Irish Aid has started the consultation process for the development of the new Irish Aid Global Citizenship Education Strategy. Irish Aid has shared the following information with IDEA and via other fora to encourage inputs and ensure that the consultation process involves a wide variety of actors and perspectives in GCE.

The following elements are part of the consultation process, and we strongly encourage IDEA members to get involved via different channels, including the following:

• Information Webinar on the GCE Strategy Development and Consultation Process: Monday 08 June at 3.00pm, via Zoom.  Irish Aid will present the details of the strategy development process and the consultation process and answer questions. The webinar will be recorded for those who cannot attend.

Register here for the webinar

• Written submissions: A public consultation period will be open from June (start date tbc) to the end of July for Irish Aid to receive written submissions. We will share more information about this when it becomes available from Irish Aid.

• Consultation meetings between Irish Aid and IDEA Working Groups and Task Groups. These meetings are open to all IDEA members who wish to join the various groups. The location is the Irish Aid offices, Bishops’ Square, Redmond Hill, Dublin 2, as follows:

• Monday 15 June, 11.00am - 1.00pm - Youth Task Force
• Monday 15 June, 2.00pm - 4.00pm - Adult and Community Education Working Group
• Tuesday 16 June, 2.00 - 4.00pm - Formal Education Working Group 
• Friday 19 June, 1.00pm-3.00pm - Quality and Impact Working Group 

Invitations for these in-person/hybrid meetings were sent out to members of these groups on Friday 29 May, with steering questions, information on logistics, and RSVP details. An IDEA staff member will accompany IDEA members to these meetings as observers and for general support.

In parallel with a consultation process with external audiences, Irish Aid is also conducting a literature review of national policies relevant to GCE and an internal consultation with other Irish Aid units and departments. The first draft strategy is expected to be finalised by the end of September, and it is hoped that the final version will be published by the end of the year. IDEA is keen to ensure that all members have opportunities to feed into the process - through IDEA, our Working Groups and other fora, and any wider consultation mechanisms outlined by Irish Aid. We will continue to keep members updated as we learn more.

If you have any questions about any aspect of the process for IDEA members, please contact Leigh at leigh@ideaonline.ie.