IDEA Election Manifesto 2024

IDEA Election Manifesto 2024

Ireland in a Changed and Turbulent World: A Manifesto for a Society Ready to Overcome Local and Global Challenges


In a world of rapid change and mounting crises, Ireland must prioritise equipping its citizens with the education, values, and skills necessary to overcome both local and global challenges. From climate breakdown and deepening inequality to the spread of disinformation, discrimination, and the rise of racism - this new era presents unprecedented issues that demand informed and engaged collective responses.
Ireland’s commitment to Global Citizenship Education (which includes Education for Sustainable Development) plays a crucial role in fostering the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values needed to navigate today’s interconnected world.


By embracing these educational frameworks, in line with our commitment to achieving Sustainable Development
Goal Target 4.7, we affirm our dedication to justice, peace, democracy, human rights, partnership, global solidarity, and environmental stewardship.


Our efforts are already having a real
impact, such as improving school curricula and teacher education and reaching at least 362,000 learners across Ireland in 2023 alone. However, the scope and urgency of today’s crises call for renewed dedication and focus. Ireland must strengthen its commitment to Global Citizenship Education as we navigate complex, interconnected challenges at home and abroad, while approaching critical climate tipping points. This requires increased investment, strategic prioritisation, and a whole-of-government approach.


Only by championing Global Citizenship Education and taking decisive action can we ensure that Ireland and its people are prepared to meet the pressing challenges of our time, fostering a more sustainable and fairer society in a turbulent world.


In the next Programme for Government, Ireland must:

  • Significantly increase our investment in Global Citizenship Education and Education for Sustainable Development while instituting a whole-of-government approach.


To download a PDF version of this manifesto, click here.


IDEA has also developed a Global Education Champion candidate pledge for candidates to sign up to.

If you are a candidate who would like to sign it or if you are a member of IDEA and would like to send the pledge to candidates, please contact Leigh at leigh@ideaonline.ie 


October 8, 2025
We are looking for a consultant to design an interactive data visualisation tool for our Theory of Impact for Global Citizenship Education in Ireland. The consultant will lead the design or tailoring of off-the-shelf survey software and analytics software to our needs, in collaboration with IDEA staff. Please submit a tender including a description of stages in the development process, number of days, expected fee, and experience of relevant personnel for the work to be carried out to anya@ideaonline.ie . The deadline for application is Wednesday, 29 October, 5.00pm. Read the full terms of reference here.
October 6, 2025
After three remarkable years with IDEA, we are sad to share that Anya Sparynska is moving abroad to begin a new adventure. During her time with us, Anya made an indelible mark - first by shaping a pioneering programme role, and later by guiding us in a capacity development role that strengthened our impact across Ireland’s development education sector. From designing and implementing innovative initiatives to building partnerships and capacity across our member organisations, Anya has left IDEA stronger, more connected, and more ambitious for the future. “I am sad to leave at such a pivotal time in IDEA: we are faced with unspeakable horror, as the need for justice and accountability grows ever more urgent. I have seen, however, our members and staff respond with creativity, humanity and dedication to these challenging times and find inspiration in it, even at this darkest hour. A desire to be close to my family and the pressure of the housing crisis have driven me to Brussels, but I know I will be back as Ireland - it’s passionate, brave and kind people - now feels like home. I will be sure to follow IDEA and our members’ work closely in the coming year and hope to stay in touch! “Working at IDEA has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career. Seeing ideas and passion turn into real impact and change has been incredibly fulfilling - I’ll carry those lessons, and the very special friendships made along the way with me always.”
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 (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!