On September 1, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam celebrated the Opening of Academic Year 2025/2026. The theme this year was 'Global Citizenship'. In a time of increasing divisions, the need for connection is greater than ever.
Special attention is also paid to the theme of world citizenship within the VU Academic teacher training programmes. How do you prepare pupils for a society that is becoming increasingly international and complex? Pupils grow up in a multicultural and often polarised environment, in which themes such as climate, energy transition and peace and security transcend national borders. This demands new skills from them: being able to engage in dialogue rather than just debate, making social issues manageable and being open to other perspectives.
The optional subject World Citizenship helps future teachers shape this in their teaching practice. Students learn how to design a learning line on world citizenship, how to make social controversies discussable in the classroom and how to encourage students to develop into engaged world citizens.
Read more about the Academic teacher training programmes