The Future of Education and Global Citizenship

Any future development and advancement in the world stems from quality education for children and young people. Without access to quality education, development would be stagnant. With this in mind, 100 European policy-makers, representatives of civil society and researchers met for the “Citizens for Global Education, Education for Global Citizenship” Conference.

The conference took place 24th-25th June in Brussels and was organised by CONCORD Europe, in partnership with Oxfam International, the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe, Beyond2015, UNESCO, Education International, the Global Campaign for Education, Engagement Global, CIVICUS and in support of the Global Education First Initiative.

The main objective of the conference was to discuss and contribute to a solid proposal on an Education for Global Citizenship target within a broader education goal in the Post-2015 framework. It was part of a series of events that DEEP/CONCORD is organising to advocate for a Global Citizenship Education Target in the new global development agenda.

DEEP/CONCORD argue that in order to ensure that the world develops sustainably, the rights of people must be guaranteed so that that a more equitable planet can be developed and our education systems need to prepare the next generation to do this. Therefore, a Global Citizenship Education developed by practitioners, institutions, academics and educators is key for the Post-2015 Framework.

For the European Youth Forum, an important priority for the Post-2015 agenda is to empower children, youth and adults to be global active citizens, able to engage in and transform their societies and the world. Any education system should embrace elements of development education, human rights education, education for sustainable development, education for peace and conflict prevention, intercultural and interfaith education, citizenship education, health and sexuality education.