Global citizenship education (GCE) is an essential element of twenty-first-century teaching and learning. For some, GCE signifies an attitude of cosmopolitan purpose, placing humanity ahead of self. For others, GCE embodies a fractured sense of both learner and educator identity. For a third group, GCE is a critical interrogation of pervasive norms. How schools practise GCE, despite globalised rhetoric, poses challenges for educators and students alike. In this article, research is presented from an ongoing study into the activation of GCE in a single international school. The conceptualisation developed as part of the research is aimed at reconciling the individual learner and the learning community, without losing the strengths of either. Underpinned by Habermas' (1984) Theory of Communicative Action and Krznaric's (2014) outrospective empathy, outrospective GCE features pathways towards mindful-yet-active global learning. The conceptualisation presented in this article, although reflective of universal ideas, does not account for all cases and contexts. Instead, outrospective GCE applies to educators seeking a means of engaging with and enlivening situated GCE innovation.