo-crossing co-creation and changemakers incubation. Home-grown young creative practitioners, who have received support from MaD to embark on regional exchange for furthering their aspirations, will also be invited to offer first-person perspectives on their social-minded endeavours. We hope this sharing and conversation will provide insights on how educators can inspire, prepare and support young people to be socially responsive thinker-and-doers, and champion a culture of collaboration for a progressive civic society.
About the Speaker |
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Founded in 2009, Make a Difference (MaD) is a regional think-and-do collaborative platform to explore creativity for good, connect changemakers and synergize across sectors for innovative social solutions. Through value-based and participatory programmes, MaD strives to inspire and empower young people all over Asia, as global citizens, respond to our time’s challenges. The 17-person MaD Team sees to all of MaD programmes -- from conceptualisation to execution. MaD creates for sustainable causes, values diversity and coexistence, and strives to promote the creative ecology with constructive actions. They champion good practice and collaboration, and love to make work fun. |
