About being GLOBAL citizens.
I recently had the pleasure of attending a function at my bro's school, "The United Nations Night". It's a regular celebration at his school- The Overseas Family School (OFS). Being an international school, OFS, has the fortune of having several different nationalities under its roof. There are Australians, Americans, Germans, French, British, Spanish, Koreans, Japanese, Thai, Israelies, Icelanders (!), Indians, Sri Lankans..and many more different nationalities.
The night brought all these nationalities under one belt, that of the United Nations. A world body, often criticiqued. But still it remains important. Despite everything it still emphasises the message of "the one harmonious world", as was evident in the night's celebration.

The students introduced themselves and their home countries, speaking in the local language. There was even an "East coast, Singapore", to much laughter from the mostly international audience. There were traditional acts performed by many of the various nationalities. There was also the Flag ceremony where students hoisted their national flags and foodstalls were set up with dishes unique to specific countries (the Indian Samosa was a HIT, but I believe the Mexican Tacos with salsa, the American Pizza, the Bangladeshi rice dish and the Australian cakes to be QUITE well recieved as well). At any rate, I returned a satisfied person..both in the mind as well as the stomach!

More than anything else, the night stirred in me a sense of the importance in trying to be global citizens. No, this ain't the same as globalisation. Globalisation is about bringing together this wide world, while being a global citizen implies having a liberal and accepting way of thinking. Its about stepping out of your milieu and appreciating (with all honesty) the strengths of other cultures and places. You might not have the resources to go globe trekking, but whenever you come across an experience from a different part of a world- in the form of a TV programme, meeting a person from a different country, maybe tasting food from another country..whatever DIFFERENT experience try and absorb it rather than admonishing it. See what are its strengths, what you can learn from it. Don't just laugh about the seeming 'peculiarity', otherwise you would remain blind and prejudiced like many people I have encountered.

In some ways, I'm happy that my brother's school is imparting in its students this GLOBAL feeling. I see him talking about his Jewish, Muslim, Indian, Icelander friends-all having a conversation...about their homelands. No one criticizes, but each is surprised at the newness provided by the other. This is about making a head start into being a global citizen. Its about following these lovely words by Gerry Spencer:
"I would rather have a mind opened by wonder than one closed by belief".
Really being a global citizen is about breaking out of binding beliefs and opening one's mind to the wonder that lies outside of them. A mindset, where the western world sees the serenity and virtues of sacred Islam while Muslims and especially people who are squandering their lives in terrorism see the progressive thinking of the west that has elevated their societies to such major development. The world would be saved from impending doom........