The Global Citizenship Education Student Showcase 2018, an initiative led by students from Educate Together’s nationwide network of second-level schools, took place on Thursday 10 May at Hansfield Educate Together Secondary School. The exhibition showcased students’ work in the area of Development Education and Global Citizenship.
Development Education (DE), also known as Global Citizenship Education, is an educational process aimed at increasing awareness and understanding of the rapidly changing, interdependent and unequal world in which we live. By challenging stereotypes and encouraging independent thinking, DE helps students critically explore the root causes of global justice issues and how they interlink with our everyday lives. Global Citizenship Education forms an important part of the Ethical Education Curriculum, a subject unique to Educate Together schools.
Presented World Café style, each participating Educate Together school showcased their work on Development Education in an array of innovative ways – multi-media presentations, performance and musical pieces and a display of artwork.
“Development Education and taking part in the event today has really helped me gain a wider perspective on the world” said one student presenting at the showcase. “As young adults we shouldn’t be sheltered from what’s going on globally, if we’re to do anything to address global inequalities, it’s really important that we understand the causes.”
Some of the presentations on display included topics such as Ethical Consumption and Production, Gender Equality and Climate Change. Participating schools included Hansfield ETSS, Stepaside ETSS, Clonturk Community College, Ballymakenny College, Bremore ETSS, Kishoge Community College, Celbridge Community School and North Wicklow ETSS.
The Global Citizenship Education Student Showcase was proudly supported by Educate Together and Worldwise Global Schools, Ireland’s national Development Education programme for post-primary schools.
The showcase also provided an opportunity to explore Educate Together’s unique model of post-primary education in action. In Educate Together second-level schools, subjects are taught through cross-curricular projects that spark the creativity of students. Educate Together at second-level is about more than preparing students to sit State exams: the schools have moved away from ‘teaching to the test’ towards a truly integrated school experience.
