Reimagining Education: Global Citizenship, Pluralism, and Purpose in the 21st Century

As we enter the second quarter of this century, the world faces a critical crossroads. While life expectancy and education have continued to improve in the 21st century, rising inequality, democratic backsliding, and climate breakdown threaten hard-won progress. Conflicts persist, trust in institutions is eroding, and misinformation spreads rapidly. The climate crisis accelerates, disproportionately harming vulnerable communities. Technological advances outpace ethical governance, deepening social divides. In an increasingly interconnected world, these challenges cannot be solved in isolation. They require shared understanding, solidarity, and collective action. Yet many people lack the dispositions and tools to effectively and critically analyze local and global issues or imagine alternatives. Without a deeper sense of shared responsibility, progress may stall—or even reverse.

Educators have a responsibility to prepare students for a world facing urgent, interconnected challenges. Climate change, inequality, conflict, and digital misinformation are reshaping lives and communities. Many young people feel overwhelmed, disempowered, or disengaged. Education systems too often focus narrowly on academic outcomes, leaving little space to explore global issues, ethical questions, or diverse perspectives. Yet the world demands more than subject mastery—it needs compassionate, affectively and critically aware individuals who know themselves, know their contexts, and are ready to collaborate across differences. Without nurturing this broader vision, there is a risk that students will finish their education but not be prepared to manage themselves, navigate complexity, challenge injustice, or imagine better futures—for themselves or for the planet.

Global Citizenship Education gives educators a powerful framework to deepen learning and expand purpose. It connects classroom content to real-world issues, encouraging students to think critically, act ethically, and engage with global challenges. At its heart is pluralism—the active process of understanding different cultures, beliefs, and perspectives - and viewing our unique histories and perspectives as sources of enrichment. GCE fosters emotional, cognitive, and behavioural sensibilities and skills, vital for life and work in the 21st century. Whether through history, science, literature, or art, teachers can create opportunities for inquiry, dialogue, and action. GCE empowers students to become not just informed learners, but respectful, active participants in a diverse and shared world.

• To develop new ideas around the centrality of Global Citizenship Education as a response to global challenges in the second quarter of the 21st century
• To explore pluralism as a foundational principle for civic learning and coexistence
• To share and develop practical strategies for integrating GCE across disciplines and school contexts
• To build a network of educators committed to advancing justice, sustainability, and civic values through education
• To formulate policy, practice, and partnership recommendations that can inform broader educational change and support the post-2030 agenda

A diverse group of approximately 45 participants including K-12 and tertiary educators, curriculum designers and school leaders, education policymakers, civil society and youth movement leaders, researchers and education innovators.

Geographic, cultural, and sectoral diversity were prioritized to ensure cross-pollination of ideas and approaches.

This highly interactive, hybrid program brought together 45 participants from across the globe for three online co-design and development sessions in September and October and then a four and half-day residential program at Schloss Leopoldskron from 30 October – 3 November. 

The time in Salzburg began with the International Forum on Education for the Post-2030 Agenda, organized in partnership with the Ban Ki Moon Center for Global Citizenship and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea.  Following the forum, participants moved into 3.5 days of co-created activities such as:

• Interactive workshops and peer-led sessions
• Case study roundtables
• Design labs for curriculum, policy, and partnerships

Meeting 1: 18 September, 15:00 to 16:30 CET

Meeting 2: 1 October, 15:00 to 16:30 CET

Meeting 3: 13 October, 15:00 to 16:30 CET

Held over 4.5 days at Schloss Leopoldskron, this highly interactive program began with the International Forum on Education for the Post-2030, organized in partnership with the Ban Ki Moon Center for Global Citizenship and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea.  Following the forum participants will move into four days of co-created activities such as:

• Interactive workshops and peer-led sessions
• Case study roundtables
• Design labs for curriculum, policy, and partnerships

1. What does it mean to educate for global citizenship in a time of crisis and complexity?
2. How can educators nurture pluralism, empathy, and civic responsibility in divided societies?
3. In what ways can local teaching practices meaningfully connect with global issues?
4. What institutional supports are needed to embed GCE in schools and systems?
5. How can educators collaborate across borders and sectors to drive transformational change?
6. How can we cultivate critical thinking, empathy, and pluralism in increasingly polarized societies?
7. What structures and supports are needed to sustain Global Citizenship Education in schools and systems?
8. How can educators build alliances - across sectors and borders - to advance justice, sustainability, and peace through education?

• A shared vocabulary and vision for 21st-century GCE
• Practical tools, pedagogies, and models to adapt and apply
• A growing international network of educators and advocates
• Recommendations for the post-2030 education framework
• A Salzburg Statement and/or policy brief for wider dissemination
• Follow-up collaboration opportunities through Salzburg Global and partner platforms