Australia Day

I should first start by saying Happy Australia Day and how lucky I am to be an Australian. I think we all get stuck or "labelled" into being something else other than Australian. But if you strip down all the exterior, all the materialistic things that rule our lives, then its not too hard to see that we are all the same, we are one, we are Australia! Hahaha

I was watching the news the day before Australia day, and there were racial slogans that had been graffitied in my local community. My first thought was what kind of person would do such a thing. What does Australia day truly represent? It is supposed to celebrate the anniversary of the arrival of the first fleet. This is a perfect example of globalisation in its earliest form. Was it really a positive event, or does it depend on how it affected you. In the european mind, it has brought about great change that was needed for a growing Australia. However from a native perspective it has stripped Australia of its culture, land ands its people.

Link to vandalism: http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/21009367/anger-over-australia-day-vandals/

Started from the bottom...now we're here!

Listening to Luis Valdez was extremely inspirational!  It was great to hear about a story of a man who was living in poverty and made something amazing of his life. His determination and strength were two qualities that stuck out to me, especially when he was recalling the time his teacher told him that all he would ever be in life was a farm worker.

In the media we are always bombarded with the people living in developing countries and how their needs of basic human rights like food and shelter aren't meet. I think Mr Valdez gives these people a voice as he too has experienced the hardships of poverty.

Another phrase he mentioned that had an impact on me was "when there is nothing, there is something, nothing is something". First I was confused because of the play on words, but how I interpret it is that even if you have nothing to show for in life, this is a great opportunity to make something of it.

Global Media

Havent made a blog in a while cause I was unsure what to post......

Seeing as this should be my summer "holidays", I have been looking at some movies that I would like to watch. One of them was "12 years a Slave". The synopsis says it is based in 1850's, on a true story about an african american man being forced into slavery (cotton plantation).  This shows a negative side of globalisation.

It's important to recognise how the definition of a "global citizen" has changed over the years and how once change was not always embraced.

Media influences our education about the world and its history. But we have to think to ourselves.......is this information biased ???? Has it been altered by the presenter to cover the truth?

Link to trailer of 12 years a Slave below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiw1cYXQw4g

Being enrolled into an online course has me appreciating how lucky I am to have access to a computer and internet. The internet allows us to be "global citizens".

We have access to unlimited knowledge at the press of a button. In other words we have no excuse not to be globally aware. Aware of affairs that are happening outside our borders, and how this affects us locally and globally.

Even within this course I have become more globally aware. Reading other students mind maps on prezzi and also their bloggers. Its amazing to see that we have all come from different walks of life, but at the end of the day we are all the same. What we all share in common is we are all students of unsw, it did not matter the events of our past, we all managed to make it to the same place regardless of our cultural differences. "Different roads sometimes lead to the same Castle", (George R. R. Martin, 1996)

Global citizenship, and where I fit into the picture?

This course has really got me thinking about how I am a global citizen? 

I've spent time thinking.. and realised that even if we dont think consciously think we are being active as a global citizen were are!!

This picture depicts perfectly how the effects of globalisation are all around us and we are blind to see it.

Week 1

This is the first online course i have ever enrolled in and I am a bit confused on how the course is supposed to be run. The intro lecture and readings gave me a good overview of what the course was going to be focused on.  Even though its still very early to say I have learnt a lot, just this past week my definition of "global citizen" has changed from just anybody that is a citizen of a country which makes up the globe, to someone who engages with different cultures, is not afraid/intimidated by diversity and tries their best to improve global circumstances.