Everyone guessed what was my first cultural shock when I came to the United States. People here ask, How am I doing without actually expecting a full one hour answer about my life? So I’m going to spend the next one hour talking about my life. Just kidding. I’m Tuấn and I’m going to share my thoughts on global citizenship. With the world population hitting 8 billion and globalization becoming more and more prevalent. How are we approaching diversity and inclusion? There’s much discussion about how to create an all embracing environment in the United States But there has been less talk on how American expatriates can best adapt to a foreign culture. How do American expatriates feel when they are now the minority and how should they assimilate? What if both discussions are two sides of the same coin? A worldview. Global citizenship is when an individual identity goes beyond geographical and political borders, embracing humanity as a broader class. Many great activists have talked about global citizenship, but most focused more on what we should do as global citizen, like helping others in developing countries. But your journey of becoming a global citizen doesn’t need to start in Syria or Liberia. Before we look to the outside world and seek to help others, I think it’s beneficial for us to step back and look within ourselves. What should we care? Being told to embrace differences and altruism wouldn’t cut it. It's part of our evolution that we tend to favor and help those that are within our own group more than those from other groups. In-Group bias has been a central aspect of human behavior, and its mechanism can be a force for good like helping us enhance our self concepts or increasing our winning chances when competing for scarce resources. It also manifests itself as a force for ill. Characterized by outgroup hatred leading to war and race discrimination which costly harm everyone.
We need to be aware of this bias and try to trust it.
Why? Evolution takes millions of years to have lasting changes while our society is changing by the day. Well suited for ancestor may not be optimal or us right now, and what we need right now is more collaboration and compassion. Why don't we try having humanity as our in-group for once? Being inclusive and empathetic doesn’t just lead to zero sum games, it leads to win-win situations. A close season doesn’t just give but also receive. The United States only account for 4% of the world populations, so there must be attractive opportunities elsewhere. Hence the need for global citizenship and global mindedness where people adopt global mindedness. They understand the world in which they live and how they fit into that world. Great ideas and collaboration can rise from such understanding. In other words, global mindedness can lead to better career, financial and life outcomes. The crop global mindedness. I think we should first understand acculturation, which is the interaction style of person adopt when interacting with other cultures. There are four approaches to acculturation, integration, assimilation, separation and marginalization. Marginalization is when a person has no cultural or psychological contact with the traditional culture or the larger society. Separation is when that person maintains the ethnic identity. While there is a simultaneous absence of relation with the larger society. Assimilation, on the other hand, is when that person gives up their cultural identity to move into the larger society. And when you have the best of both worlds, you have integration, meaning you retain your cultural integrity while becoming an integral part of the larger society. Where can the United States separation was how I adapted to the new environment. I was reserved and slow to change. I expected people to think and act like how I was accustomed to, and when they didn’t do so, I felt there was a dividing wall between us, stopping me from making genuine connections with them. So I chose the easiest solution, which was to make friends with other Vietnamese students and stick with them. This approach, however, made me feel even more disconnected and isolated. It was not until I realized that I needed to be more of a blank slate to a culture that started to seek more changes. I started to join student organizations and make friends with peers from various backgrounds, trying to see the world through the lenses. Practicing open mindedness, opened my eyes so much As I stopped seeing myself as me, but instead as a member of this world, I felt so free and at home. The best part is I didn’t even need to change my core values. I just needed to change my mindset. Nonetheless, I feel like my personal experience alone wouldn’t be a good enough help to jumpstart the journey of becoming global citizen. So I asked 25 sea level executives for their advice. And here are the common answers to answer the questions “Why should we care?.” The world is interconnected. An event in one countries can lead to chain reactions in others. We need to see beyond our regional boundaries to grow, understand how different cultures, see the world can bring new perspectives and challenges to the belief system that we accept as the norm. Having established that. How can we thrive in a multicultural environment? I think Stephen Covey could summarize this best. Seek first to understand rather than to be understood. Different culture emerged from historical events, religion, even the weather. So we should have and show genuine interest in the cultures of others by asking thoughtful questions. People especially bond around food as a common place for fellowship and passion. And how do we feel at home in any nation? Knowledge is power. When you know where you’re going and what other people recommend doing there. You can feel more confident that you can navigate the new surroundings. Be adventurous. Getting as much understanding of the culture and the country to fully experience is just as important as having things like home. Oh no. I want to end my presentation with this. The more global citizen we have, the better the world becomes. We segment the world by political and geographical borders, by ethnicity and culture and stages of economic development. We allow pettiness, competition and discrimination to creep in, but we see ourselves as members of this world. We can better see commonalities in people. Global citizen can connect better with others, think for the common good and build a better society. Everyone can be a global citizen and more people need to know about global citizenship. Thank you.