Love is all you need: BeGlobal

The 23 participants of BeGlobal HELSINKI training week are throwing king-sized dices, moving in small international teams, answering to the challenges of a game, sharing laughs – and yes, exclamations of love in four different languages: I love you! ¡Te quiero! Je t’aime! Minä rakastan sinua!

The training week is constructed around gamified learning and serious games and play on global citizenship. By global citizenship we mean social, political, environmental, and economical actions of globally minded individuals and communities on a worldwide scale.

The term global citizenship refers to the conviction that individuals are members of multiple, diverse, local and non-local networks rather than single actors in isolated societies. Promoting global citizenship in sustainable development allows individuals to embrace their social responsibility to act for the benefit of all societies, that is to say, the whole world. (UN 2024.)

Love is a pedagogical question

Pedagogical love is a specific mindset in teaching and training. It demonstrates by concrete actions the trainers’ trust in the learners’ learning capacities as well as the trainers’ desire to help the learners’ improve their abilities and talents. (Määttä & Uusiautti 2013.)

Love has a multifaceted character. In education the faces of love include at least the following: parental love, love for one’s country, love for fellow human beings – and pedagogical love. When we amplify our perspective to include the global scale of happenings the dimension of love for one’s planet and love for the preferred future for all living beings should be added to the mixture. Also love for one’s own and others’ cultures forms a part of the visage of love.

During the BeGlobal HELSINKI training week 2024 the many faces of love manifested themselves in action and interactions. The participant shared a strong belief that this kind of love is needed for sustainable world citizenship.

BeGlobal trainers and the topics of diversity, equity, and inclusion in education

We have the globe in our hands, quite literally so, when a huge inflatable earth is thrown back and forth as we get to know each other a bit better. On a wild goose chase we conquer Oodi, the Helsinki Central library, where teams lead by Haaga-Helia’s teacher students investigate the space against the BeGlobal projects values: equity, inclusion, sustainability and hope.

Experts on peace education in Rauhanliitto arrange a drama workshop for the group. A keynote from FINGO, the umbrella organization of World citizenship education, is being enjoyed. The different flavours from the project countries: Chile, Colombia, France and Finland come together and something essential of global existence is lived. We may have different candy, but all cultures crave for sweets.

DEI pedagogy is an approach that is aimed at creating learning environments where every student feels valued and seen, regardless of their background, abilities, or identity. By addressing issues of equity and inclusion, DEI pedagogy promotes critical thinking skills. One learns to question and analyze societal structures and own biases, which is crucial for responsible global citizenship. (McMurtry-Chubb 2022.)

The shared discussion seems to be well needed since we almost run out of time while sharing thoughts. It is great to realize, that even though we are an ocean apart we share the same motivation to help our students achieve their potentials. Diversity highlights the importance of incorporating diverse cultural perspectives into curricula and accommodating different learning styles and needs.

The sweetest treat of the training week is a hybrid learning session, where students from four Chilean and Colombian universities meet the BeGlobal project team and the Finnish students to play digital games on global citizenship and to solve global challenges designed by the training week participants.

Good teacherhood contains understanding global interconnectedness and pedagogical love

Local issues and global challenges are discussed, and what becomes obvious, is the fact that what we share is much greater than what separates us. Throughout the training week, we dive deeper into the global and local challenges that touch the lives of those we love, and also those who often remain unseen. We keep asking ourselves and each other: Where do we begin? How do we inspire hope?

We search for answers, but above all, ways to truly see and hear each other. Your pain is part of my world, and my hope grows alongside yours. We are all part of the same unified web of humanity.

Organising the BeGlobal Helsinki training week was also an act of love. It required a multidisciplinary team of skilled professionals to bring the event to life. From facility staff preparing rooms to hybrid technology experts ensuring seamless virtual participation, from teachers facilitating workshops to NGOs delivering powerful keynote sessions, each role was essential.

Creative facilitators, game designers and technical wizards worked alongside educators and organisational leaders to combine gamified learning with real-world engagement. This collaborative effort across roles and expertise turned an ambitious vision into a meaningful, well-executed experience that resonated with all participants.

During the next academic year, we will work together to create global citizenship training material that will be available for all our higher education institutions. In addition to the above, we are working on three serious games related to the topic. Our aim is that the material and the games will be flexibly adaptable to different local needs and contexts, enriching learning around the world and inspiring visions of hope for the future.

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