I am global, therefore I am...

In 'The Global Self and the New Reality', Barbara Creed discusses the new notions of 'self' that have developed in response to increasing globalisation enabled by the internet. This new self is fluid, mobile and more empowered on both global and local levels due to information communication technologies. One of the most interesting points made was how the internet is described as having the power to expand the self into a global entity in an activism context, "a global self that has the potential to address the controversial area of global social justice". The social justice net-scape is being shaped from two different levels: the multinational corporations influencing it from above; and the grass-roots, social movements creating a new global awareness from below.

One proffered example is OneWorld Online, the world's leading human rights website. This site is a 'gateway' site, informing interested citizens about current human rights issues and campaigns run by members of the OneWorld network, such as Amnesty International, UNICEF, and Oxfam. This 'gateway' style of presenting social justice issues seems to particularly value e-democracy and promote the ideals of the internet espoused by the first-wave theorists.

The global self is more open to the possibility of change, and through sites such as this, is able to participate in public interest debates in a global sphere. I like this notion of a self so empowered by information communication technologies that the actual fabric of its identity is altered. In the numerous conceptions of society we are proffered (the Information Society, the Knowledge Economy, the Global Village etc), one constant seems to be the notion of information, or knowledge, as power. The shift from the 'tangibles' of the past to the intangible 'information as commodity' of the present can be better utilized to effect social change only through knowledge dissemination and the consequent action of informed citizens.

Another interesting human rights-focused group is the Communication, Information and Informatics Sector of UNESCO, (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). Self described as promoting the "free flow of ideas by word and image, a wider and better balanced dissemination of all forms of information contributing to the advancement of societies", this organization also seems to be a perfect example of empowering the global self in the new gloabl sphere. Particular areas of focus are access to information, development of media, capacity building and freedom of expression.

I love it when a media-studies reading actually makes me believe I can change the world.