GENE’s international Peer Review process aims to enhance Global Education at national level in European countries and share learning between them.
The Process
The European Global Education Peer Review process grew out of a recommendation of the Maastricht Congress (2002). Each completed Peer Review process is followed by the publication of a national report. For the last few years, GENE has also been able to offer follow-up support to the host country if required. The European Global Education Peer Review process is facilitated by GENE’s Secretariat. Funding and expertise is provided by GENE participating Ministries and Agencies.
The Aim
The aim of the process is to increase and improve policy, structures, support mechanisms, access and results of Global Education in European countries. National Reports and the processes leading to them act as a tool to enhance quality nationally and to provide learning for policymakers and practitioners in other countries, to enable an international comparative perspective, review and improved policymaking.
The Learning
GENE captures learning from each review process, both with the international peer review team and the Secretariat, to tweak and improve the way we work. In 2018, a reflection on the GENE Peer Review process also took place with other organisations that run international peer review processes - OECD (DAC, Education) and UNESCO - to share insights, learn from each other’s processes and to consider the relationship between peer learning and policy change. A short report from this process can be downloaded here.
LATVIA PEER REVIEW 2023
The Peer Review of Global Education is underway, and our team visited Riga during the first week of October 2023. Joined by Peer Experts Ms. Emer Carney from Irish Aid and Dr. Marios Antoniu from the Cyprus Ministry of Education and Research, GENE Secretariat members, Ms. Liam Wegimont, Ms. Ditta Dolejsiova Trindade, and Ms. Jo McAuley, engaged in a productive week of meetings and discussions with Latvian stakeholders in Global Education. Our goal was to learn from Latvia's experiences and identify opportunities for enhancing and expanding Global Education.
We are grateful to the Latvian Ministry of Education and Science for their invaluable partnership throughout the review process. Latvia is currently in the process of implementing a new competence-based curriculum, which holds significant potential for mainstreaming Global Education. We were impressed by the expertise and willingness to engage demonstrated by various stakeholders, including government actors, civil society, local and regional authorities, and universities. As we finalise our observations and recommendations from this review visit in close dialogue with our partners, we are excited to announce that a national report will be released in the new year.
PEER REVIEWS TO DATE
To date, 14 Global Education Peer Review processes have taken place and National Reports published – Estonia (2019), Cyprus (2017), Belgium (2016), Ireland (2015), Portugal (2013-14), Slovakia (2013-14), Norway (2009-10), Poland (2009-10), the Czech Republic (2008), Austria (2006), the Netherlands (2005), Finland (late 2004), and Cyprus (pilot review, early 2004).
The Peer Review of Cyprus took place during 2017. The launch of the national report took place at the House of Representatives in Nicosia, Cyprus, during GENE Roundtable 37.
The Peer Review of Belgium took place in 2016, with the report launched at the 2017 GENE spring Roundtable in Brussels. The Peer Review of Ireland was finalised in 2015, with the national launch of the report in November 2015 and the European launch at the 2016 spring Roundtable.
Peer Reviews 2017 and 2016
Estonia’s Global Education Peer Review was finalised in late 2019 and the National Report was launched at a lively seminar on 3 Mar 2020 in Tallinn with much discussion and a broad range of Global Education stakeholders participating. The Director General for Development Cooperation welcomed the report findings and stressed the importance of Global Education for Development Cooperation and public awareness of global issues. The Head of the General Education Department at the Ministry of Education and Research emphasised opportunities to integrate GE into the education system, while NGOs welcomed recommendations to consider establishing a National Platform for GE, increased and more long-term funding for GE, and a call to integrate Global Education further in the youth sector.
Estonia Peer Review 2019
Peer Review Follow-up Support
GENE offers follow-up support to countries that have hosted a peer review process in recent years. The support is structured according to the needs and wishes of the host country and is intended to assist in the implementation of key recommendations from the peer-review process.
Cyprus Peer Review Follow-up
During 2020, GENE engaged with Cyprus in a follow-up initiative to their 2017 peer review. The GENE Secretariat visited Nicosia in 2020 and met with the main stakeholders involved in Global Education to review the main recommendations from the 2017 process. This resulted in renewed national commitment among key stakeholders and a decision to initiate a funding mechanism for Global Education in Cyprus for the first time.
Latest Peer Review Reports
Global Education in Estonia
The Peer Review of Global Education in Estonia took place in 2019 and the report was launched at a seminar in Tallinn on 3 March 2020. The event heard political support for further increasing and improving GE in Estonia and explored practical ways to begin implementation of some of the recommendations from the process. A report summary in Estonian.
Global Education in Cyprus
The Peer Review of Cyprus took place in 2017, with the report launched at the House of Representatives in Nicosia during GENE Roundtable 37, in the presence of the President of the Parliament, the Minister of Education and the Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Educational Affairs and Culture. A summary of the report is available in Greek and Turkish.
Global Education in Belgium
The Peer Review of Belgium took place in 2016, during a period of reform and change. The National Report outlines the complexities of the Belgian federal system of education and policy-making and looks at how GE is approached at different levels and in different communities. Report summaries in Dutch, French and German.
This website was created and maintained with the financial support of the European Union and the Ministries and Agencies that support GENE. Its contents are the sole responsibility of GENE and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.