Launch of the New Irish Aid Development Education Strategy

In December 2016, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Charlie Flanagan T.D., and Minister of State for the Diaspora and International Development, Joe McHugh T.D., launched the new Irish Aid Development Education Strategy.

The overarching goal of the Development Education Strategy is that, through the provision of development education, Irish citizens are empowered to analyse and challenge the root causes and consequences of global hunger, poverty, inequality, injustice and climate change. This will inspire and enable us to become active global citizens in the creation of a fairer and more sustainable future for all.

The Development Education Strategy is the product of a collaborative and wide-ranging engagement process with the formal education, youth, adult and community education, civil society and development sectors as well as other government department and agencies.

To support the development of the new strategy, Irish Aid invited the Global Education Network Europe (GENE) to conduct a European Peer Review of development education in Ireland. This Peer Review, which took place in 2015, engaged widely with the development education sector and made a number of recommendations.

As we face new global challenges in a rapidly changing world, the Development Education Strategy will guide the Department’s work in promoting public understanding of the causes of global inequality. Informed and engaged citizens are best placed to understand and therefore address complex social, economic and environmental issues linked to development. We will work to bring quality development education to a wide audience in a diverse range of settings - from classrooms to university campuses, from youth clubs to community groups - to foster the values of active global citizenship.

More information about the Department’s Development Education work and a copy of the Development Education Strategy can be found at https://www.irishaid.ie/what-we-do/who-we-work-with/civil-society/development-education-funding/