Cross‑Cultural Literary Dialogues for Global Citizenship: Advancing SDG 4 and SDG 17 through School‑based International Partnerships

Abstract

Globalisation has braided local classrooms into the wider fabric of planetary life (Appadurai, 1996; Castells, 2010). Learners now confront ecological crises, algorithmic economies, and trans‑cultural encounters that spill far beyond any textbook. Global Citizenship Education (GCE) responds by cultivating the knowledge, values, and dispositions learners need for collective well‑being and sustainable development (OECD, 2018). Language and culture are inseparable, and places the learners “at the interface of identity and discourse” (Kramsch, 2009, p. 5). This paper offers a critical examination of the Cross‑Cultural Literary Dialogues (CCLD) initiative at Maharaja Agarsain Public School (MAPS), Delhi, India. CCLD combines short, immersive residencies with partner schools in South Korea, Germany, the United States, and Italy (MAPS, n.d.) and a year‑long virtual literary hub. Guided by Rosenblatt’s transactional reading theory (Rosenblatt, 1995), Bhabha’s third‑space hybridity (Bhabha, 1994), Kramsch’s language‑identity interdependence (Kramsch, 2009) and Byram’s intercultural‑communicative‑competence model (Byram, 1997), the article traces how reciprocal canons, dialogic reading circles, and rotating governance cultivate empathy, linguistic agility, and global civic agency. In doing so, CCLD advances SDG 4 Target 4.7, centred on global‑citizenship learning, and SDG 17 Target 17.6, focused on equitable knowledge partnerships (UNESCO, 2023). Recommendations on curriculum integration, teacher preparation, and resource equity close the discussion, offering a scalable blueprint for schools seeking to weave literary artistry with planetary citizenship.