GENE Increase Programme 2016 – 2018

Overview

Strengthening support, quality and reach in Global Education and DEAR through policy learning has been at the heart of GENE since its establishment. Its mission states that “GENE works towards the day when all people in Europe have access to quality Global Education”.

The Increase Programme was established to help develop and strengthen structures of support, funding and dialogue for Global Education and DEAR at national level and offers capacity building and practice sharing in countries where such structures of support or co-ordination are emerging or do not exist.

It engages Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Ministries of Education and their relevant agencies, as well as as other national stakeholders in this process of strengthening GE in the country.

Context

This Programme is being implemented as part of the Strengthening Global Education and DEAR in Europe: through Inter-ministerial Networking, Policy Learning, and Capacity-Building Programme 2016-2018, supported by the EC.

Purpose

To support the development and strengthening of structures and mechanism of coordination, policy, support and funding for GE and DEAR at national level, in countries where they are emerging or do not exist.

Process

From an initial group of 12 countries identified and invited to be part of the programme, four Memoranda of Understanding were ultimately signed, following extensive dialogue: Latvia, Malta, Slovakia, Slovenia. A Partnership Agreement was also signed with Cyprus.

Programme.

While the programme is tailor-made to the needs and requirements of each country, in general it includes three key areas:

National Consultation Process
Support to initiate or strengthen a national multi-stakeholder dialogue leading to a National Seminar on Global Education (support to organise the event, involving diverse stakeholders, co-development of the programme, engaging external GE experts).

Co-funding Mechanism
Support to establish or strengthen a national GE and DEAR co-financing system; providing access to expertise on GE and DEAR funding systems.

Technical Support
Tailor-made support reflecting the needs at the national level. This involved among others development of national language GE materials, training of teachers in GE, training of youth multipliers in GE, development of teacher training curricula in GE, a study visit to another country with GE expertise.

Follow up.

Several of the current partners have indicated that they are interested in continued support from GENE. Other GENE participating Ministries and Agencies have also indicated an interest in participating in the Programme of National Support from 2019-2021.

2016-2018 Partnership Highlights.

Ministry of Education and Culture, Cyprus

GENE International Peer Review on Global Education in 2017 highlighted several recommendations that became the focus of the Interdepartmental Committee on Global Education. A multi-stakeholder meeting has taken place in October 2018 as part of the national consultation process. The Partnership Agreement contributed to the development of the co-funding mechanism on Global Education that enabled a creation of a specific budget on Global Education with a launched call for Global Education projects in primary and secondary schools, as part of the School Mediation Programme. It also enabled printing of Global Education manuals, purchase of stationary and educational materials support.

Ministry of Education and Employment, Malta

The interest and the involvement of the Hon. Minister of Education and Employment Mr. Evarist Bartolo was crucial to the development of the Memorandum of Understanding between GENE and the Maltese counterparts. This lead to the Launch Seminar on Global Education in June 2018, which facilitated a multi-stakeholder dialogue and an expert discussion on policy related themes. The cooperation also involved a development of a funding scheme on Global Education implemented through an open call for Global Education initiatives by primary and secondary schools. The cooperation also included the development of a teacher training curriculum on Global Education.

Ministry of Education and Science, Latvia

The national consultation process in Latvia initiated by a visit to the capital in March 2017, led to a number of intense activities in 2018, among them the Launch seminar on Global Education in the General Education Curricula, the National Conference on the theme “Think, Learn and Live Globally”, a study visit of Latvian stakeholders in Global Education to Finland, as well as the translation of educational materials on Global Education. A Co-funding mechanism developed as an integral part of the cooperation is implemented through an open call for the development of Global Education materials, as well as Global Education activities in both formal and non-formal education settings. Watch the seminar video here.

Slovak Agency for International Development and Cooperation (SAIDC), Slovakia

The cooperation with SAIDC led to an intense national consultation process among the key stakeholders in Global Education in Slovakia aiming at a greater cooperation and involvement of the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport and the formal education sector as a whole. A High-level meeting on Global Education with international experts took place in June 2018, bringing together ministries and agencies as well as the other key actors in the field. The co-funding mechanism contributed to the Mapping of Global Education in both formal and non-formal education sectors in 2017 implemented in cooperation with the NGDO platform MVRO, and to increase in funding to Global Education projects in 2018. A training of youth multipliers and a youth worker handbook on Global Education was also realised through a cooperation with the National Youth Council.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Slovenia

The initial visit to the capital that included an inspiring lecture on Global Education – Some political and pedagogical challenges by Dr Hartmeyer, led to the national consultation process and the National Forum on Global Education and Education for Sustainable Development in May 2018 with a high-level participation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport. This event inspired a cooperation with the National Institute for Education on the mapping of Global Education and Education for Sustainable Development in Slovenia, as part of this programme. The co-funding mechanism implemented through the Centre for European Perspective was dedicated to the project “Global Responsibility for the Future” involving secondary school pupils.