Being a Globally Aware Citizen on a Student Scale

Being a globally aware citizen is something everyone should strive to be. To me, there are two main components to this idea: education and action. In this instance, education refers to being informed about issues in your community and around the world. It means being privy to your government’s actions, whether that is reading about new legislation or attending a town hall meeting. Having a scientific understanding of the world in which we live also leads to being globally aware.

As an undergraduate student, I was able to be very informed about things involving the Faculty of Engineering, and on occasion, the campus at large, yet I had difficulty prioritizing time to gather information at a large scale. With the internet, obtaining this information is not difficult and for that we are very lucky. However, making the time for this information is often challenging.

I have found it helpful to set aside time in my daily routine to obtain this type of information, whether it be a morning ritual to have with coffee or something to read before falling asleep each night. Websites like bbc.co.uk, cbc.ca/news, and therecord.com have all proved very reliable to me; I am sure everyone reading this has their own favourite news sites to frequent. I have also been pleasantly surprised by YouTube news broadcasts that have been both entertaining and thought provoking. One such example is SourceFed. It’s heavily weighted towards nerdy, American news but informative and engaging nonetheless. Something I have been meaning to do lately is look into Twitter, reported as one of the most reliable news outlets at our disposal today.

It is also great to educate ourselves on a more general level. Choose a specific cause to learn about. Delve deeper into a topic mentioned in class. Investigate opinions and form your own educated ones. I am particularly interested in ted.com which stands for Technology Entertainment Design (TED), scienceadvise.ca produced by the Council of Canadian Academies, and switchboard.nrdc.org, the Natural Resource Defense Council Staff Blog. There are an endless number of sites out there so I encourage you to explore and share them with others.

However, there is more to being a global citizen than just being aware or educated. Part of being a citizen is to contribute, meaning one must act. It is not enough to merely have thoughts; putting those thoughts into action is the next step. Actions can take many different forms, including a myriad of things on scales both small and large.

Being politically involved is a great way to act on those well informed opinions we have. In case you didn’t know, Peter Braid (peter.braid@parl.gc.ca) and Catherine Fife (cfife-co@ndp.on.ca) are Kitchener-Waterloo’s Member of Parliament and Member of Provincial Parliament, respectively. Waterloo City Council meets throughout the year, normally on Mondays; they are open to the public. Meeting dates, agendas, and minutes, as well as many interesting bits of information, are available here: waterloo.ca/en/government.asp. Providing feedback and constructive criticisms of our government is the best way to make an impact. I find that in today’s hectic world there are so many opinionated people around us. Opinions are great, especially when founded on evidence, however making something constructive arise from those opinions is much better. Write letters or articles or attend meetings to get the attention of important political figures that can inspire change. Starting a conversation regarding something you care about can be a great first step.

This leads to my next point. My personal passion is environmentalism and sustainability. This is something I have found to be sorely misconstrued from an ethical and technical standpoint due to economic motivation. Essentially, I feel like someone has misappropriated my cause. A common trend in today’s society is to lead an environmentally conscious lifestyle. The promotion of energy efficient appliances and green products is continuous. From this vantage point, being ecologically friendly can seem cost prohibitive, tarnished by large companies. I urge you to be a smart consumer and look beyond the label of the products you buy. Just because something says “all natural” does not mean that it actually is.

Caring for our planet does not need to be at all expensive. And if done properly, it is so rewarding. As consumers, we are very powerful. Selecting in season, organic products, choosing fair trade alternatives, and visiting local farmers markets are all reasonable and ethically moral practices. Carpooling, conserving water, and being mindful of electricity use are highly beneficial steps. Making smart choices does not mean that we need to alter our behavior at all. Spend wisely, not necessarily more, and use everything consciously. Observe what you do. With that awareness, small changes are easy.

I recently attended a workshop on campus called Project WET (Water Education for Teachers), hosted by SWIGS (Students of the Water Institute, Graduate Section). The instructor of this workshop said something that really struck me. Canada is very naturally beautiful and abundant in resources, especially water. From our perspective, it can be difficult to imagine water scarcity problems that are all too real in different parts of the world. But we need to try to keep this in mind. We cannot be wasteful or contaminate this precious resource. As Canadians, we are environmental stewards and caretakers for the planet’s supply of freshwater.

So from this mindset, here is what one person, one student, can do. Through my involvement with SWIGS Outreach, I have become aware of campus-wide events in the vein of this cause. The UW Ban the Bottle Coalition is a campus-wide effort to ban the sale and distribution of bottled water at the University of Waterloo. This team, comprised of SWIGS, Waterloo Public Interest Research Group (WPIRG), Bring Your Own Bottle (BYOB), and the University of Waterloo Sustainability Project (UWSP), meets every Monday from 3:30 to 4:30 PM in the WPIRG office on the 2nd floor of the SLC and is always welcome to new members.

Water 4 Life, taking place on Friday, March 15 from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM on the BMH Green, is an awareness raising event to raise money for the Clean Water Project in Kenya. People can participate in 20 L water carrying events in an effort to bring attention to community-scale water shortage and sanitation issues. People can register in the SLC on February 26 to 28 from 12:00 to 2:00 PM. Booths and speakers will also be set up in the SLC throughout the day.

World Water Day, taking place on March 22 at Wilfred Laurier University, is presented in collaboration with the UW’s Water Institute, SWIGS, and WLU’s Water Science and Cold Regions Research Centre. This 4th annual conference is full of keynote speakers and discussion sessions in promotion of the United Nation’s Water Co-operation theme for 2013. More information for this event is available here: wlu.ca/WWD_2013.

This year’s campus clean up event, organized by the Faculty of Environment and SWIGS, is taking place on Friday, April 5. Everyone is welcome to participate, as this year’s clean-up is set to expand to north campus around Columbia Lake. The exact meeting time and location have yet to be determined but will be posted on the campus event board and the SWIGS website (swigs.uwaterloo.ca) once information is made available.

The Waterloo-Wellington Children’s Groundwater Festival, taking place from May 27-31 at the Waterloo Region Museum, is looking for volunteers. The objective of the festival is to educate youth about the environment and the importance of water conservation. More information for how university students can get involved as volunteers is available here: wwcgf.com.

All of the information above regarding campus events is something I am passionate about, however there are so many more programs available that might pertain more to your interests. To always find out what is happening on campus, visit uwaterloo.ca/events for the UW events calendar. The Engineering Society Calendar, available at engsoc.uwaterloo.ca/events, is another terrific resource. If you are interested in anything on campus, from student societies to joining a club or volunteering, feds.ca/get-involved is yet another place to visit.

While at the University of Waterloo, I have been endlessly inspired by work conducted by my peers in support of various causes. I hope that I might have inspired you to become educated and act in support of something that matters to you. And as a point of personal interest, take the time to go outside and truly observe the world around you. Time in nature has proven to promote health and well-being and de-stress. Start by aiming for one hour a week outside, without music or your phone, and just be. This Earth Day, Monday, April 22, be a global citizen.