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1. Introduction - TNE, global citizenship and partnerships
“I am often asked what can people do to become a global citizen? I reply that it begins in your own community” - Kofi Annan, Former United Nations Secretary-General
TNE is an enterprise that demands intercultural competencies exercised in foreign contexts. It trains global citizens. Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao (ENZ) has been developing models for global citizenship that are informed and strengthened by Te Ao Māori. Māori kaupapa can serve as a guide for global citizenship — enabling cross-border relations that are interpersonal (whanaungatanga), hospitable (manaakitanga), and sustainable (kaitiakitanga). Global citizenship is formed by our whakapapa: our connectedness to people, place and planet. Global citizenship is a way to recognise shared responsibilities and reach shared goals across societies, cultures, politics and economies.
There are three distinctive characteristics of global citizen initiatives: Looking beyond our borders, intercultural competencies and taking action for the common good.
- A pre-requisite for beginning to make sense of the world beyond our borders is recognise that it is different to "our place". While this is intuitively understood by many, TNE offers an invaluable opportunity for this insight to become a lived experience, and it offers a fresh lens by which to critique our culture.
- Intercultural competence is the ability to engage in open, effective and appropriate interaction across cultures. TNE forces us to ask whether we possess the attitudes (cultural humility, openness, curiosity) and the skills (listening, observing, critiquing) to practise intercultural agility.
- A framework for taking action is the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs). These 17 goals were adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, providing a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity.
TNE is an excellent vehicle for forming global citizens in learning environments. As outlined in Enhancing the international student experience, intercultural learning does not happen purely by travelling and living in another culture. Institutions, teachers and international education professionals have a role to play in creating incentives that encourage learners to critically reflect on global citizenship.
2. TNE as an expression of global citizenship: How is your institution doing?
A holistic TNE strategy is one that is grounded in global citizenship principles that are included in a whole-of-provider vision.
Some areas for consideration can be found below:
- Policy, strategy and vision: consider how your institution approaches diversity, inclusion, intercultural understanding and taking action for the common good. Is this part of your policies, strategy or vision? Is TNE presented as a visible expression? Setting the values of global citizenship as a core part of your goals should be a first and certain step.
- Curriculum and subject content: Global issues and concerns should be reflected in a TNE curriculum. For those seeking to embed global citizenship in the curriculum, Oxfam offer some very useful ideas here.
- International (and intercultural) opportunities: TNE, outbound and inbound students bring a wealth of diversity and richness to host institutions. They are uniquely placed to reflect on cross-border dynamics. See Working with the teaching profession for some ideas on how to tap into the diversity in your classrooms to help students develop intercultural skills.
- Taking action: it is important to take action. Using the UNSDGs as a guide, you can embed projects in different subjects, form clubs, and engage students in project-based learning that investigates issues affecting their local communities.
- Professional development: TNE offers a springboard for global citizenship learning for staff. How often do teachers and staff have the opportunity to immerse themselves in international and cross-border experiences? Do they have opportunities to practise intercultural learning in your institution?
3. Learn more about how your institution is tracking
AFS Intercultural Programs developed this Global Competence Index for schools, exploring some of the dimensions described above. The Index looks at twelve different conditions for nurturing global competence and helps schools to achieve this end. Once participants complete the questionnaire, they will receive a report on their school’s readiness profile, along with specific recommendations to identify new opportunities to advance their students’ global competence.
4. Working together for success
If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.
African proverb.
The Chinese proverb states: 'It takes two hands to clap". This is instructive for TNE partners. Sustainable Development Goal #17 accentuates partnerships (mahi tahi) and the importance of working together to achieve shared goals.
For many New Zealand providers, partnerships are strengthened by Māori values that nurture the soil of the country's biculturalism:
- manaaki - kindness or the reciprocity of goodwill
- whanaunga - our connectedness or shared sense of humanity
- mahi tahi and kotahitanga - collective benefits and shared aspiration
- kaitiaki – your responsibilities as protectors and stewards of our intergenerational wellbeing
TNE Collaboration can also come with its challenges. A collaboration is successful when institutions have:
Shared vision: when looking for partners we should look at those organisations, institutions or individuals who share our vision for the future. We need to explore some questions to feel comfortable with our partnership.
- What do these potential partners think of how education should be?
- What is their understanding of global citizenship and the core values of international education?
- What are their core values?
- what would they like to achieve partnering with us? Is this aligned with our expectations?
Mutual benefits: ensuring that there is something for everyone in the partnership is one of the bases of success. What is in it for me? will be a recurrent question keeping the relationship alive. Keep at the forefront the core values of mahi tahi and kotahitanga for collective benefits and shared aspiration.
Open communication and transparency: Long-term success requires honesty and transparency from all partners. That means maintaining open and frequent communication as well as personal interaction as often as possible. All partners should be transparent from the start about what they lack and what they can offer before deciding whether the TNE partnership is a good idea. Transparency and open communication will also help you learn from the hiccups you will encounter along the way.
Ask yourself a few questions:
- What is my institution doing well and can therefore help others?
- What do we need?
- Who might be able to help us with our needs?
- Which organisation’s goals are aligned with ours?
- How can we all benefit from working together?
You could create a map of potential stakeholders and organisations with whom you can collaborate (See How to engage with stakeholders). Then start now! Reach out to others, ask for instructions, attend conferences and networking events where you can find like-minded people and institutions. Most importantly, always keep an eye out for potential collaboration and partnerships.
Some inspiring partnerships
If you are ready to get started, but you are looking for some inspiration and a practical example of what a partnership to promote global citizenship could look like, we have collated a few initiatives for you to explore.
5. Building Intercultural competencies - Exploring training opportunities
The International Education Association (ISANA NZ) offers eLearning micro modules that introduce intercultural capabilities for education contexts and confer digital badges. Working with a professional training body assists education providers with their nuanced engagment with offshore partners. There is no substitute for sector-specific training to consolidate expertise and skills.
There is are range of past and present intercultural innovations that offer templates for TNE partnerships:
(Past) The partnership between the Centre of Asia Pacific Excellence and the University of Waikato allowed for the creation of global competencies tools, which were applied and refined by classroom teachers. These tools aided teachers’ self-knowledge and reflection and offered resources for considering the impact and development of significant global issues. This partnership provided a model for supporting teachers’ in-service professional development and offered an opportunity to promote the value and interests of the international education sector.
(Past) The University of Auckland’s Generation Change Maker introduced international learners to a programme that helped them respond to one of the defining issues of our age. Here, international learners who are passionate about climate change were supported in a programme of work where they worked closely with like-minded locals. The Generation Change Maker training included a weekend workshop and a tree-planting day. If new international learners participated in common good initiatives such as these, they learned the benefits of participating in a meaningful activity that supported their social connections and sense of belonging.
(Present) Te Pūao Wellington International Leadership Programme is a free, self-paced, co-curricular programme aimed at enhancing any degree and making participants more globally aware. This interdisciplinary programme advances students’ ability to critically engage with global issues; presents creative, diverse and innovative approaches to global citizenship while enhancing their intercultural competence, leadership potential, and employability. It also creates opportunities for international experiences and global connections.
6. Conclusion
TNE provides us with the best opportunity to help scholars develop the skills, knowledge and values needed to become global citizens and to succeed in transnational learning. The accompanying global citizenship opportunities offer students an opportunity to think more globally.
Successful TNE initiatives are sustainable initiatives. It is important to engage with partners who share common goals and pursue mutual benefits, such as enhancing global citizenship credentials and enriching the quality of curricula offerings. In this topic, you had the opportunity to assess where your institution stands, considering the needs of your TNE stakeholders and identifying grounds for sound partnerships.
What are you waiting for? Get started!
7. References
Oxfam. (2023). What is global citizenshihp.
https://www.oxfam.org.uk/education/who-we-are/what-is-global-citizenship/
Preparing Youth for an Inclusive and Sustainable World: The OECD PISA global competence framework. OECD, 2018. Available at:
http://www.oecd.org/pisa/Handbook-PISA-2018-Global-Competence.pdf
Competences for Democratic Culture: Living together as equals in culturally diverse democratic societies. Council of Europe, 2016. Available at:
Deardorff, D. K. (Ed)(2009) The SAGE Handbook of Intercultural Competence. SAGE Publications.
https://www.inc.com/rhett-power/4-ways-to-build-a-successful-partnership.html
Global Citizenship Education: Preparing learners for the challenges of the twenty-first century. UNESCO, 2014. Available at:
