Country Contacts:
| Name |
Organisation |
Email |
| Caroline Maxwell |
GCE Ireland |
carolinmarino@yahoo.ie |
What's happening in 2008:
The Irish Coalition has undertaken a number of actions in support of the GAW. These actions reflect the broad base of the Coalition's membership which includes the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, the teacher unions, the National Youth Council of Ireland and a wide range of development NGOs.
Specifically, the Coalition has
- Written to teachers of the Civic, Social and Political Education Programme (lower-secondary compulsory programme for all 12 to 15 year olds) giving them information on the GAW theme and inviting them to register their interest for receipt of materials.
- Collected a register of interested teachers as well as contact information for the NGO dealing with child labour which provides workshops to students around the issue of exclusion from school and child labour
- Provided information to these teachers on the ILO "Scream" project and Irish contact person for workshop delivery and resource materials.
- Invited "Transition Year" students (students in non-examination year between end of lower secondary and start of upper secondary) to adopt the GAW theme as their project in the Young Social Innovators exhibition. The latter is annual project whereby group projects focus on justice, global development and youth issues and involves research, workshops, regional exhibitions and national exhibition – www.youngsocialinnovators.ie
- Made an adaptation of GAW materials for circulation to schools and inviting teachers and students to engage in activities.
- Organised a major event to take place in newly opened Irish Government Communications Centre/Exhibition Space for Irish development aid policy. This event will involve Government ministers and aim to highlight the situation of children who are excluded from school.
Early this year GCE Ireland was asked to respond to UNESCO’s Education for All Global Monitoring Report. Download their formal response which was addressed to Irish Aid here
What happened in 2007?
Schools and youth groups JOINED UP for education rights across Ireland. Some made paper chains and sent these to the Prime Minister, the Minister for Development Cooperation and the Minister for Education. One school created three human-sized figures named "Ed", "Kay" and "Sean" that were exhibited at the Young Social Innovators Showcase in Dublin. The ministers were asked to JOIN UP these figures and provide 'ED-U-KAY-SEAN for All!' Young activists sent out letters to politicians. They also gave local radio station interviews and they joined hands in human chains with teachers, Boards of Management and local politicians. There were school talks and video shows to inform both teaching staff and students on Global Action Week and the importance of supporting education. Students who had done their research and were impassioned on the issue of education rights, met the Minister of Development Conor Lenihan, to deliver the campaign's messages and ask again what he'd done to increase his efforts on Education for All.
2008 Report Card PDF
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