What should universities and their staff and students do/not do to support and develop global citizenship in education and research?  What is the role of universities in the face of complex societal and global challenges?  Global citizenship is a contested concept that deserves ongoing exploration, holding the potential to be a force for renewal for our universities as institutions that meet and address the emerging questions of the 21st century.

The Matariki Network of Universities’ (MNU) Global Citizenship Programme seeks to recognise this potential. A newly founded initiative, it aims to improve MNU partner universities’ capacity to be leading institutions in understanding global citizenship and educating global citizens.  It also seeks new pathways for universities to critically explore their own implications, problems and potentials within the issues global citizenship encompasses.  The Programme serves as an umbrella for a variety of multi-institutional activities in education, research and engagement, and aims to involve people and activities both inside and outside the university.

The Programme was launched in April 2016 with an international workshop at Uppsala University, bringing together a group of 27 faculty and students from six MNU partner institutions. During the four-day workshop, participants explored critical notions of global citizenship, shared work and experiences, and collaboratively proposed structures and content for the emerging Global Citizenship Programme.