Global Citizenship: the University of Bologna as a Bridge Between Worlds

At a time of global crises, new inequalities, migration and technological transformations, global citizenship education is not a niche topic, but an urgent necessity.
Professor Massimiliano Tarozzi, Director of the UNESCO Chair and of IRC-GloCEd – the International Research Centre on Global Citizenship Education – illustrates the university’s contribution to the education of citizens capable of complex thinking, of connecting knowledge and of facing the world with awareness, responsibility and openness.

Professor Tarozzi, what brought you to the subject of global citizenship? What role did your international experiences play? 

My focus on this issue arises mainly from the international debate. A decisive factor for me was my collaboration with a colleague at UCLA, the University of California in Los Angeles. We conducted comparative research between the United States and Italy, which led us to the idea of moving beyond multicultural education towards an approach aimed at teaching diversity and promoting social justice.

About ten years ago, we published a book together, entitled Global Citizenship Education. I later taught at UCL (University College London), where I was co-director of a research centre in the field of Development Education, which in the UK and Europe as a whole is considered synonymous with global citizenship education.

The concept of global citizenship is widely known, but not always clear. How would you define it?

It is a broad and nuanced subject. Its very conceptualisation is the subject of research. UNESCO defines it as a sense of belonging to a common humanity, emphasising the political, economic, social and cultural interdependence between local, national and global. Some interpret it as skills training for the global elites. Others, like me, see it as a critical perspective that focuses on global inequalities, the asymmetries between Global North and Global South, and post-colonial issues.

 There is no global citizenship in the legal sense: it is a metaphor, with a strong educational and ethical value. Its novelty lies in a holistic vision that encompasses environmental, social, economic and intercultural issues, and in the promotion of an ethical, inclusive, solidarity-based, ecological and transformative perspective.

Is this a new concept?

Not entirely. It has become central over the past two decades. A turning point was the Global Education First Initiative, launched in 2012 by then UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, which placed global citizenship education among the international educational priorities. However, its philosophical and theoretical roots are ancient, and present in different cultures. In addition to European cosmopolitanism, the concept of ubuntu in sub-Saharan Africa or the buen vivir of certain indigenous peoples in Latin America recall precisely this fusion of the individual, social and environmental dimensions.

What is the mission and added value for the University of the UNESCO Chair in Global Citizenship Education?

The Chair introduces global citizenship education, usually provided at primary or secondary school, as a university course: this is the only example of its kind in the world.

Global citizenship is also, by nature, a transdisciplinary domain. It is a space for comparison and interconnection between different disciplinary traditions. This is an added value for our university.

We offer an integrated course that combines innovative teaching, research and the third mission, to train students – future teachers and professionals – with a global perspective, critical skills and social awareness. The transversal course in 'Global Citizenship Skills' combines theoretical knowledge, experiential workshops, mind-body techniques and intercultural travel, building a bridge between university, school and society.

Another distinctive element is the work on North-South relations. In recent years, the Chair has contributed in particular to the creation of an Arab-European university network, strengthening international collaborations on global citizenship issues.

The UNESCO Chair is training the teachers of tomorrow. Who is going to benefit thanks to them?

The aim is to train teachers capable of transmitting the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary for global citizenship. We want to educate boys and girls, our future citizens, who are capable of complex thinking and avoid simplifications, while developing thought processes that connect knowledge instead of dividing it.

This education does not introduce new content but integrates and gives new meaning to what already exists in school – environmental, human rights, gender, peace and intercultural education – to promote responsible and coherent attitudes. Tell us about the IRC-GloCEd.

Active since 2017, the IRC is the first Italian research centre on global citizenship education. It develops research on various fronts, including the teaching of global citizenship in Italian schools, the inclusion of refugees in university curricula, and the role of the human body in learning processes through somatic and theatre-based workshops.

It collaborates with schools, NGOs, international institutions and UNESCO networks, creating a continuity between research, teaching and community, while building a bridge between theory, educational practice and local impact.

The UNESCO Chair is supported by the Centre, which provides theoretical and methodological foundations, ensuring continuity between research and real-world applications.

How does global citizenship education relate to the 2030 Agenda?

It is at the heart of the 2030 Agenda, particularly in Target 4.7 of Goal 4, which calls for the promotion of global education and sustainable development. But it is also a fundamental cross-cutting approach towards achieving the 17 Goals of the Agenda, as it develops a sensitivity to the political, cultural and economic choices necessary for a more just and sustainable society.

 What educational challenges do you consider the most urgent?

The ones that have to do with social and gender inequalities, the relationship between humans and the natural environment and the one between humans and technology. Global citizenship education aims to link these areas by promoting awareness and critical thinking in the citizens of the future.

What next steps do you want to see for the University of Bologna?

I hope to see a strengthening of ties with the countries of the Global South, particularly the Arab world, to promote mutual understanding, and an expansion of reception programmes for refugee students and teachers.

Finally, it is crucial to promote multidisciplinary research in order to strengthen democracy and the rule of law, and to spread awareness of the UNESCO Chair and the IRC-GloCEd within the university.

What achievements are you most proud of?

Of having created, within the framework of the UNESCO Chair's activities, a unique cross-curricular course. It has integrated innovative approaches such as theatre and study trips to Lebanon and Tunisia and has also been successful in transforming theoretical knowledge into awareness and real-world activation of the students.

In addition, the construction of a team of PhD students, researchers and lecturers from different departments, supported by a national scientific committee and an International Advisory Board, has enabled the IRC-GloCEd and the Chair to grow in a structured way.

Is there an author or phrase that symbolises global citizenship?

A significant reference is the Japanese Buddhist leader Daisaku Ikeda, founder of the Soka University. In 1994, he gave a masterclass at the university to mark the 50th anniversary of the founding of the UN and was awarded the doctoral ring of the University of Bologna. During his lecture, he used the story of our University and the Renaissance spirit of Leonardo da Vinci as metaphors to illustrate the skills and virtues needed to become a citizen of the world. This episode is emblematic: a leader from Japan who recognised, in the historical and cultural seeds of Bologna and its university, the roots to form conscious global citizens.

The work of the UNESCO Chair in Global Citizenship Education and IRC-GloCEd, which is part of the Department of Philosophy, is the fruit of the constant collaboration of a large group of PhD students, researchers and lecturers from different departments of the University of Bologna.