Blog Post 10 - The End? This is Just the Beginning

So as many of you may or may not know, this blog was created for a summer school course "DIPP1110 - Introduction to Global Citizenship". I recommend each and everyone of you to challenge yourself and take it as a General Education subject, or even enroll in the Diploma of Professional Practice and do this course. The content and course is simply amazing, and the lecturer is too!

The way I view the entire world has changed. My life has more meaning and purpose now that I know of my responsibilities and duties to the rest of my brothers and sisters among the human race. As a result, the way I live myself will change. And so, I shall dedicate this blog post to a list of goals and steps towards my journey of being a global citizen.

1. Continue this blog. I will continue my self education of the range of beautiful cultures present on Earth and be aware of the problems our species face. I shall continue blogging about issues relevant to global citizenship, praising the good being done, and shaming the bad. Both aim to promote and educate others about the teachings of global citizenship.
   
2. Sponsor a child in a developing nation. Something I've always wanted to do but didn't feel strong enough to actually commit too until after completing this course.
    
3. Create a Global Citizenship Initiate at my workplace! I am currently brainstorming ideas however, a group employee fundraiser event for a charity, maybe a work place trend for each employee to sponsor a child overseas, look at ways to help the environment and reduce our environmental footprint, maybe even a multi cultural day at the workplace.
   
4.  Do a year of exchange or an internship overseas. If I am too poor for that, go overseas on a volunteering trip after I graduate. I vow to be a traveler and not a tourist. I will immerse myself in a new culture, I will embrace it and become one with it. I aim to work in new countries throughout my career too.
   
5. Study a new religion every year. This year shall be Islam (blog post coming soon!), next year shall be Sikhism (still looking forward to that camp). Become a student of its teachings, not a worshiper. Learn each one and approach them all with an equal and open mind.
   
6. Learn a new language. Something I've always wanted to do, but similar to 2, I never felt strong enough to commit. After this course I am more aware of how I can better contribute to the world, and I feel that having a new language under my belt will allow me to become a better global citizen.
   
7.  Give back. My ultimate aim for my career in Chemical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering is to create and discover new innovations and technology breakthroughs that will advance humanity. My work will leave man kind better than it was before I stepped foot on this Earth, this is my life goal.
   
   
8. The world is facing a sustainability crisis that is only likely to worsen in the future. Dwindling resources, higher levels of pollution and shortages of food can only lead to tragic conflicts and misery for humanity. However I believe that Engineers will ultimately play one of the most essential roles in designing any new society. New infrastructure, technology and innovations will be created and built by engineers, and thus all engineers bear an ethical responsibility to make sure that our new society is sustainable to avoid this.
   In Chemical Engineering I wish to work extensively in the energy field and be part of the solution to the world’s sustainability crisis. This may involve creating or developing new and cleaner sources of energy. In Biomedical Engineering my goal is to solve standing medical problems and provide solutions through the creation of new technology. For example, I see myself specialising in the aging of cells and increasing the quality of life in late years and combating diseases that result from aging.
   
9. Find more things to add to this list! I will always be searching for new ways to be a global citizen and to contribute to the world and its people.
   
   
   
   Thank you, the end of this course is just the beginning of a new journey.

Blog Post 9 - Coca Cola Superbowl Commerical 2014

In case you haven't seen it, take a look at Coca Cola's Superbowl commercial here it is.

The commercial begins with a normal rendition of America the Beautiful with a white American riding a horse in the forest. The rest of the song is sung in a multitude of different languages displaying the diverse range of culture found in America. The commercial shows Americans of all races, skins colours, religions and backgrounds living their lives in harmony, united together equally as human beings (sharing a coke).

 

Surprisingly, there has been an extremely large amount of backlash against the ad from many Americans who have been offended by the advertisement. One comment was 'Speak English or go home!'. I understand that many Americans would feel that offended that their national song was being disrespected by being sung in foreign languages, suggesting a sense of threat to their national values. However these individuals need to realize that there is not threat to their patriotism and support of America, the commercial is simply celebrating the diverse mix of culture present in their society, and how this only adds beauty to America. 

 

The rich array of skin colours, values, traditions, beliefs and differences present only strengthens America. Americans should be proud to live among each other, no matter their differences. Singing a song in different languages is simply a way of communicating harmony of many different cultures present within the country and how they support and live together, working towards a united future. 

 

So kudos to you Coca Cola, one of the best advertisements of all time. Truly a beautiful example of global citizenship.

Blog Post 8 - Tourist or Traveller?

Being a global citizenship involves seeing the rest of the world and interacting with the diverse range of communities and cultures present on Earth. Travelling has never been easier than today with advances in transport and technology. To make sure your journey in another country makes the most of that intercultural experience, it is necessary to for an individual to immerse themselves in that country’s culture. The example of a tourist and traveller was extremely eye opening.

Click here and watch this quick video  

Are you a tourist when you go overseas?

Or a traveler?

 

What is the difference between the two and how can one become a traveler instead of being a tourist?

Daniel Vera’s concept of inner travel made a lot of sense. Whenever we travel externally and experience new things, we go on an internal journey as this we create connections between our past experiences and identity to this new and current one. An example of my own inner travel journey occurred when I visited Melaka in Malaysia on a family holiday. During one of my days there, my family and I went on a river journey trip on a tiny dingy boat around the straits of Melaka. Melaka is inter connected with water streets and much travelling occurs by boat in this city.

 During the tour instead of just sitting back and taking in the view, I decided to ask questions to the owner of the small boat about the history of Melaka and about the details of our environment. I remember having an amazing conversation with this local, something I had never done on any of my previous trips overseas, and learnt so much about the city and the people there. I cannot remember all my questions and answers I received but I remember  asking why some buildings looked different to other ones in terms of style (it was very obvious) and he told me about the Dutch occupation in Melaka and the reforms to make the straits look more aesthetic from the government. I learnt about the food in Melaka and even about the mudskippers by the side of lake! It was the most connected I had felt to a place outside of Australia. Daniel Vera states that inner travel involves openness, self-discovery and relativism and I completely agree from his speech and my won reflection of my experience in Melaka.

I believe Daniel Vera’s concept of Oneness is extremely related to global citizenship. It is focussing on our similarities and commonalities from the fact that everyone on this planet is a member of the human race, and simply because we are all human, we are all one. Although we may have our differences, it is more important that we focus our energy onto the similarities of one another and creating stronger bonds of connectedness with our fellow human beings around the world.

To become a traveler, you must completely and totally immerse yourself in a new environment. One that is completely new and alien to you. Say goodbye to what you know and what you are comfortable with, and enter something unknown. Make that unknown, known. Make that new and alien and scary new thing, something that you are familiar and comfortable with. Connect with others while overseas and learn about them. They are just like you and me, human beings satisfying the same basic needs day to day.

Blog Post 7 - Random Facts on France!

So a little more informal and less serious blog post this time! Just some interesting info on the romantic capital of the world, you guessed it, France! Why did I choose it? Because I don't know much about France except for some probably inaccurate assumptions from the media I have been exposed to.

 

 After Russia and Ukraine, France is the biggest European country with 20% of its territory lying outside Europe. The 45th parallel north marks the halfway point of the Equator and North Pole and is said to draw the line between Northern and Southern France. In Northern France, 'OÏL' dialects and butter cuisine prevails. In Southern France, 'OCCITAN' dialects and olive oil cuisines prevail.

 Rivers are extremely important in French history as they were the main transportation routes before railways were created. Rivers in France exceed over 300km in length.

As you know, French people cheek kiss to great each other, even between men. However you may not know that number of kisses varies according to the region of France you are in (e.g 1 around Brittany or 4 in Paris).

French are the second biggest consumers of alcohol per capita in the Western world. They are also the World's biggest consumers of psychotropic drugs (one quarter of the population admitting taking anti-depressants or tranquillizers over the past year).

Although French language directly descended from Latin, French people have some of the most diverse genetic and blood make up being related to Celts, Basques, Romans, Franks and Normands explaining the range of diversity in French physical traits.

Until 1964, French women were unable to open a bank account or apply for a passport without the permission of their husband.

Despite many stereotypes of French people, most can speak at least on foreign language. French language was the offical language of England for many centuries, and is still the official language of 30 countries across the world. The Frnech spokes in different places are related but distant dialects, and hence people speaking French in Quebec will have trouble understanding people speaking French in Paris.

Cheques are commonly used as one of the main forms of payment which is uncommon in many counties across the world. 

And of course the Eiffel Tower;  Gustave Eiffel engraved the names of 72 prominent French engineers, scientists ad mathematicians of all time.

During the years 1925 - 1934 the Citroen automobile company used the tower as a billboard! it was the biggest advertising billboard of all time.

Blog Post 6 - The Three Spheres of Sustainability

Sustainability is broadly defined as “meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. As global citizens of this world, each and every one of us have a duty to work towards a sustainable future.

We can break sustainability down into its three components: environmental, economical and social. For an action to be truly sustainable, it has to be environmentally,  economically and socially sustainable. 

Our current society and their past actions have been about promoting economic or social sustainability and growth, at the cost of the environment. However, the answer isn't simply funneling endless amounts of money into environmental protection/projects. This is simply unsustainable (although it is environmentally sustainable, it would neither be socially or economically sustainable). 

 

When an action is truly sustainable, everyone benefits! The environment is protected, the economy is not harmed and the quality of life for humans increases. 

Environmental Sustainability: "in a truly sustainable environment, an ecosystem would maintain populations, biodiversity, and overall functionality over an extended period of time." Resource depletion, pollution, extinction of species, over fishing, deforestation are all examples of activites that are not environmentally sustainable (although they may be provide social or economic growth, this is overall unsustainable as you can see from the above model).

As global citizens, we must aim to not have any negative impacts on the environment and promote habitat restoration and preservation. There are many ways to contribute to environmental sustainability (coming in a post soon!).

Economic Sustainability: "involves creating economic value out of whatever project or decision you are undertaking. Economic sustainability means that decisions are made in the most equitable and fiscally sound way possible while considering the other aspects of sustainability." Actions that are economically sustainable should be made with long term benefits in mind, not just short term. Reducing unnecessary expenditure and promoting subsidies for green development, financial support for universities and education are all important to economic sustainability.   

Social Sustainability: "based on the concept that a decision or project promotes the betterment of society". Social sustainability encompasses the quality of life and consequently can deal with human rights issues, environmental law and public involvement and participation. Legislation should promote the betterment of health and well being for all of society to maintain social sustainability. 

Global citizens should strive towards achieving sustainability in all three areas. With a poor environment or poor economy it will be impossible to have a high quality of life. We must work together in achieving sustainability, it is the only hope for our planet. If we do not, then man kind will experience resource exhaustion, food shortages, dangerous levels of pollution and a decline in the world population.

The right choice is easy to see, but hard to work towards, but together we will make it.

Blog Post 5 - Sikhism: An Introduction

So back in Blog post 2 (religion) I decided that every single year I would make myself the student of a new religion. Please do not confuse this with a follower of the religion, I am simply making myself a student of the teachings of different religions and learning about different beliefs with an open mind and spirit. 

I have decided that this year (since I am a born Mulsim) I will do Islam. I never finished learning how to read arabic, or learning how to pray etc. I wish to complete the learning's of my born religion before learning others. 

However, I caught up with an old friend from high school for a movie (shout out to Devpaal Singh) who does quite a bit of work for the Sikh Youth Association, including running Sikh Youth Camps. I discussed with him my plan to study different religions and wondered if he would teach me a bit about his religion and whether or not I could go on one of the Sikh Youth Camps in 2015. My plan was to really immerse myself in an environment new and alien to me, and make myself familiar and comfortable with it by learning more about my fellow brothers and sisters.

Devpaal said yes, and so I'll dedicate this post to a quick introduction to Sikhism.

The Sikh Symbol

Sikhism was founded over 500 years ago (one of the youngest new world religions) and has over 20 million followers today. It preaches the remembrance of God at all times, living truthfully, equality of all humans, justice and denounces superstition and blind rituals. The teachings of Sikhism come from 10 Gurus enshrined in Sikh Holy Book and Living Guru, Sri Guru Granath Sahib. 

The Ten Gurus each represent a divine attribute:

Guru Nanak - Humility
Guru Angad - Obedience
Guru Amar Das — Equality
Guru Ram Das - Service
Guru Arjan - Self-Sacrifice
Guru Hargobind - Justice
Guru Har Rai - Mercy
Guru Harkrishan - Purity
Guru Tegh Bahadur - Tranquility
Guru Gobind Singh - Royal Courage  

The tenth Guru, the last Guru in human form created the Khalsa. The Khalsa are Sikh men and women who have undergone a Sikh baptism ceremony who wear the five K's to remind them of their commitment and to help them maintain an elevated state of consciousness.

The Five K's:

Kesh - uncut hair and beard, as given by God, to sustain him or her in higher consciousness; and a turban, the crown of spirituality.

Kangha - a wooden comb to properly groom the hair as a symbol of cleanliness. 

Katchera - specially made cotton underwear as a reminder of the commitment to purity. 

Kara - a steel circle, worn on the wrist, signifying bondage to Truth and freedom from every other entanglement. 

Kirpan - the sword, with which the Khalsa is committed to righteously defend the fine line of the Truth.



A summary of the Sikh Beliefs:

Philosophy and Beliefs
 There is only One God. He is the same God for all people of all religions.

 The soul goes through cycles of births and deaths before it reaches the human form. The goal of our life is to lead an exemplary existence so that one may merge with God. Sikhs should remember God at all times and practice living a virtuous and truthful life while maintaining a balance between their spiritual obligations and temporal obligations.

 The true path to achieving salvation and merging with God does not require renunciation of the world or celibacy, but living the life of a householder, earning a honest living and avoiding worldly temptations and sins.

 Sikhism condemns blind rituals such as fasting, visiting places of pilgrimage, superstitions, worship of the dead, idol worship etc.

 Sikhism preaches that people of different races, religions, or sex are all equal in the eyes of God. It teaches the full equality of men and women. Women can participate in any religious function or perform any Sikh ceremony or lead the congregation in prayer.

Hope you enjoyed this short introduction to Sikhism! I will do a more detailed one on Islam this year, and an equally detailed one to Islam on Sikhism next year. I am definitely looking forward to Sikh Camp

Blog Post 4 - Gestures in India

Many people go overseas and experience problems when living in a foreign culture. Some of these are due to the lack of knowledge regarding the gestures of this new culture. In this post I wish to share with you some knowledge of gestures in Indian culture. This isn't meant to be a complete and comprehensive guide containing all the gestures in India, but just a few tips here and there that can't hurt to know.

 

Staring -  In many Western countries, starting is considered strange and sometimes rude. However in India, it is considered the natural response to curiosity and is supposed to be offensive.

Left Hand - In many countries the left hand is considered 'unclean', including India. When in India or countries that observe this tradition, try to refrain from eating using your left hand, or accepting gifts/objects with your left hand. This may be tricky if you are left handed, but try keep it in mind!

Whistling - Whistling and winking at women in India is considered rude. Being too bold with women is considered extremely poor taste in India.

Feet - In India, the feet are considered a very unclean part of the body. Avoid pointing with people with your feet or even showing the bottom of your feet to others. Apologies are to be made if you accidentally touch someone with your feet or shoes. 

Head - Never touch anyone on the head whilst in India. The head is considered to be the 'seat of the soul'. Patting children on the head can be viewed as affectionate in Western culture, however is unacceptable in India.

Head Wobble - This is what inspired this post! I am quite good friends with my neighbor and their family and often have conversations with them when I run into them on the way in or out of the house. I always noticed that whenever conversing with my neighbor,  he would always shake his head or wobble his head from side to side. I did not think much of it, however I suppose I assumed he was unsure or did not feel strongly about what I was talking about. After doing some research on it, I discovered that the head wobble in Indian culture is actually done when you agree with the other person, or support what they are saying! It is often misinterpreted by others as a sign of doubt, uncertainty or disagreement. In reality it means Yes, or I agree with you.

Having this piece of knowledge will aid my future communication with my neighbor and strangers too.


Here is a video of head wobbling!