Welcome to Roots & Routes!

Hi, I’m Nawar Sayyad.

Through this platform, you’ll find practical perspectives and resources to help you raise kind, resilient and globally minded children. 

You do not need to know everything about the world or have all the right answers. Global citizenship begins in everyday family life - through the conversations, values and small choices that shape how children understand themselves and others.

You want to prepare your child for the world - but where do you begin?

Today’s children are growing up in a world shaped by cultural diversity, global connections and rapid change.

As a parent or caregiver, you may want to help your child become kind, inclusive and aware of the world around them. At the same time, you may feel unsure about how to discuss cultural differences, respond to difficult questions or turn your values into something meaningful in everyday family life.

Raising a global citizen is not about doing everything perfectly. It is about making small, intentional choices that help children meet the world with curiosity, empathy and confidence.

What does it mean to raise a global citizen?

Global citizenship is not about knowing everything about the world, travelling to as many countries as possible or teaching children that everyone is the same.

It is about helping children understand that our lives are connected - to other people, to animals and to the planet we share - while teaching them to recognize and respect differences.

Global citizenship helps children learn to:

These qualities are not developed through one conversation or activity. They grow gradually through the stories children encounter, the questions we invite them to ask, the choices families make and the attitudes and values children experience at home.

Parents and caregivers play an important role in that process - not by having all the answers, but by being willing to learn and make thoughtful choices alongside their children.

Continue the conversation  

In The Everyday Global Citizen podcast, I explore how global citizenship can be lived through parenting, relationships and everyday choices.

Hi, I’m Nawar

I’m a Norwegian-Palestinian social worker with more than 14 years of experience in the child protection services. I hold a master’s degree in Human Rights and Cultural Diversity and am currently completing a PhD focused on child protection from a cross-cultural perspective.

Alongside my doctoral work, I am a podcaster, blogger and global citizenship educator. Through my platform, Roots & Routes, I bring together professional knowledge, research and lived experience to help parents make global citizenship part of everyday family life.