Global Citizenship Awareness Week takes place the week of 26 October. Hibernia College will host a number of events, coordinated by School of Education faculty member Patricia Nunan. Three organisations — Ubuntu Network, WorldWise Global Schools and STAND — will each provide specific inputs to students. Staff and the wider Hibernia College community are welcome to attend the events. The links to register for each workshop are included below.
According to UNESCO, global citizenship education (GCE or GCED) ‘develops the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes learners need to build a more just, peaceful, tolerant, inclusive, secure and sustainable world.’ Following two international GCE conferences, UNESCO released a pedagogical publication on GCE in 2015 for education policy makers, practitioners, civil society organisations and young people — Global Citizenship Education: Topics and Learning Objectives.
Building a Sustainable World as an Educator, Student and Community Member
On Tuesday, 26 October, STAND will present a 90-minute interactive online workshop. The workshop, ‘Building a Sustainable World as an Educator, Student and Community Member’ will encourage students to reflect on their understanding of global citizenship and their position in the world. It will ‘explore the interconnectedness between people and actions all over the world, some of the root causes of inequalities, the global UN framework of the Sustainable Development Goals and how individuals and communities can take action for positive change.’ Those interested can register here for one of two available sessions.
STAND is one of the two main programmes of the not-for-profit organisation Suas, Irish Aid’s strategic partner for the higher education sector. Hibernia College supports the powerful work of Suas — Chairperson David Moffit is also Chairperson of Suas. Established in 2014, STAND mobilises third-level students to share ideas about standing up for justice and equality, learn more about global issues, and find out what they can do to take positive action for justice and equality. In 2019, STAND facilitated global justice activities for over 17,000 students across 13 campuses.
An Introduction to Global Citizenship Education
Aishling McGrath of WorldWise Global Schools (WWGS) and Patricia Nunan of Hibernia College will host a workshop entitled ‘An Introduction to Global Citizenship Education.’ This workshop will take place for all of the Professional Master of Education (PME) student cohorts on 27 October from 3 – 4:30 PM. A special session ‘Global Citizenship Education in the Teaching of Mathematics’ takes place on Friday, 29 October from 10 – 12 PM.
WWGS is the post-primary education programme of the Department of Foreign Affairs. It was established in 2013. Since then, the programme has worked with over 70% of post-primary schools nationwide in pursuit of their aim to integrate GCE into all aspects of teaching and learning at the post-primary level. WWGS provides a comprehensive range of supports and interventions for schools — including grant funding, teacher training, events, resources and personalised support from the staff team.
Reflections on Being a Global Citizen
On Thursday, 28 October from 11:30 – 12:30 PM, Deirdre Hogan of Ubuntu Network will offer a workshop to all Hibernia College staff. This will explore the concept of GCE as it pertains to initial teacher education. She will share practical examples of teaching for social justice and sustainability from Ubuntu Network projects. Those interested in this session can join here.
The mission of Ubuntu Network is to support teacher educators in embedding a living understanding of and commitment to education for global citizenship, sustainable development and social justice into their work. This is so that student teachers at the post-primary level can integrate into their teaching, and into the schools where they work, perspectives that encourage active engagement to build a more just world.
