The Global Citizenship Education Working Group (GCE WG) – originally Development Education and Awareness Raising Working Group (DEAR WG) – was set up in April 2014.
The working group brought together stakeholders from NGOs, academia, and the education sector amongst others. The membership is open to any member of SKOP and anyone interested and working in the field of GCE.
Vision
The SKOP GCE Working Group envisages a world where social justice, equity and the respect of human rights are a reality for all. We believe that this will be achieved through the empowerment of all individuals to critically engage, work together and actively participate in achieving sustainable development globally. This, in turn, will only be possible through the promotion and fostering of Global Citizenship Education (GCE).
Mission
The SKOP GCE Working Group’s mission is to promote better, more comprehensive policies and strategies for GCE and to support the implementation of quality GCE initiatives across Malta.
Objectives
Taking into account the above Vision and Mission, our objectives are as follows:
O1: ADVOCACY: advocate for the inclusion and mainstreaming of Global Citizenship Education in relevant national and EU policies, and in formal, non-formal and informal education settings;
O2: MOBILISATION: encourage and support SKOP’s member organisations in undertaking Global Citizenship Education activities in a coherent, coordinated and appropriate way;
O3: CAPACITY BUILDING: To contribute to the improvement of the capacity of teachers and educators to deliver quality Global Citizenship Education and to strengthen the link with education for Sustainable Development and relevant curricula.
Target Audiences
The GCE Working Group seeks to focus on formal, non-formal and informal learning. Our direct target (DT) audiences are as follows:
DT1: SKOP member organisations and other NGOs working on Global Citizenship Education: through providing support to their activities in formal, non-formal and informal education, seeking to improve quality Global Citizenship Education and through working on advocacy and policy change for the benefit of their organisational goals.
DT2: Policy and decision-makers: through the development of reports, position papers and through meetings and other fora, members of the SKOP GCE Working Group seek to address decision-makers and advocate for the inclusion of Global Citizenship Education in relevant policies at national and European level.
DT3: Educators/Teachers/ other school staff as well as education provision institutions (e.g. UM, MCAST, IFE): through ongoing dialogue and communication, the SKOP GCE Working Group will directly engage them in the promotion of GCE, specifically in the formal education sphere, and to provide support for the implementation of GCE policies and practices.
Through our work, the SKOp GCE Working Group will indirectly reach the following target audiences (IT):
IT1: Students: Students at all levels of education will benefit from the work of both our member NGOs and other actors, including educators, teachers and educational institutions.
IT2: General public: This audience will benefit from initiatives undertaken by civil society or by changes in government policy.
Guiding Priorities
The following priorities will guide the work carried out by the SKOP GCE Working Group in Malta:
The inclusion of GCE (including Global Education, Education for Sustainable Development, Human Rights Education and Development Education) within curricula and teacher training, as well as continuous professional development (CPD) opportunities;
Supporting Maltese NGOs involvement in GCE at national and international level, including capacity building towards joint GCE actions and programmes;
Advocating for increased financing at national level for GCE actions, including the creation of dedicated funding programmes for GCE at national level and within the funds allocated to the Official Development Assistance (ODA);
Integrating the Agenda 2030 principle “Leave no one behind” and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into GCE approaches at formal and informal level, as well as promoting active citizenship and critical thinking skills in all education settings.
The work of the SKOP GCE working group is linked to the work carried out at European level by CONCORD in its GCE Group, where SKOP is represented in the Steering Committee.