This commentary, by two authors from the Global North and Global South respectively, reflects on the significance of (auto)ethnographic vignettes as a point of departure for an emic approach, applying the concept of Global Citizenship Education (GCE) to the maxim of ‘education for all’ as promulgated by the UN from 1990. The authors explore GCE from a post- and decolonial perspective, with a particular focus on the universal right to education and the power structures, hierarchies, and misunderstandings that are reflected in or arise from subconscious assumptions or conventions. With a discussion of the global roots and discourses that have led to the emergence of GCE as a concept, the authors point to the complexities of GCE, which needs to combine global responsibility with knowledge about and respect for local traditions if it is to free itself from the imperial connotations of Enlightenment universalism. Ultimately, the authors conclude, in order to ‘learn’ GCE we must first ‘de-learn’ conventional (colonial) power relations.