Be A Global Citizen!

From Taiwanese nights markets to international dialogue nights, Lillian I shares her experiences growing up in two different worlds and how her process of constructing a solid identity would lead her to engage in dialogue for global citizenship. Lillian works as program manager at the Ikeda Center for Peace, Learning, and Dialogue, located in Boston. She holds dual citizenship in Taiwan and the US. There are many wonderful insights that Lillian shares on this episode as well as some discussion on the recent virtual event hosted by the Ikeda Center called the Ikeda Forum. See below for more information about the 2021 Ikeda forum titled, Becoming Wide Awake to our Wisdom, Courage, and Compassion. Enjoy!  

Homepage of the Ikeda Center for Peace, Learning, and Dialogue: https://www.ikedacenter.org/content/welcome

Link to write-up on the 2021 Ikeda Forum: https://www.ikedacenter.org/events/ikeda-forum/2021-global-cit

Let's talk with another amazing educator from the VCE (Value-Creating Education) program, Kimberly Mullenix. Kim is currently a preschool director in San Diego, CA. She has followed her passion for gymnastics, travel, and culture, while broadening her perspective on what it means to be a global citizen. Kim is also a graduate from Soka University of America. She talks about how her journey for humanistic education led her to teach  in California and Nepal as well as her interests in pursuing a masters degree in the VCE program through DePaul University. Lastly, she discusses how global citizenship informs her approach to raising her newborn son who is five months old! Enjoy this episode of VCE interviews with Kim! 

Let's talk with a fellow IB Global Politics teacher! 

Paul Vliegen is from Holland who is currently working in New York at the Dwight school. His journey as a global citizen has taken him all over the world to places like Poland, China, and the US. Paul shares his stories and approaches to teaching high school students how to ask questions about the world and learn to take action. Don't miss this excellent conversation on how we may grow into action-oriented citizens who are striving to expand our sense of empathy and mission for others. Enjoy! 

Non-governmental organizations, learning across cultural differences, cultivating compassion, and advocating for those in need. Those are just some topics that were discussed on this new installment of GC talks with Marling Aguila. 

Marling is a Peruvian national who works in the NGO sector as well as the founder of a grassroots cultural association called La Casa Cultural Yuyay. Her work engages in community building, education, and, more recently, psychology. Enjoy! 

What is community service? Which community do I serve? And what concrete actions am I taking to demonstrate my service to this community? These are some questions that I asked myself as I wrote my second scholarship essay to the Golden Key Honors Society. My life has taken an unexpected turn during the pandemic and I find myself back in California, working for my alma mater Soka University of America. This is a short episode! It is mostly an update about where I'm at in my life. Plus, I share what I wrote in my essay. Enjoy! 

This episode marks one year for Be A Global Citizen! I'm very happy to have Dr. Paulette Bethel join us to share her incredible journey as a former Ambassador to the United Nations. She continues to be engaged on the International stage and is currently residing in the Bahamas. Her pioneering efforts within the UN are inspiring and exemplify global citizenship in many ways. I hope you enjoy our conversation and walk away from it feeling that anyone can make a big difference to transform the world around us. Enjoy! 

On the podcast, I invited Audrey Roodvoets to join me in a wonderful conversation about global citizenship. Audrey is a Montessori teacher in Arizona, and she also happens to be a former classmate of mine from University. We discussed the role of curiosity, passion, and kindness as crucial components in fostering global citizenship. With the recognition of our interconnectedness to other people and the planet, she spoke of the need to strive towards the ideal of global citizenship day so that we can make societal changes for generations to come. Enjoy the GC talk! 

For this next GC talk, I speak with Joana Roque de Pinho who is an environmental anthropologist from Portugal. Her fascinating background and perspective made for a great discussion about what is global citizenship for her. We covered identity formation, bilingualism, human geography, and much more. Plenty to unpack and reflect in this episode. Enjoy! 

We are back with another GC talks! I'm happy to have Vitor Assano join me for a great conversation about Global Citizenship. He is a fellow educator in Brazil and he is currently studying online with a Canadian University in the area of early childhood education. I stopped by his place to record our conversation in person. Enjoy! 

Here is another VCE interview! I'm excited to have Nina Thurau on the podcast. She is a 2nd grade teacher from Brooklyn, New York. Currently, she teaches at a Charter school in Queens, and she is working on her masters in the VCE program. Nina reflects upon her experiences teaching abroad in Spain for five years and how they helped recontextualize her understanding of education back home in the USA. I hope you enjoy this episode! More on the way. :)