Global Civics for a Connected World

We live in a world where an epidemic in Mexico can easily influence daily lives in Europe, or carbon dioxide emissions from the U.S. and China can affect crop yields in Bangladesh or Vietnam. While a financial reconstruction in the United States can affect economic growth and policies in every part of the world, an earthquake in Haiti can lead to world-wide campaigns on various media or at least arouse public fears regarding natural disasters.

These events illustrate a growing sense of global social responsibility and interdependence. Activist groups increasingly focus on issues such as environmental problems and nuclear proliferation through world-wide organizations and campaigns. But don’t we have individual responsibilities, rights and duties? Isn’t it time to become a global citizen with a system of conscious responsibilities?

Jian Yi, a film director and former Open Society Fellow, has turned global civics into a documentary. Based on interviews in nine countries (Argentina, Brazil, China, Germany, India, Italy, Turkey, South Africa, and the United States), the documentary includes conversations with ordinary people as well as Martti Ahtisaari, Kemal Dervis, Jimmy Wales, and others.