From the company you keep to the art you see – how do you maintain a global perspective in an insular minded world?

Soas’s ‘decolonial’ approach emphasises viewing events through a lens that is inclusive of the global south. Photograph: Alys Tomlinson

Today’s world is a complicated place. A burning lump of coal in Saxony can make flooding worse in Bangladesh, while a virus that may have started in a Wuhan live food market can send London, Abuja and Sydney into lockdown.

But despite the global nature of many of the biggest challenges, it can often feel as though our response is to look further inwards – whether demonising refugees for seeking safety, or denying the reality of the climate crisis because changing how we live is inconvenient.