Chaung Tha Beach

During these four months when we are attending GCC there will be some weekends when we are off. This spare time will be used for exploring Myanmar, visiting our families (at least for the Burmese participants) or just relaxing at the platform.

This weekend the 25^th to the 27^th of March the Danish participants decided to go to a beach called Chaung Tha Beach. In order to get there we had to go for a seven hours long and bumpy bus trip from Yangon. Slowly moving away from traffic noise and street kitchen inferno and exchanging it with the sound of waves and windy walks at the beach. We wanted to escape the big city life for a weekend and take advantage of the climate in Myanmar. Especially because we do not have the weather conditions to swim in the ocean and lay by the beach to sun tan in rainy Denmark.

And so our bags were packed with swimwear, sun lotion and towels, matching our expectations. But as we entered the beach Friday morning we realized that we were the only ones with that intention. The beach was filled with people of all ages, but none of them were pale foreigners trying to get a sun tan. Instead it was Burmese people playing in the ocean, eating seafood and hiding in the shadow. Obviously it was difficult for us to hide, but instead we had the pleasure of so many friendly greetings, curios children and group pictures, making the trip even more exiting.     

And still there was plenty of time to enjoy the peaceful beach life before we were heading back to the busy city. All together a very fun experience and at the same time a relaxing weekend, where we gained new energy for further adventures.

// Julie Lassen & Freia Bille

Life at the Global Platform

Welcome to the Global Platform! 

There are many Global Platforms all over the world, but ours is here in Yangon, Myanmar. 

When you enter the Platform you immediately feel at home. The dining hall, which is the first room you enter, and also the place to gather, is bright with colors and inspiring because of the motivational art on the wall.This is the place where we eat, discuss and have a nice cup of coffee over a card game. Going up the stairs you will find several dorm rooms and on the top floor a beautiful balcony. 

Since the platform is a place where people come and go, it is always full of life, and sometimes really crowded ;). Everybody in the platform is equal, meaning that we don't distinguish between staff, trainers and students. We are all together. 

Everybody once in a while needs personal space to breathe and reflect on the many impressions. This there is also room for! 

Compromise is a big part of living at the Global Platform. You have to pay respect to cultural, religious and social differences which appears in the daily life. It can be difficult to understand others way of living, but also important in order to make the daily life succeed. It is important to remember that you need to pay your respects to the differences, but also be true to your own values. You should compromise but not change. 

With that said, you learn a lot about your own culture by being confronted with something that is totally different. This is something you will bring with your home from the Global Platform. 

Why GCC?

Some might think we are crazy for attending to this four month-course in global citizenship. Who chooses to leave their comfortable home with family, friends and the usual surroundings that you know and love?

WE DID!

Off course, there’s a lot of motivations to why we are here!

First of all, you need to have the courage to take a risk by stepping out of your monotonous life and experience yourself in a whole new light. When you are living in and learning about a new culture you are challenged in the way you think, the way you act and the way you feel. 

But these challenges are a good thing because it will bring you closer to who you are as a person. You will learn how to make a change and participate in your own way. So, don’t hold back because of your fears and don’t be scared to take the risk. 

You will be able to contribute, participate and overcome your personal challenges.

Another great motivation for this course, was the opportunity to not only attend a folk high school-programme but also combine it with travelling. This is a great possibility to experience new cultures on a more personal level. 

That is why we are here, all of us.

Even though the course only contains participants from Myanmar and Denmark it’s more about cultural exchange in a global perspective, which was also a big motivation of this course.

The opportunity to learn more about cultures, historical backgrounds and citizenship both globally as well as local. To gain new knowledge about acting as a global citizen and understanding the different traditions and social norms every culture have. 

This will give us a better opportunity to understand and respect other peoples way of thinking, living and their behaviour. But at the same time it will also give us a better perspective of ourself and our own culture, which we can only obtain by the meeting of other people and other cultures.

Sometimes, when seeing the injustice and unfairness of the world you want to act, but don’t know how. This course will help us to act.
 

The story of us

We are participants of the global citizenship course arranged by the organization Action Aid. 
As a part of the program we are all living together at a global platform in Yangon, Myanmar. When living together we are not only classmates, but we also share meals, rooms and spare time. Thereby we mix cultures not only in sessions but in our daily life for the next four months. 

So even though we were born different places with different cultures, we linked together when we signed up for the GCC, and took our first step towards creating more solidarity in this world.  

We are engaged young people, who are eager to learn from each other and wants to take action in the world, one way or another. As open-minded global citizens we are gathering information and knowledge, so that we can create opinions and find and define ourselves in the world. 

By trying to understand the global challenges and problems we are all facing, topics as human rights, democracy, language, governance and poverty are a part of our daily sessions at the global platform. Working with these themes also helps us develop tools for changing systems or at least influencing some. 

This is our hopes and dreams not only for the next couple of months, but as a foundation for further reflections and a lasting global mindset. 

GCC Manifesto

THE PLATFORM OF DIVERSE CITIZENS TO ENGAGE AND ADVOCATE IN GLOBAL NORMS.TO BE A GLOBAL CITIZEN IS TO FEEL LOVE FOR ALL. GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP IS ABOUT DIVERSITY AND BEING OPEN MINDED. ACCEPTING AND ADAPTING TO OTHER CULTURES. CITIZENSHIP IS BEING A MEMBER OF A CIVIL SOCIETY WHO LOVES TO BUILD AND ENGAGE IN A GOOD COMMUNITY. GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP COURSE IS A PARADISE OF KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE BANK. I’M NOT FROM DENMARK OR MYANMAR, I’M FROM THE WORLD. THE GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP IS ABOUT SHARING CULTURES AND UNDERSTANDING DIFFERENCES.  GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP IS KNOWLEDGE AND EDUCATION. GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP IS SOLIDARITY BEYOND BORDERS. I BELIEVE THAT THE WORLD IS A NICE PLACE TO LIVE IF ALL PEOPLE ARE GOOD CITIZENS OF THE GLOBE. ONLY TOGETHER CAN WE SOLVE THE WORLD’S PROBLEMS. LIVE IN A GLOBAL VILLAGE WITH DIFFERENT PEOPLE UNDERSTANDING NEW CULTURES AND GLOBAL ASPECTS.