Oregon, United States
I just had the extreme privilege of being the closing keynote speaker for Relocate Global’s 2020 Great International School and Education Fair. It brought together some of my favorite authors, coaches, and speakers in the globally mobile and cross-cultural world to share wisdom insight and knowledge.
Closing out a conference is an honor and a daunting task… and I wanted to close on “hope” which could easily be considered even more daunting considering the fact that it’s 2020 and a lot has erupted this year that’s eroded our certainty.
One thing that’s been highlighted is interdependence – and I think that’s a good thing. Technology has provided ample opportunity for us to function more independently – which is convenient, but I still think we need to engage interdependently for our own emotional and social wellbeing. If anything, the global pandemic has caused us to lean more on each other and realize how much we miss connection when it’s taken away.
I often quote a study from the University of Michigan which found that since 2000, there has been a 40% drop in empathy in college students. That’s a worrying trend, and various factors are at play as far as the reasons for the drop – but I think it’s an obvious indicator that we need to intentionally hone our empathy skills. Empathy (the ability to be moved by the feelings of others) isn’t just a “touchy-feely” term, it’s a basic underlying framework that holds society together.
The pandemic has brought interdependence and empathy into focus as we’ve had to scramble to find new ways to connect… and there may actually be some longterm benefits to our renewed focus – and the necessity to get creative to stay connected. Loneliness was an issue even before the pandemic. In fact, in 2015 TIME magazine ran an article titled, “Why Loneliness May Be the Next Big Public-Health Issue”. Loneliness isn’t good for us, and 2020 has highlighted that on an amazingly wide scale… as a result we’re more focused on dealing with it than we may have been otherwise.
Working with Third Culture Kids, expats, and the globally mobile has made me very appreciative of how the skills they possess, an increasingly globalized world needs; and the challenges they face, we’re all now facing. Going back to the pandemic again, it’s as if the entire planet has been sent on an assignment to a completely different situation and is having to learn to adapt… much like many in the expat and globally mobile arena have done… just on a far larger scale.
I really do believe we can use hope to navigate uncertainty. TCKs and the globally mobile community are – as the sociologist, Ted Ward, said in the 1980s, “the prototype citizens of the future.” At this point, the future is now… and even though our problems, challenges, and issues are now more on a global scale – so is our power to overcome them. As the world continues to globalize and move closer and closer to the experience of TCKs, I take hope by looking at what the cross-cultural community has to offer.
Chris-O-Blog 