Pakistan’s state-mandated curricula often create “us/them” narratives that hinder intercultural understanding, moral development, and inclusive national identity. Openness is fundamentally relational – these gaps can be bridged when knowledge flows freely across borders. At Forman Christian College (Pakistan), I designed and co-taught open-collaborative courses with faculty at International Christian University, Tokyo, through the Global Liberal Arts Alliance’s Global Course Connection programme. My 2025 research on “Small shifts, big impacts: Cultivating intercultural skills through online global classrooms” shows how virtual exchanges and open pedagogy deliver measurable gains in global citizenship. This session also draws on forthcoming work on minority (Christian) teachers’ lived experiences and education’s role in shaping Pakistan’s inclusive identity. Attendees will leave with adaptable tools to close policy-practice gaps and advance relational openness worldwide.
Attendees of this session will be able to:- Identify “spaces between” closed national curricula and open education possibilities in diverse contexts.
- Apply Global South examples of virtual global classrooms and open pedagogy to design inclusive, cross-border learning experiences.
- Evaluate OER strategies that support intercultural competence, peace education, and minority voices in resource-constrained settings.
