“I do not want my house to be walled in on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the cultures of all the lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any”, an inspiring quote by Mahatma Gandhi whom I consider as a global citizen Icon.

Getting accepted in the MJC , then getting into the identity and the historical narratives committee made me think a lot about the notion of identity, who are we, where do we belong, what are we? Thus I couldn’t find any other answer but: I AM GLOBAL!

I am a global citizen , belonging to this small group of people in Berlin , to share our thoughts, that we eventually became a global family from over 40 countries with different backgrounds, religions, skin colors and gender… But at the end of the day our humanity and globalization reunited us.

In my view, a global citizen is one who is a universal being, open for different cultures and civilizations of the world. He is one who benefits from this variety while drawing insights for global benefit. A global citizen not only accepts the other while respecting his privacy, but also gets enriching knowledge through cultural exchange. In our modern day society, with the advances in technology and mass media, globalization has promoted openness on other cultures. Most importantly, a global citizen can represent the solution in that he can promote peace and tolerance among nations. It is indeed his mission to cooperate with others to remedy the issues ailing any society across the globe. Hence, one has to be ready to take initiatives and have the will to make a change somewhere in the world.

As Kofi Anan puts it, “no one is born a good citizen; no nation is born a democracy. Rather, both are processes that continue to evolve over a lifetime. Young people must be included from birth. A society that cuts off from its youth severs its lifeline”. As a matter of fact, the future is vested in today’s youth. Put differently, youth must climb the globalist ladder step by step to achieve a better future.

Getting the opportunity to be part of the MJC community  and to spend a week in Berlin was indeed the first step for me as a young Tunisian woman to experience the real sense of a global citizenship. Getting the chance to be an ambassador of both my country and religion was insightful. MJC is an amalgam of different cultures as it hosts people from every nook and cranny of the globe. As a matter of fact, this was a golden opportunity to meet people from different cultural backgrounds with whom I had cultural exchange and hopefully we will cooperate to build a better future.

Amina Hamila