Exploring Contemporary Issues through Global Citizenship Education: 'Social Inclusion in times of Rising Xenophobia'

Date: Wednesday, 15 May, 12.30-2.00pm   

Location: Online via Zoom 


IDEA is collaborating with Comhlámh to host a webinar on ‘Social Inclusion in times of rising Xenophobia’ #4 on our webinar series : Exploring Contemporary Crises and Issues through Global Citizenship Education on Wednesday, 15 May, 12.30-2.00pm, online via zoom. 


This webinar will look at an existing gap in Ireland of refugee and migrant integration, resettlement, and community engagement in Ireland. More specifically speakers will explore how this gap, in a time of austerity and multiplying barriers to overall social inclusion feeds xenophobic, anti-immigration, racist and far-right narrative sentiments. This event will also aim to discuss and explore the ways global citizenship education, the international development and humanitarian sector can become pro-active players in filling that gap. Key questions we will ask ourselves are: 


  • How can these sectors reach out to local actors and community groups and become active participants in building the connections needed to promote social cohesion and intercultural diversity? 
  • How can we make sure that intersectional solidarity is at the heart of our responses and that the voices of those affected are centred? 


The speakers will be Joe Munnelly, a PhD in Humanitarian and Development studies graduating from UCD’s Centre for Humanitarian Action; Bulelani Mfaco, one of the Spokespersons for the Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland (MASI); and Sarah Kelleher, CEO of Lourdes Youth & Community Services (LYCS). The moderator for this webinar is Dr Caroline Murphy, CEO of Comhlámh.


This event is fully booked!


Biographies


Bulelani Mfaco: Growing up in the apartheid ghetto of Khayelitsha in Cape Town, Bulelani Mfaco became involved at an early age in protests for adequate housing & access to land with Abahlali Base Mjondolo, health care in the Khayelitsha Health Forum, and improved policing in neighbourhood watches. In 2017 he claimed asylum, seeking protection from violence and targeted killings of LGBTQ+ people. He is one of the Spokespersons for the Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland (MASI) where he is campaigning for the right to work for all asylum seekers, and to end Direct Provision. Bulelani is also on the board of the Hope & Courage Collective, and the Irish Council for Civil Liberties. 


Joe Munnelly: Joe has a PhD in Humanitarian and Development studies graduating from UCD’s Centre for Humanitarian action. His research background has focused on Europe’s refugee crisis and his doctoral research was focused on the social integration of refugees in Ireland. Joe also has years of experience in advocacy and campaigns having worked as Advocacy Officer for Oxfam Ireland and Failte Refugees. 


Dr Caroline Murphy is currently working as the CEO for Comhlámh. She has over 15 years’ experience of working for organisations across the Irish International Development sector with key experience in educational drama, development education, strategy, policy, and safeguarding. Her PhD focussed on ‘Pedagogy of the Oppressed’ and ‘Theatre of the Oppressed’, exploring applied theatre as a method for confronting issues of injustice and oppression.  

Sarah Kelleher has worked as CEO of LYCS in the North East Inner City for over 20 years. With a background in youth work and community development, Sarah has vast experience of working in inner city communities both in Ireland and in the UK. She has recently gained a 1st Class Honours in M.A. in Management: Community & Voluntary Services with Dublin City Univeristy. Sarah has a special interest in policy development and measuring qualitative outcomes of programmes delivered to hard-to-reach communities. She has also served as a Board member of a number of local and national voluntary organisations and statutory agencies.

September 26, 2025
Date: Tuesday, 04 November, from 3.30–4.30pm Location: Online via Zoom IDEA is thrilled to invite members to the online launch of our new “Theory of Impact for Global Citizenship Education” on Tuesday, 04 November, from 3.30–4.30pm, Online via Zoom. During this session, we will present the model, share insights into the process behind its development, and explore how it will be used to strengthen impact across the sector. We will also introduce a new tool in progress, an interactive data visualisation map designed to showcase our collective impact as a network. For many years, IDEA and its members have been grappling with the concept of impact in Development Education/Global Citizenship Education (hereinafter ‘GCE’). As GCE practitioners, tracking impact helps us to identify how, where and with whom our work is creating positive change, as well as investigating areas in which our impact could be stronger. Furthermore, we can also benefit from examining the collective impact of GCE carried out by the wide-ranging work of IDEA members, and from exploring how these impacts contribute to the major social changes to which the GCE community aspires. Driven therefore by the need to understand how projects and programmes are collectively “making a difference” in IDEA we looked at models that could help us visualise and capture GCE “impact networks”. We formulated our vision of impact and then a theory of how we expect this desired impact to be achieved to allow us to map our activities and collect data to corroborate that theory. This Theory of Impact model is how we hope to illustrate this complex GCE impact network. Building on work done by IDEA over many years including building sectoral capacity in using Results Frameworks for GCE, our Quality & Impact working group, engagement with Irish Aid on their Performance Measurement Framework (PMF), and the successful roll-out of a Code of Good Practice for DE/GCE, this Theory of Impact represent the next stage of our effort to ‘develop a consistent approach to measuring impact among the sector’. We are therefore thrilled to invite you to the presentation of our ‘Theory of Impact for GCE’. At this online presentation, we will tell you about the process that led to the creation of this model, how it will be used and what we hope it could bring to the sector. We will also touch on a new tool being developed based on the model, which should allow the creation of an interactive data visualisation map of our collective impact as a network. Join us as we launch into this exciting new phase of our Impact Measurement work. Join us as we begin this exciting new phase of our Impact Measurement work. Register below!
September 26, 2025
Date: 11 November, 10.30am – 4.30pm. Location: IDEA offices, 6 Gardiner Row IDEA launched its new Advocacy Toolkit and GCE Policy Guide resource pack in early March. The advocacy toolkit and policy guide were developed for IDEA members to strengthen their capacity to effectively advocate with policymakers and to actively engage in policy processes on GCE in Ireland and the wider world. IDEA will facilitate a full-day in-person workshop on these resources in the IDEA offices on Tuesday, 11 November ,10.30am – 4.30pm. Places are limited to 20 participants and will be given on a first come, first served basis. Please note that this is a repeat of the workshop that took place in May and is aimed at members who did not have the opportunity to participate in May. A vegetarian lunch will be provided. Register below!
September 26, 2025
Date: 06 November a nd 18 November from 3.30–4.30pm Location: IDEA offices, 6 Gardiner Row, Dublin 1 Due to positive feedback following a workshop during our annual conference, we are thrilled to invite members to a full 2-part interactive workshop about “Racial Justice” on 06 November and 18 November. This event will take place in-person in Dublin. Our facilitators Bronwyn April and Mdahyelya Bassi will guide participants through a critical exploration of the interconnections between racial justice, philanthropy, migration, and decolonisation within global and Irish contexts. The workshop will delve into how historical and ongoing colonial legacies influence contemporary issues of racial equity and social justice in Ireland and beyond. The dates for this event are fast approaching, so if you have any specific accessibility requirements, please email events@ideaonline.ie as soon as possible. Places for this event are limited, and registration is mandatory. Deadline to register is Monday, 04 November. Register below!