By Hannah Haley

Members of the Institute for Global Citizenship’s national advisory committee will arrive on campus on March 7 for its first on site inaugural meeting. The committee includes influential figures such as former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan ’61 and former Vice President Walter Mondale. While Karin Trail-Johnson, associate dean of the IGC, could not confirm which members of the committee would attend the meeting, she said that Annan probably would not be present.

The meeting is designed as way for committee members to meet and familiarize themselves with the Institute and Macalester campus.

The Institute, in its second year of existence, was designed to bring together the college’s values and aspects of global citizenship, Trail-Johnson said.

“We define the term ‘global’ at the local, national and international levels. The term is often interpreted at the international level, but we also want to emphasize the local presence,” Trail-Johnson said.

Civic engagement and informed action are also central tenants of the Institute.

“We don’t want students to go out and do work in the community just to feel better about themselves. We want students to go out because they have informed themselves about what is going on and what is important,” Trail-Johnson said.

Members of each of the three boards act as ambassadors to the Institute, Trail-Johnson said. Membership on the boards was recommended for those who have had “careers and lives that reflect global citizenship. We want people who have had a variety of backgrounds and careers to demonstrate that you don’t have to be involved in politics or international relations to be a global citizen,” Trail-Johnson said. The committees are not static and will grow and change over time, she said.