Chairs:
Meeri Tiensuu, PhD researcher, Tampere University (meeri.tiensuu@tuni.fi); Inka Havanto, Specialist for International Cooperation and Global Citizenship Education, YMCA Finland (inka.havanto@ymca.fi)

Abstract:

The main objective of this workshop is to address and shed light on the following questions: Why do we need a shared sense of global responsibility? What is my role: how can I participate in building global citizenship and hinder the polarization around the topic?

We invite the participants to explore the possible future actions that should be pursued to foster a shared sense of global responsibility.

According to the Youth Barometer 2021, 85-94% of 15–29-year-old Finns consider it important that Finland acts internationally e.g. to build peace and everyone has access to school. At the same time, the latest opinion poll on Finnish perceptions of development cooperation reveals a growing divide in Finnish society regarding global responsibility and international development. Although the majority of Finns consider humanitarian aid and development cooperation to be important, more and more critical views of international development cooperation are emerging. The divide in opinion is particularly evident when looking at differences based on gender, education level and political party support: e.g. 80% of women and 46% of men considered development cooperation important. This result could be seen as indicative of a broader attitude to global responsibility.

Against this background, we have recognised a crisis: A lack of common commitment to global solidarity. In this workshop, we bring together professionals in development cooperation and communications, development research and global citizenship education to discuss and reflect on the increasing polarisation of global responsibility. We will delve into the factors that contribute to this growing divide among people and explore how to bridge this gap. As an outcome, we aim to find tools and identify collaborations for a more inclusive way of working towards and discussing global responsibility.

Please note that this participatory workshop welcomes all interested participants to collectively brainstorm and explore the concept of global responsibility. There are no requirements for participation, however, we kindly ask you to register for the sake of planning the session. The chairs of the session will facilitate the participatory activities, aiming to collectively discover practical ways to contribute the shared perspectives on global responsibility. Please register here: https://forms.gle/ShCnhXaPudoq2xDS7