Decolonising Development Education

Dates: Tuesday 31 May and Tuesday 30 August, 10.30am – 4pm (Tea and Coffee from 10am)

Location: Carmelite Community Centre, 56 Aungier St, Dublin 2

This 2 part workshop is targeted at Development Education/Global Citizenship Education practitioners. So much information about the world is filtered through a Euro-centric lens, whether it be media, history books and educational curricula. This includes knowledge and understanding about issues relating to development, which all too often occludes the role (and implications) of Europeans as colonisers, slave traders, settlers, missionaries. 

 

What does this mean for our Development Education content and practice to date? This 2 part training workshop is an invitation to explore this question and more. How does the colonial legacy play out in Development Education content and practice? Where are its visible (and not so visible) imprints? What do decolonial approaches look like/feel like? How might they strengthen our efforts towards a truly transformative education?

 

The training is hosted by IDEA, in collaboration with Comhlámh and WorldWise Global Schools, and will be facilitated by Sive Bresnihan (Comhlámh) and Lizzy Noone (WorldWise Global Schools). It will take place over two days in-person – Tuesday 31 May and Tuesday 30 August. There will be an invitation to carry out a task in between the sessions and engage in some reflection with another training participant.

 

Cost:

Fee for members of IDEA, Comhlamh or WorldWise Global Schools* is €60.00

Fee for non-members of IDEA, Comhlamh or WorldWise Global Schools is €100.00

Fee for unwaged (refugees, asylum seekers, students, others) is €5.00 - this can be paid in person


*member rate applies to schools and NGOs who work with WorldWise Global Schools


Register below or contact us if you have any queries.


Please note: This workshop is now full. If you would like to be added to the waiting list, please register below. You will be contacted if a place becomes available for you.

Biographies

Sive Bresnihan is part of Comhlámh's training and education team and with a background in drama & theatre studies, international development and adult education. Her interest in and commitment to decolonial approaches for Global Citizenship Education was seeded back in 2018 when she participated in Bridge 47's year-long "Transformative Learning Journey". Sive has a growing interest in body-based practices ("somatics") and how this field can be mobilized in support of transformative learning and, ultimately, more justice. 

Lizzy Noone has been working with schools on Global Citizenship Education and campaigning for 24 years. She has worked for WorldWise Global Schools for 9 years working with schools to have a whole school approach to global justice and equality.


She worked with Concern for 15 years previous to this, working on three EU funded projects including stop Child Labour. She has worked with Concern Debates and the Concern Campaign Academy that engaged students in GCE and campaigns. She represented Ireland on the European Development Education Forum for four years, and was an active member of the steering group of the Global Campaign for Education and Stop Climate Chaos for many years. She did the Transformative Learning Journey 2 with Bridge 47. She is a strong believer in degrowth and decolonisation.


IDEA
July 15, 2025
Fees for members of IDEA is €50.00 and non-members of IDEA is €100.00. Fee for unwaged (refugees, asylum seekers, students, others) is €3.00
July 14, 2025
IDEA is looking for a video production company/ animator for an upcoming video project. We have funding available to create a short animated educational video resource for members as part of The Code of Good Practice. The video will help viewers understand what quality GCE is and why it matters in the world today. The intended audience for the video are people who are connected to the Code of Good Practice and GCE in their work but not yet very familiar with it e.g. non-GCE staff in member organisations, board members of member organisations, teachers, youth workers, European partners, new members to the Code and new staff to IDEA member organisations. Please submit your CV and a short letter of interest outlining a proposal for the video (including the number of days you envisage and the fee) to code@ideaonline.ie. The deadline for application is Wednesday, 30 July 05pm. Click here for the full terms of reference.
July 4, 2025
In June, a delegation from our Erasmus+ partner organisation LAPAS (Latvian Platform for Development Cooperation) visited Dublin for a two-day learning and exchange visit hosted by IDEA. The visit was part of an ongoing collaboration with LAPAS to strengthen quality global citizenship education (GCE) in Ireland and Latvia, using the IDEA Code of Good Practice as a framework. You can find out more about the Erasmus+ project here.