Portfolio Entry # 18 - TED and Walls

In the 60s, Canadian intellectual Herbert McLuhan coined the term “global village” to describe how the world contracted into a village by information and communication technologies. However, alongside this phenomenon nationalisms and ethnocentrisms emerged. These movements create individualism, mistrust and hatred to everything and everybody that is different; migration is one of the processes that exacerbates these feelings. Historically, governments responded to unwanted migration erecting walls and fences, which have proved to be inefficient. On the other hand, voices in favour of confraternity have appeared. Hugh Evans, and George Papandreou´s TED talks go in the same direction, they plead for a global citizenship, global solutions to global problems and a new democracy bargain.

In his talk, Hugh Evans exemplifies the idea of global citizenship through two experiences of people doing something for others. Davinia is a Jamaican girl that collected money within her friends to fund girls education. Hugh Evans joined a group of college friends, took the Make Poverty History campaign to Australia, and persuaded the government to “act to fix problem miles outside our borders”. He uses the term “global citizens” for people like Davinia and himself that identify themselves primarily as members of the human race instead of Jamaican or Australian. Besides, Evans states that it is pointless to “isolate ourselves and our nations from one another”. Moreover, he calls people for a stronger commitment to find global solutions to global problems such as migration and global warming.

George Papandreou, the Greece former Prime Minister ponders on his administration and the debt crisis of 2010. He resumes it as a failure of politics, leadership and democracy. He affirms, “Our democracies are undermined by the growing inequality and the growing concentration of power and wealth, lobbies, corruption (…) and they have constrained our capacity to imagine and actually use the potential (…) in finding solutions”. Succinctly, he urged people to get involved in democracy and common decisions to global problems such as cross-border problems, climate change, migration and financial system. Moreover, he strongly encourages people to abandon “unfounded” stereotypes and xenophobia in order to deepen and widen democracy beyond European borders. Overall, both lecturers criticise the idea of building walls or barriers in general as a solution for the problems mentioned above. They do not protect nor provide people with security. Evans and Papandreou propose creative answers for these times, a strong commitment on democracy, participation and citizenship. 

Source:

·         Hugh, Evans. [TED-Ed] (2016, May 4). What does it mean to be a Citizen of the World? (Video). Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODLg_00f9BE

·         Papandreou, George. [TED-Ed] (2013, June 12) Imagine a European Democracy without Borders. (Video). Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOTWO0gSPqw

George Papandreou: Imagine a European Democracy Without Borders




Hugah Evans: What Does it Mean to Be a Citizen of the World?