© aau/Christina SupanzWhat we do in this country has an impact on the lives of people in other parts of the world. This is the central idea behind the concept of global citizenship. Hans Karl Peterlini has held the UNESCO Chair in Global Citizenship Education since 2020 and is committed to bringing about change, both on the individual and the collective level, to achieve a ‘good life for all’. This chair has just been awarded to him and the University of Klagenfurt for another four years. In this interview, held prior to the public UNESCO Chair Meeting, hosted in the Stiftungssaal by the working group on the 10th of June 2025 from 9 a.m. to 12 noon, he talks about his experiences to date.
You have held the UNESCO Chair in Global Citizenship Education since 2020. But what exactly is a global citizen?
This is based on the idea of an person with a different level of education, different social background, different socio-economic status, who is aware that the actions taken in their own environment have an impact elsewhere. The concept is not about all-encompassing globetrotting, but rather about realising that the little things in my life that I love and regard as home are always connected to the bigger picture – the whole world. The French philosopher Edgar Morin, who speaks of our homeland Earth, terre patrie, is an important thought leader in global citizenship.
Can you give some examples of this global connectedness?
How I live my life here has an impact on other parts of the world, which can, in turn, affect me. This affects many aspects of life: What do I consume? How was it produced? What work is outsourced to other parts of the world? What waste do I generate and where is it disposed of?
In your opinion, do global citizens really exist?
Yes, there are people who share this awareness, and considerable efforts are being made in this direction. At present, however, much is being overshadowed by the renationalisation of politics and the economy. Nation states are once again asserting their borders more strongly, and customs policies are predominantly directed against each other. A united effort by the global community to resolve the serious crises is not on the horizon right now.
Are there any glimmers of hope?
One hope is that people will develop curiosity and enthusiasm for the idea of global citizenship. The other hope is that there is a great deal of potential at the theoretical level and at the level of policy papers. Our UNESCO Chair is part of the large UNESCO family, which comprises around 1,000 UNESCO Chairs in virtually every country. Even authoritarian states have these chairs. We have policy papers as thick as tomes that lay down binding rules on what needs to be done for human rights, peace-building or ecological management. However, at present, all this paper hardly has any effect.
Would you say that the concept of global citizenship also plays a role beyond the university world?
Much emerges from the centre of society. There are numerous initiatives designed to raise people’s awareness of the bigger picture, whether in small community groups or projects focusing on environmental issues or cultural activities. People who cannot be reached in this way are often rooted in family structures with children. And children go to school, where they are easy to reach. That is why it is very important that global citizenship is not only negotiated at the political level, but also at the level of education. For us, it is about global citizenship education. This means that we want to embed the global dimension in the key educational institutions, schools, adult education and all other educational fields.
So, global citizenship as a school subject?
No, that would be a waste of time. The principle should be integrated into all topics covered in educational institutions. Global citizenship education does not mean learning about foreign countries, but rather teaching children from an early age that what they do here has a broader dimension. The knowledge that concerns me is linked to situations that affect others. The learning experience is ultimately this: we may not be in the same boat, but we are certainly on the same planet. An imbalance elsewhere can also cause us to falter.
Does your research group also work directly with school pupils?
Yes, we are involved in several projects, both large and small. In the particular area of promoting democracy, the Transform4School and transform2gether projects focus on experimenting with democracy in schools. School councils and class committees use grassroots democracy to explore how schools can contribute to achieving the United Nations’ sustainability goals. This provides young people with spaces for experience, reflection and discussion, where they learn a great deal. And if they take some of these insights home with them, we have a great opportunity to reach many families. We were also able to carry out a similar project with the Klagenfurt Youth Council, which focused on experiencing and trying out politics in all its many facets.
These projects have a local impact, but are there any global initiatives?
There is a lively global dialogue and a wealth of shared learning. With Global Campus Online, we were able to turn the constraints imposed by pandemic restrictions into an opportunity to create an online meeting space where dialogue groups represent almost every corner of the globe. This brings together researchers and practitioners from the Global South and the Global North. For example, projects have been carried out in Pretoria and Carinthia, and the experiences gained from these projects have been shared online. Our aim is always to ascertain: when we work on similar projects in the North and South, what do we learn? The internet platform is an important meeting place, which we have now been able to upgrade with the help of students from the Master’s degree programme in Game Studies and Engineering, creating a gently gamified virtual space where people can meet synchronously and asynchronously and share information.
How can the concept of global citizenship education be integrated into teaching?
This can be done in many ways; the most obvious example of this commitment, however, is the continuing education programme Global Citizenship Education, which is now in its fourth cycle and which won the European Union’s GENE Award in 2021. The programme is attended by teachers, adult educators and NGO staff who wish to enhance their qualifications and make a positive contribution to a global community based on solidarity.
How are you coping in your role in a world where things are not changing for the better right now?
In 2023, as the holder of this UNESCO Chair, I was invited to contribute to an updated version of the UNESCO Recommendation on Education for Peace, Human Rights and Sustainable Development in Paris. The aim was to negotiate a ‘recommendation for a good life for all’. All UNESCO member states participated in this process. While out side war had already broken out in Europe and climate-indifferent policies were being pursued in many places, inside representatives from hundreds of countries were able to agree on 72 paragraphs that, though much discussed and carefully weighed, ultimately represented an acceptable consensus. The paper was adopted and is considered binding for all governments belonging to the United Nations and UNESCO. At the same time, outside of the conference rooms, practically nothing is happening. It’s a state of schizophrenia that is difficult to bear. We know so much. But: We don’t do what we know. I feel torn between powerlessness and defiance. Defiance, or rather that sense of determination nonetheless, often prevails: we do what we can anyway.
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About the person
Hans Karl Peterlini has served as full professor of General Educational Science and Intercultural Education at the Department of Educational Science since September 2014. He completed his studies in psychoanalytic educational science and the psychotherapeutic preparatory course at the University of Innsbruck in 2006. Previously, he was editor-in-chief and publisher of socio-political media in South Tyrol, as well as author of numerous studies on majority-minority issues, dynamics of violence, and processes of coexistence in historically burdened and ethnically defined societies, using South Tyrol as an example. He gained his doctorate from the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano in 2010. Four years later, Peterlini completed his habilitation at the School of Education at the University of Innsbruck. From 2011 to 2014, Hans Karl Peterlini worked at the Innsbruck Research Centre “Education-Generation-Life Course” and as a research associate at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano in school and migration projects.
He has held the UNESCO Chair for Global Citizenship Education since December 2020. This chair is one of 14 UNESCO Chairs in Austria dedicated to various objectives. According to Hans Karl Peterlini, a UNESCO Chair does not come with project funding, but with significant ‘symbolic capital’: “The chair is a window to the world. If you make good use of it, many opportunities open up with access to a broad, worldwide network.” Since 2020, Hans Karl Peterlini has participated in a multitude of international conferences. Among other things, he was invited to the closing conference of the revision of the “UNESCO Recommendation on Education for Peace, Human Rights and Sustainable Development” as Austria’s representative in Paris and was asked to join the Advisory Board for Transformative Education of UNESCO Austria.
At the end of 2024, Hans Karl Peterlini and the University of Klagenfurt were awarded the UNESCO Chair once again. To mark this occasion, a presentation of past and planned initiatives and projects will take place in the Stiftungssaal on the 10th of June 2025 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon, with welcoming addresses by Governor Peter Kaiser and Rector Ada Pellert. Detailed programme information is available at www.aau.at/ifeb. Please register by sending an e-mail to heike [dot] petschnig [at] aau [dot] at
Der Beitrag ‘We do what we can anyway.’ erschien zuerst auf University of Klagenfurt.