Global communities are made up of people from different countries, with the goal to connect globally. Local communities are made up of people who live in the same country and have a common interest or passion. The difference between global and local communities is that one focuses on connecting globally while the other has a focus on connecting locally.
What Connects People
Community is an important aspect of life for many people. One way people define their community is by where they live or work.
These communities are often referred to as “local” communities.
Unlike local communities, global communities don’t have a geographic location where they meet.
Today, the term “global community” often refers to a network of people that spans the globe and share similar beliefs, issues, and interests.
The global community encompasses the way people around the world interact with each other through commerce, information sharing, and online communities.
There are many online l communities, each consisting of members who’ve something in common.
A global community is a community of people from all over the world, while a local community consists of people who live in a specific area.
The term “global community” is used to describe a group of people who’re connected by something, whether it’s an interest, a pastime, or an activity.
Global communities are usually found on social networks such as Reddit, Facebook, and Twitter.
They allow users to interact with others from different countries and backgrounds. This has the advantage of giving people access to information from different regions of the world.
Global communities help people learn about other cultures and become more tolerant and open to other people and ideas.
5 Examples of Global Community Engagement Topics
There are many issues that cross cultures – whether you’re on a desert island or in a city of millions. There are many topics and things you can learn that are universal regardless of cultural differences. These can be approached with a global mindset and shared values.
Related: How Can We Bridge Cultural Differences
1. Business
Global business communities can include local or international businesses.
They range from small businesses to mid-sized companies to transnational corporations and even individual business owners.
They can be organized by business topic or more generally. Activities range from business tips to the exchange of services.
This is good for economic growth because these communities help entrepreneurs share information and learn from other cultures.
2. Diversity & Inclusion
There are many global communities that offer diversity and inclusion programs and cultural diversity training. Their social influence and positive impact are growing rapidly.
Women’s, gay, and transgender communities, for example, are currently booming. Corporate diversity and inclusion initiatives are in demand.
Ethnic and cultural diversity were also considered in the selection of United States President Joe Biden’s team.
In the professional world, we also see that more people from diverse backgrounds are being hired in senior positions, for example in transnational companies. Global communities are powerful.
Related: Why Is Social Impact Important
3. Art and Culture
When I started to build my global community in 2013, World Citizen Artists, there were very few online communities and we were the only ones that awarded socially engaged artists online for creating global awareness through creativity.
Since then, there are more and more artist communities and more artists because now everyone has access to global learning and can learn about art and get tips from other art community members through the internet.
4. Wellbeing
Wellness communities are a great way for people living with the same condition or participating in the same activity to network and share tips, advice, and support.
Wellness communities can be made up of individual health condition groups (e.g., arthritis) or overarching groups (e.g., exercise, meditation) that can encompass more than one wellness topic.
In the 21st century, these communities have grown worldwide, especially since COVID 19 when people became more concerned about their mental health.
5. Social Change
Environmental sustainability, climate change, human rights, the global economy, public health, underserved communities, religion – are all common interests of people around the world. Communities focused on social change are useful for every global issue in developed and developing countries.
Local Community
The local community is defined by proximity to one another. Residents of a particular region interact with each other more regularly than those living in other regions.
A local community exists in the same neighborhood, city, or town. It’s made up of people who’ve something in common, such as going to the same church, living in the same neighborhood, working for the same company, going to school together, or having different social experiences.
When you live in a local community, you can easily identify and build relationships with other people. These relationships depend on the physical presence of both parties.
5 Examples of Local Community Engagement Topics
The issues of a local community are often local, although sometimes it can be a cross-cultural issue that only reaches local residents. For example, local community members are usually people who live nearby and have similar interests and concerns.
Local communities are important to people. Because of limited mobility in some societies, they’re a valuable link between people who might otherwise never interact.
Local communities often form around a geographic location (such as a city or town), around shared class or professional interests (such as cooking, music, or sports), around alumni or school groups, and around biological families.
These communities can bring like-minded people together and allow them to make new friends based on their shared interests.
1. Local Politics
Politics at the local level are often more relevant and accessible to businesses or residents than national or global politics. Local government elections to school boards inevitably impact you or your business, so it’s important to know what’s happening and how you can get involved. It also impacts national and inevitably global politics, even if it seems much smaller than one country or the world.
2. Employment and the Local Economy
Local communities are very active on social media today, especially when it comes to finding jobs. In the past, employers had to post their job ads in local newspapers, which came with a fee. Today, many local businesses use local Facebook groups to advertise.
Related: How Social Media Impact Our Life
3. Physical Events
Local communities are very active in promoting local events, while global communities tend to be online unless the United Nations has a large budget to hold a physical event and bring together those who can afford to fly. Local events are also a great way to meet people from your area and keep up with local news.
4. Accommodation
Laws are created at the local level to allow communities to determine how best to create and maintain safe housing. Housing issues are usually resolved at the local level, but some global organizations can sometimes work at the local level, however, they must then apply local laws.
5. Neighborhood
A neighborhood is a place to meet some basic human needs. People need to eat, drink and have fun with others. They also need to feel safe and secure in their community. People who live in good neighborhoods meet all of these needs without even thinking about it. Whether it’s getting tips about the neighborhood or finding your runaway cat, local communities that keep you informed about your neighborhood are incredibly useful and won’t go away in the future.
5 Differences Between Global and Local Communities
There are big differences between a community where all members live in the same city and a truly global community.
1. Social Interaction
For example, the local community may meet face to face at events, good and bad births, deaths, marriages, divorces, and other milestones. If someone wants to move away, they’ve to physically move away.
2. Distance
It’s harder to meet in real life, but it’s easy to keep up with friends and relatives who may be scattered around the globe or even halfway around the world.
The biggest differences occur when community members go through major life events.
The local community may attend a wedding or funeral together, but the global community doesn’t.
That’s not necessarily bad – it’s just different – but it does mean you should think carefully about your community before using social media tools like Facebook groups, Google+ communities, and others to create a sense of belonging and common purpose among your members.
4. The Feeling
When someone tells you about a local problem (e.g., climate disaster, crime), it’s hard to empathize if you’re not there to experience it.
5. Voice
It’s much easier to make your voice heard at the local level than at the global scale, although some global problems (e.g., climate change) can’t be solved without everyone’s voice. In this case, global communities are useful.
5 Similarities Between Global and Local Communities
1. Internet & Social Media
A global community can gather anytime, anywhere in the world via Skype or Google Hangouts, while physical meetings can require very costly and long travel.
Today, however, most communities (global and local) use social media.
2. Global Issues
A global issue touches everyone at the local level.
The United Nations, the World Health Organization, the World Bank, organizations working on social justice, global warming, etc. all work on global and local levels.
Whether we’re for or against globalization, we’re all affected by global issues.
3. Structure
Although the laws are different everywhere, the basic structure of communities is similar all over the world. Communities are made up of community leaders and members and must be sustainable to exist.
4. Size
Whether a global or local community, both can be large or small, but a large global community is naturally larger than a large local community.
5. People
Regardless of cultural diversity, there are good, bad, generous, greedy, open-minded, and narrow-minded people in both global and local communities. Someone can have many intercultural competencies and at the same time be narrow-minded toward certain underserved communities.
The Relationship Between Global and Local Communities Is Globalization
Globalization is the process of interaction and integration between people, businesses, and governments around the world.
It’s enabled people to communicate, move, trade, and work in ways that would have been impossible before its existence.
Globalization has had both positive and negative effects on local communities.
For example, when Eastern Europe joined the European Union, it affected economic growth in Western and Eastern Europe.
Similarly, the European Union and Brexit have had an impact on both the United Kingdom and Europe. In Latin America, Farmers and their local economy, are very dependent on North America.
The Meaning of Global Citizenship
Usually, people who join global communities see themselves as world citizens, although the term “global citizen” doesn’t stand for an official “global citizenship” because there’s no global citizenship passport issued by a government.
The Open Democracy website “A global citizen is someone who identifies with being part of an emerging global community and whose actions contribute to building the values and practices of that community. “
You Don’t Have to Be a Global Citizen to Join a World Community
It depends on what kind of global community you’re looking for. If you want to join a sports community, it’s unlikely that the question of world citizenship will come up.
If, on the other hand, you plan to join the United Nations or the World Health Organization, you should learn more about global citizenship.
The Importance of Collaboration Between Global and Local Communities
Whether on a human or geopolitical level, local communities and global communities need each other to learn and grow.
The global community needs to be considerate of the local community – and vice versa.
There’s no doubt that the need for global collaboration is growing and accelerating.
We’re at a crossroads in human history.
I truly believe that the next two decades will decide the future of humanity.
Globalization Is No Longer a Choice. It’s a Necessity.
In the 21st century, the world faces some of the greatest challenges in human history: climate change, robotization, the global economy, public health, human rights, social justice, and many others.
Many global problems have been created by globalization require global cooperation to solve them.
These challenges can only be solved if we work together to find solutions that are based on shared values and work for everyone – that’s why global community leaders, the United Nations, global organizations, and transnational corporations are trying to foster global learning so that humanity can build forward better.