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Responsible Mission
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Globalisation
- Pressies in South Africa
From 15-22 June 2004, four Presbyterian youth workers - Elizabeth McKirdy (Oamaru), Warwick Moffat (Christchurch), Kiri Shepherd (Rotorua) and Andrew Colgan (Auckland) - attended the Council for World Mission Global Youth Convention in South Africa. The theme of the Convention was Globalisation, and the four learned a huge amount about the impact of globalisation on our world. Read Andrew Colgan's reflections on globalisation.
Globalisation - What Does It Mean?
This is a summary of Andrew Colgan's reflections from the CWM Global Youth Convention. Read the full version here.
Globalisation is the buzz word on everybody's lips in the 21st century. What does it mean? Several people have attempted to define it. It basically means the world is getting smaller in just about every sense except for geographically. Exchange is becoming more rapid, travel more feasible, communication faster and more accessible, advertising and media more widespread and movement of money more free-flowing.
Globalisation is not always and does not necessarily have to be a bad thing, allowing sharing of cultural diversity, instant communication, sharing of ideas and resources, and participation in global movements.
But it is causing huge problems. Those who seem to be in control of globalisation don't seem to have the interests of everybody in mind. Consequently, economic and financial globalisation is occurring at a rate disproportionate to all other developments.
The resulting problems are huge, hitting women, children and those on the periphery (especially in poorer countries) the hardest. These problems include exploitation in employment, the rise of the HIV / AIDS pandemic, and neglect of the sick, illiterate, disabled and elderly.
The fate of many poorer or "developing" nations lies in the hands of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the World Trade Organisation. Claims that structural adjustments are in the best interest of those poorer nations and not simply for the benefit of the wealthy administrators and creditors of these financial institutions are dubious at best.
Globalisation also seems to be paying little regard to environmental issues, causing global warming, clearing of rainforests, and destruction of rivers, lakes and wildlife habitats.
Despite extensive plundering of the world's natural resources, this wealth has been shared less and less equally in recent times and poverty is not declining in many areas. The gap between rich and poor is growing on a local and an international level:
- The richest 20% of the world's population enjoy 86% of its resources while the poorest 20% must survive with a little over 1%.
- The 225 richest people in the world have the equivalent income to the poorest 225 billion.
- The world's three richest people have fortunes equivalent to the GDP of the world's poorest 36 countries.
- 200 million children never start school (3/4 of these are girls). The amount needed to send these children to school each year is less than the amount spent on cosmetics in the USA and less than half the amount spent on ice cream in Europe.
The growth of advertising and the entertainment media is contributing to the rising of a homogenous global youth culture. In New Zealand it is now estimated that we see on average over 3000 advertisements every day. Young people are made to feel insecure through “image advertising” and then told consumption is the answer to their insecurities. The result is a rise in individualism and a lack of compassion and care for others. People are encouraged to care more about money and image than family and community. Perhaps this plays a part in the high youth suicide rate in New Zealand. The other adverse effect of this global youth culture is that we are seeing people all around lose their unique cultural identities in pursuit of a branded western culture. In many ways, diversity is fighting a losing battle against globalisation.
All the participants at GYC were unanimous in expressing the sentiment that it is our responsibility as Christian young people of the world to respond to these issues. The world's youth are not the future, we are the present. A strong feeling that came out of the conference was that if change is to be brought about by us, change must begin with us.
So how do we as Christian youth (and more specifically the Youth of PCANZ) respond to these issues?
1. Educate ourselves:
To make a change, we must understand what we are attempting to change. Although we are a well educated country with a comparatively unbiased news media, we are unaware of a lot of what goes on outside our sphere. This may have something to do with the fact that homeless children on the streets of Malawi can probably tell you more about the World Bank and the IMF than a New Zealander with a university degree. New Zealanders are not very good at researching the different sides to a story, we are much better at accepting what we are told. There is also a need to educate our young people about AIDS and the effect that it having overseas as well as the risk it will pose to New Zealand in the future.
2. Raise Awareness:
Among our young people about these issues and others which we feel are important.
3. Empower:
Most young New Zealanders are concerned about world issues, but feel powerless to make a difference. Apathy is self-perpetuating, within a community or youth group, but so is passion and a desire to change the world. Awareness is the first step to this empowerment.
4. Care, Embrace Community and Celebrate Diversity:
Care for those left behind by the individualism of the global youth culture. We all know how difficult it is to fit in when we have to look perfect, talk the right way, watch all the right TV and wear the right clothes. Community is one of the strongest values of PCANZ. Globalisation and consumerism threaten to destroy the desire of young people to participate in a community. One of the best things we can provide for our young people is a sense of community and belonging in our youth groups.
5. Advocate:
Write letters, join protest marches, sign petitions, join movements - be active in making a change.
Globalisation is upon us, but this need not be a bad thing. By making ourselves and others aware of the issues facing young people in the world today, networking and collectively resolving to make a difference in the above ways, we the Christian youth can create a new world. Let us not reject globalisation for fear of intensifying its problems, let us HUMANISE GLOBALISATION THROUGH CRITICAL PARTICIPATION.