Global education does not take place solely in education policy documents. I have had the opportunity to act as a member of the Finnish Student Union’s (SYL) Development Cooperation Advisory Board, KENKKU, for a period of two years. During these years, I have learned that global citizenship and global responsibility are not just terms used in speeches, but they are built in everyday organisational activities, advocacy and acts of solidarity.
Global citizenship is more than just knowledge
What does global citizenship really mean? According to the Finnish National Agency for Education, it is a feeling of belonging to a larger community and to a shared humanity. The guide published by the Finnish National Agency for Education, Global Citizenship Education– topics and learning objectives states that the aim of global education is to open our eyes to the different realities of the world and to awaken the desire to build a more fair, inclusive and peaceful world.
UNESCO divides global citizenship (Global Citizenship Education, GCE) into three domains:
- Cognitive: Knowledge and critical thinking about global problems. In practice, this means having an understanding of how our own choices and world events are linked to one another.
- Socio-Emotional: Empathy, solidarity and a sense of belonging to humanity. This includes for example the ability to see that without thriving nature, we cannot secure anyone’s right to health or food.
- Behavioural: Effective and responsible action for peace and a more sustainable world. This means challenging our own assumptions. For example, what do we assume about Ethiopian universities before we learn about them?
In the student movement, all these levels are combined. We learn to understand the world, but above all, we learn to act in it together.
From soft to critical responsibility
Global education has swept me away with it. I even cover global citizenship education in my thesis, but from the perspective of the Finnish Government’s Education Policy Report. The policy outlines that in 2040, education in Finland will be reflected as internationality, an understanding of diversity and global responsibility. The vision for higher education 2040 draft also emphasises the role of higher education communities in transforming society and solving global issues. While acting in KENKKU, this theoretical goal has transformed into flesh and blood for me.
The student movement has taught me to be critical. Education scientist and global education researcher Vanessa Andreotti divides global citizenship education into soft and critical approaches. While a soft approach may focus on just helping and pitying others, critical global citizenship challenges us to examine power imbalances, our own privileges and deep-seated assumptions.
We in KENKKU have learned to ask: whose voice is heard and whose perspectives are ignored? This is essential if we want to build genuine partnerships. For myself, this has been solidified in particular in the Empower II project implemented by SYL in Ethiopia. This project supports the higher education of students with disabilities and aims to improve university disability services at the universities of Bahir Dar, Jigjiga, and Wolaita Sodo. SYL is working on the project in cooperation with Kynnys ry, and the Ethiopian Center for Disability and Development (ECDD).
The project is not simply about accessible facilities or individual services. It also promotes the participation of students with disabilities in the higher education community and student organisations. At the same time, the project also challenges us in Finland to consider how higher education students with disabilities are taken into consideration in our own community. This is where critical responsibility becomes practice, we do not speak on behalf of students with disabilities, but listen, strengthen their opportunities to participate, and examine our own practices.
Action is the best teacher
My KENKKU years have confirmed my belief that you cannot grow into a global citizen just by reading, you grow into one by working together with others. Ultimately, global education is realised where people meet. It happens in student unions, which promote equality in education. In project work that promotes the opportunities of colleagues on the other side of the world. This is about eco-social education, i.e. understanding that ecological sustainability is a prerequisite for the realisation of human rights.
Henna Mäkelä
KENKKU
Sources
Andreotti, V. (2006). Soft versus critical global citizenship education. Policy & Practice: A Development Education Review, (3), 40–51. https://www.developmenteducationreview.com/issue/issue-3/soft-versus-critical-global-citizenship-education
Ministry of Education and Culture (2026). Sivistyksestä suunta Suomelle: Vision for higher education and research 2040 (draft 26 March 2026). https://okm.fi/korkeakoulutuksen-ja-tutkimuksen-visio (Viewed on 17 May 2026)
Finnish National Agency for Education (2021). Global Citizenship Education – topics and learning objectives Helsinki: Finnish National Agency for Education. https://www.oph.fi/fi/tilastot-ja-julkaisut/julkaisut/kasvatus-maailmankansalaisuuteen-aiheet-ja-oppimistavoitteet
UNESCO. (2015). Global Citizenship Education: Topics and Learning Objectives. UNESCO. https://doi.org/10.54675/DRHC3544
Finland’s Government. (2021). Education Policy Report (Publications of the Finnish Government 2021:24). https://julkaisut.valtioneuvosto.fi/handle/10024/162995
