From June 2nd to June 8th 2024, me and ten other fellows embarked on an adventure of a lifetime. During our stay in Rome, we not only got to see the most precious sights this historical city has to offer but also worked on becoming Global Citizens and understand what it means to be one. I am going to go through a little recap of everything that happen throughout the week in order to depict the most impactful moments, how my understanding of global citizenship and Jesuit values has developed, and what challenges I or the group has faced.
On day two, Monday June 3rd, the program properly started. After lunch we had our first guest speakers from UNESCO joining us over Zoom. Unfortunately, Cecilia Barbieri was not able to participate in the discussion since she lost her voice, however, her two co-workers did an amazing job at presenting the work their department does and how they individually understand global citizenship. My biggest takeaways from this session have been: The introduction to the term “glocal” – to think both on a local, yet also on a global level, when facing challenges regarding global citizenship. This approach has had a lasting impact on all our group projects and my own thinking when it comes to defining global citizenship. Another takeaway was how powerful education can be at addressing glocal issues, as well as the importance of using appropriate terminology to define challenges and solutions. This has led our group “Culture of Encounter” to identify that we need to define what “Culture” and “Encounter” mean to us before further identifying challenges we associate with those terms. As a philosophy student terminology does play a big part in my studies as well, so this has been of special importance to me. One aspect, however, that I was missing during the talk with UNESCO was the inclusion of educating on the environment, since all beings need to be included when we talk about global citizenship. Nevertheless, this more anthropocentric approach to global citizenship that UNESCO has offered us, has truly been impactful in a sense, that I could more clearly define what it means to be a global citizen to me – that is to be open-minded and compassionate towards other human beings, as well as all living and non-living things, who make all life on earth possible in the first place.
The ”In-your-shoes”-exercises that we did throughout the week, have not only fostered a deeper connection between all participants but also have helped me to understand global citizenship better. The talk I had with Ellie which we presented on our last day in front of the group was extremely influential and helpful to hear other another person´s definition of global citizenship and understand your own definition in a different way when your words are being said back to you by the other person. To name one thought of Ellie that I have adopted to my own definition of what it means to be a global citizen is that we all have “inherent dignity and should be given inalienable rights regardless of where we came from, nationality, gender, etc.” Lastly, this conversation has shown me that both Ellie and I strongly resonate with the Jesuit values of caring for the vulnerable and less fortunate, as well as the earth.
On day three, Tuesday June 4th, Mateusz Ciasnocha and Maria Virginia Solis Wahnish from the Farm of Francesco joined us. They introduced us to the economy of Francesco, its goal, its virtues, and its founding, which has been extremely interesting. Afterwards, we were invited to participate in a workshop that sounded easy at first but turned out to be a challenge to all of us. In small groups we were assigned villages, i.e., “policies for happiness,” and needed to figure out one specific challenge that this village faces and find a specific solution to this problem. Mateusz and Maria truly challenged us when it came to getting specific. This has been one of the most difficult yet most rewarding exercises (for our group projects) because we all struggled with narrowing down our challenge and hence could not find a proper solution. Mateusz offered us a tool to help us with exactly that, which is to ask the five Why´s? to find the underlying cause of an issue. One quote of his that is furthermore still stuck in my head is “progress is not perfection,” which has lifted a lot of pressure and expectation from my (and I think all our) shoulders.
On day four, Wednesday June 5th, Vatican City awaited us. This has been by far the most challenging day for me personally. Being able to accept being a part of this impactful trip to Rome, realizing how much responsibility and opportunity lays in it, and how blessed I am to be surrounded by all these highly skilled people, has been an overwhelming realization. However, Dr. Ryann Craig helped me to overcome my fear and showed me what caring for other people, compassion, and selflessness can look like. The gratitude and respect I hold for both her and Nick Scrimenti, who has been unimaginably empathetic and attentive towards all fellows, are difficult to put into words. Their actions and kindness will continue to guide me as I embark on this journey and throughout my entire life. Day 4 turned out to be as wonderful and intellectually stimulating as the previous days – hearing Pope Francis speak and being shown around the Jesuit Curia have been my highlights of that day.
On day five, Thursday June 6th, we did some more exploring of Rome´s monuments and had another guest speaker, Lavinia Lovino. She has been the person who impressed me the most. Being a leading member of the Fridays for Future movement in Italy at only eighteen and having been an activist for about five years is outstanding. Her definition of activism is furthermore one of my biggest takeaways: She stated that activism does not only mean to be in the front row at every demonstration, screaming at the top of your lungs whatever you´re advocating for, but activism comes in all different shapes and forms. Lavinia views activism as a subjective matter and a spectrum, where every action, however small, contributes to the cause and you can pick your field of action, whether that is research, organizing events, providing knowledge or materials, etc. Later that day another woman with an impressive background, Katherine Marshall, joined us all for dinner and shared her work with us.
On day six, Friday June 7th, our last day together, not everything went as planned since a few fellows got COVID 19 and could unfortunately not participate in our closing session, where each group presented their project that we all have been working on the last months. Saying goodbye has been the last challenge of this program that I personally had to face since we all have grown fond of each other and pushed us towards becoming better at what we do, what we say, and how we think every day.
To conclude, a few final words on how I plan on applying what this program has thought me in my future endeavors: 1) If you want to find a solution to any problem, get specific in defining what that problem is – think “glocal”, 2) believe that every action, no matter how small it might be, matters, 3) being kind and compassionate towards other people, even strangers, can change their and your own life for the positive, and lastly 4) helping other´s become global citizens is one of the greatest responsibilities and necessities in this time and day.
Thank you Nick, thank you Ryann, thank you Julio, and thank you Georgetown for helping me realize a bit more who I am, what I want and can do in my life, and what it means to be a global citizen. It has been a great honor to be a part of this fellowship and I will continue this journey, keeping all the experiences, notions, and people in my heart.
— Piera Prattki
Sie wollen mehr über das Projekt erfahren?
2022 hat Student Leo König an einem Projekttreffen teilgenommen und das Programm von Beginn an begleitet. Seine Eindrücke und learnings lesen Sie hier: Erfahrungsbericht Leo König