I am a citizen of the world.
I know it’s difficult to read a post that talks about absolute change. Especially in a political realm. But this post is not meant to be political or argumentative. It’s about the utopian idea, imagining what is possible. I know there are a lot of reason this dream may not work. I do not wish to engage in those kinds of discussions here. Rather, I’d prefer to look at what’s possible, what one person did on order to realize that dream and add energy forward to a movement that believes utopia is place, not that distant…..
…and so the vision was born..
Why World is Citizenship Important?
The value of global citizen project is derived from the concept of world citizenship, which acknowledges an individual’s rights and duties within the world community. This project was started by the World Government of World citizens (WGWC) to promote and maintain global peace.
The World Government of World Citizens is an alliance of sovereign citizens of the world whose aim is to foster peace in the world by everyone claiming citizenship to the world as a whole rather than to a specific country. In a nutshell.. every human being born on the planet Earth is a world citizen without belonging to any organization. Many other world citizenship organizations have been created to help people band together and express their voice and seek human rights like the right of Travel. But in the post, we take a look at The World Government of World Citizens, which was founded on the principles of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, passed in 1948.
The Global Citizen project is aimed at fostering world citizenship rather than national citizenship because the latter is exclusive whereas the former is inclusive. It emphasizes on the sovereignty of individuals rather than that of a particular country to foster global peace. This project envisions a world without conflict and with equality among all individuals. Though this state is rarely existent, the modern world can achieve permanent peace.
Why was this project was started?
Many conflicts in the world arise from one country believing themselves superior to another and thus fight for power. Most wars were instigated by anarchy and the world government seeks to prevent any wars. The value of the citizen project is that it acknowledges the common humanity with none being superior. With people thinking of themselves as global citizens and in line with their rights and duties, they would be responsible for maintaining peace.
The Workings of the World Government
Just like any other political government, the value of the global citizen project is enhanced by the administrative structure in place to govern the world citizens. This government follows the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The administrative agency or government is the World Service Authority that was founded in 1954. This authority has 20 commissions that deal with the various aspects of life such as Communications, Energy, Education, Women, Youth Education, Sports, just to mention a few. You can see that the system is well organized and has the potential of regulating the world interactions.
The positive value of the Global citizenship projectYou do not lose your national citizenship when you declare yourself a global citizen. According to the charter for Human Rights, you have a right to declare your political allegiance, so you can claim dual citizenship.The project enforces your human rights as per the Universal Declaration of Human RightsYou are able to travel freely with the world passport, which is accepted in most countries.Refugees can use it and stateless persons and different nations have to accept them in principle.The world government makes no impositions on the government but rely on the citizen’s sense of duty. For example, a global tax is required for running of the government and yet it is not compulsory.It incorporates the teachings of religious leaders and therefore has a moral side, unlike the national citizenship.
How to register with the global citizen project
Now that you know the value of the global citizen project, you may want to register yourself as the World Service Authority at the world office; Washington DC undertakes a world citizen registration. You will be required to pay a paltry sum of $60, $30 being the registration fee and the rest being annual assessment. When you register, you are given a world citizen card and a world citizen certificate as proof of your citizenship. You can produce this citizen card as proof of your ownership whenever it is required.
Other documents that may be given by the World Service Authority are:
- The world passport
- World identity card
- World birth certificate
- World marriage certificate
- World political asylum card
- World press card
These documents show the value of the global citizen project to the proponents. The documents are usually issued for prices ranging between $10 to 30. Everything in the global citizen project been clearly planned for and the citizenship is made as close as possible to the norm but with the added benefit of individual sovereignty.
Is a global citizenship possible?
I hope it is.
A lot of this is based on high concepts, but a dream and vision is where it starts.
It is evident that the concept of having a world that is peaceful and harmonious is very possible. This is the vision of this particular global citizen project. Individual are sovereign and entitled to his or her rights. In addition to these rights, he has the duties owed to the global community even though the duties are not imposed on him. And of course, free will is highly valued in this concept.
