Accessing Development Education

TeachMDGs Contract Title Accessing Development Education Contract Number ONG-ED/2007/136-419 Funding Period 01/01/2008 to 30/06/2010 Total Cost €400,275.00 Partners Youth Career and Advising Centre (Lithuania) C.E.G.A. Foundation Scotdec Kerry Action for Development Education (KADE) Website http://www.developmenteducation.info/

The Accessing Development Education project acknowledges the fact that highly valuable Development Education material has been developed, however it recognises the difficulties of teachers and educators to access the existent material, as well as to apply these recourses to their local or national educational context. More specifically, the project addresses the lack of access to, as well as the need for, Development Education material by teachers, educators, youth trainers and other actors across Europe, and especially in those countries that have joined the EU only recently.

Overall Objective

This project aims at promoting Development Education within the educational sector across Europe, focusing specifically on Lithuania, Cyprus, Scotland and Ireland. Specifically, the project aims to engage educators and schools in Development Education activities and equip them with relevant training and materials, thus making them promoters and multipliers of national campaigns that aim to create awareness about Development and about global interdependencies. This project through its activities in all partner countries will actively engage educators and schools in accessing Development Education. National Advisory Groups of educators will access, gather and review existing educational material on DE. On an international level they will exchange experiences and best practices in working with this material, and will then modify DE material according to local needs and curricula. Schools as well as the Ministry of Education will be actively involved and trainings and workshops will be offered for teachers and educators to acquire skills of how to best implement the modified DE material in their lesson plans, and of how to stimulate action among students in the field of development work. Teachers will be trained in integrating DE in their lessons and thus raising awareness of global interdependencies and about development cooperation and the emerging need for it among the youth of all project’s partner countries.

Objective 1

Raise awareness in Cyprus, Lithuania, Scotland, Ireland and Bulgaria about development issues and about the interdependence of EU countries and countries of the developing world.
The project aims at raising awareness about development issues through formal and non-formal education structures in Cyprus, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Scotland, and Ireland. Teachers in all partner countries, will review, revise and modify existing DE material so as to meet the needs of each partner country’s education system. The project aspires to train teachers so that they can act as multipliers of Development Education, reaching out to students in the partner countries, as well as in Bulgaria, raising awareness among the future leaders of our societies about development issues and about the interrelations between the EU and countries of the developing world.

Objective 2

Engage educators and youth to take action in support of the developing countries.
The project aims at training educators in all partner countries on development issues and on the importance for civil society to take action the development issues. Through the integration of DE material in the formal education system, as well as through the teachers as multipliers students are expected to be stimulated to take action themselves. DE material will be selected according to the age group of students and will seek to provide inspiration for both small and larger actions that can be carried out by students.

Objective 3

Build capacity among educators to integrate Development Education in their lesson plans.
Workshops targeting at both educators and representatives of Ministries of Education in the partner countries aim at a) providing training on how to integrate DE material in existing lesson plans, and b) involving the relevant stakeholders in the initiative to modify existing lesson plans with the goal to integrate the development focus. Furthermore, the project will provide trainings for teachers on how to use DE material in their lessons and how to include a DE focus in lessons such as history, geography, music, art and others.

Activities

• Teachers’ Advisory Groups
• Compilation of DE Material
• International Workshop
• European Depository
• Local Workshops
• Teachers’ Trainings
• Implementing and Testing DE Material
• International Conference

Events

A series of events was organized in the context of the project:

• Teachers review and adapt Oxfam Teaching Resources to promote Global Education in Cypriot Schools
• FWC brings Cyprus Teachers together from 36 Schools to discuss the Challenges of Global Education
• Global Education Week
• Access DE International Conference
• AccessDE Partners and Training Meeting in Sophia, Feb 2009

Project Results

• Development Education material adapted to local needs, in accordance with educational curricula in Cyprus, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Scotland and Ireland;
• A European collection of case studies, best practice and general Development Education materials reviewed, modified and adapted by an international educational advisory committee and made accessible through the web;
• A trans-national network of schools and educators jointly working to integrate Development Education into schools;
• Schools and teachers trained to use Development Education material in their lesson plans, thereby serving as multipliers.