Uyehara in Uruguay

Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms: Uruguay Cohort 2025

What is Global Citizenship and Global Education?

Global citizenship and global education prioritize the well-being and sustainability of all life on earth, recognize the uniqueness of the world’s cultures, but that our problems are globally interconnected, and value collaboration, communication, research, action, and empathy to create a better world.

Can music save the world?

“Perhaps it is music that will save the world”
— Pablo Casals

The famed Spanish and Puerto Rican cellist Pablo Casals is often credited as saying this after hearing a 1961 performance by the violin students of Shinichi Suzuki. In light of the world’s enduring and increasing problems, it really doesn’t seem like music can save the world. When informed by global education and global citizenship that prioritizes the well-being and sustainability of all life on earth, recognizes the uniqueness of the world’s cultures, but that our problems are globally interconnected, and values collaboration, communication, research, action, and empathy to create a better world, music education, music, and musicians can help save the world.

How can music educators in performance ensembles incorporate global citizenship and education into their everyday classes?

This Global Education Guide, organized into three sections: Learn, Teach, and Travel, offers resources and reflections that can help orchestra and band directors incorporate global citizenship and global education into their classes, hopefully generating a deeper understanding of the music, a more comprehensive approach to music learning, enhanced musical performance, and improved life and social-emotional skills.