Networks

Outlined below is a description of the work of the main development networks to which the Centre for Global Education is affiliated:

Coalition of Aid and Development Agencies (CADA)


CADA is the Coalition of Aid and Development Agencies, a network of development NGOs based in Northern Ireland, which aims to:

•     Support international development;

•     Enhance awareness of development issues in Northern Ireland;

•     Influence policy at local, national and international levels. 

CADA's main objective is to promote sustainable development, social justice and equality in local and global contexts.  CADA regards development as a process by which the dignity inherent in all human beings should become reflected in their economic, political and social conditions.  Development involves understanding the effects of social and economic inequalities, which exist at individual, community and national levels both here and overseas.  Central to this approach is the principle of education as an engine for the empowerment of individuals, groups and organisations to enable them to participate in the sustainable development of their community, nation and the world as a whole.

CADA has working groups in the areas of advocacy and global education.  Charo Lanao-Madden, Centre for Global Education, currently holds the chair of the Global Education sub-group.

For further information on CADA contact:

Karen Gallagher

Chair

CADA

Tel:      (028) 90331000

E-mail: karen.gallagher@concern.net

Development Education Association (DEA)

The DEA is the UK national umbrella body for Development Education which exists to promote the work of all those engaged in bringing about a better understanding of global and development issues. 

For learners and society to thrive in a world which faces issues such as global poverty, climate change and racial and religious tensions, DEA believes that education should put learning in a global context, fostering:

  • critical and creative thinking;
  • self-awareness and open-mindedness towards difference;
  • understanding of global issues and power relationships; and
  • optimism and action for a better world.

DEA works in the UK to change both what people learn and how they learn, through influencing policy and improving educators' practice.  Its primary focus is on schools and teacher training and global youth work.

The DEA is a member of the UK Development Education Network which also comprises representatives of development networks in Scotland (IDEAS), Wales (Cyfanfyd) and Northern Ireland (CADA).  The network aims to facilitate an exchange of information on development education practice and policy in the four countries.

For further information on the DEA contact:

Information Services Manager

DEA,

CAN Mezzanine
32-36 Loman Street
London

SE1 0EH

Tel:                  +44 (0)20 7922 7930
Fax:                 +44 (0)20 7922 7929

E-mail:             dea@dea.org.uk

 

Dochas

Dochas is the association of Irish non-governmental organisations working for global justice by supporting the development of the peoples of the South and through development education in Ireland.  

Dochas is a member of Concord, the European Union wide network of development NGOs.

The vision of Dochas is to contribute, through the co-operative efforts of its members, to a just world where basic needs are met, where people are empowered, where there is equity in the management and distribution of resources and where human rights are respected. 

This will be achieved in the context of members’ dialogue with partners in the South and through the active engagement with local partners in Ireland.  The Centre for Global Education is one of Dochas’s 43 members.

Dóchas regards development education as a core element of development co-operation and is committed to the full engagement of Irish civil society in education and action for sustainable development.
 
Dóchas aims to promote justice, human rights and equality through the active involvement of local (civil and state), European and Southern partners in education and action for sustainable development.

The aim of the Dóchas Development Education Group is “to promote justice, human rights and equality through the active involvement of local partners (civil and state), European partners and Southern partners in education and action for sustainable development”.

The group’s strategy covers the following issues:

  • Furthering the aims of Development Education through increased cooperation within Dóchas, and by highlighting Development Education as an integral part of development cooperation.
  • Influence Development Education policy in Ireland by assisting in the efforts to come to a national strategy for the Development Education sector
  • Continue the exchange with other Development Education actors within the EU including the participation in the Developing Europeans’ Engagement for the Eradication of Global Poverty and other EU-wide NGO initiatives.

For further information on Dochas contact:

Anna Farrell

Office Manager

Dochas

12 Harcourt Street

Dublin 2

Tel:                  (003531) 405 3801

E-mail:             anna@dochas.ie

 

Irish Development Education Association (IDEA)

The Irish Development Education Association (IDEA) is a national platform for organisations and individuals engaged in the provision, promotion and advancement of development education throughout the island of Ireland. For IDEA, development education is an educational response and process aimed at increasing awareness and understanding of the shared development of our world. By engaging people critically in and with our increasingly interdependent world, development education aims to challenge global inequalities, and works towards creating a more just and sustainable future for our planet.

Our members come from different regions of the island of Ireland, they work in different sectors of society and have different views and opinions on how to engage the Irish public in development education. What they all share is the vision that their work will contribute to transforming the social, cultural, economic and political structures of the world and the fabric of our society in order to create a more just and equal future for all. IDEA’s aim is to support this diversity.

IDEA’s Mission is to:

  • Encourage and co-ordinate good communications and cooperation at all levels of the development education membership.
  • Promote a critical awareness of development education and encourage capacity building among the membership by:
  • Identifying, developing and promoting best practice in development education.
  • Promoting and encouraging an ethos of accountability and transparency.
  • Developing IDEA’s capacity to a stage where it will be capable of representing and advocating for its membership with relevant government departments and bodies, nationally and internationally on the challenges facing development education, including ensuring development education is adequately resourced at a local, national and European level.

Centre for Global Education is represented on the IDEA National Council and Regional Working Group by Jenna Coriddi.  Charo Lanao-Madden is a member of the IDEA Global South Working Group and Stephen McCloskey is a member of the IDEA Research Group.

One of the roles of IDEA is to provide training to members to enhance their capacity to deliver development education and to strengthen their professional development.  On 3 March 2010, the Centre and IDEA collaborated on a training seminar on Social Media and Global Learning. It was held in St. Mary’s University College and aimed to introduce participants to social networking tools and how they can be used in development education.  The event drew a maximum level of participation and was very positively evaluated.

 

For further information on IDEA contact:

5 Merrion Row

Dublin 2

Ireland

Tel:                  003531 661 8831

E-mail:             info@ideaonline.ie