Global citizenship education (GCED) : capacity building workshop for the integration of global citizen education (GCED) into the curriculum in Uganda-Kampala : workshop report

Abstract

Global Citizenship Education (GCED) is one of the three pillars of the 2012 UN Global Education First Initiative (GEFI), promoted internationally by the support and work of UNESCO. Global Citizenship Education is target 4.7 of Sustainable Development Goal, No. 4 which is about quality education. It aims at equipping learners of all ages with values, knowledge and skills that are based on and instill respect for human rights, social justice, diversity, gender equality and environmental sustainability and that empower learners to be responsible global citizens. The target is to ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development. GCED gives learners the competencies and opportunity to realize their rights and obligations to promote a better world and future for all. It builds on many related fields such as human rights education, peace education, education for international understanding and is aligned with the objectives of education for sustainable development (ESD). UNESCO has encouraged national government agencies, transnational and non-governmental organizations, teachers and researchers to pursue various policies, programmes, and pedagogies to foster and further develop global citizenship education. The idea is not only to create a new global norm in education but also a new analytical perspective. It is against this background that APCEIU was established as a UNESCO Category II center in 2000 by the Agreement between UNESCO and the Government of the Republic of Korea and was mandated to promote Education for International Understanding (EIU) of which GCED falls currently APCEIU is clearing house for GCED. In 2015, at the UNESCO World Education Forum, member states adapted the Incheon Declaration in Korea which advocates for GCED. It commits to quality education and to improving learning outcomes, requiring strengthening inputs, processes and evaluation of outcomes and mechanisms to measure progress. It also develops the skills, values and attitudes that enable citizens to lead healthy and fulfilled lives, make informed decisions, and respond to local and global challenges through education for sustainable development (ESD) and Global citizenship education (GCED). Several other International conferences, forums and workshops have been held to pursue a better understanding of GCED and to see how it can be implemented into various countries’ curricula to achieve stated goals. APCEIU has a 3 year target plan of promoting and strengthening GCED in the pursuit for quality education. Uganda has been selected among three other countries; Cambodia, Mongolia and Colombia to pilot this very important project. The first year focuses on the establishment of the mechanism for GCED curriculum development, the focus for the second year is on the development of GCED curriculum and pilot-testing and the final third year will focus on the dissemination, field application, monitoring mechanism and networks. This workshop was therefore organized to meet the second target of the APCEIU goal in promoting GCED by holding a capacity building workshop for integrating GCED into the curriculum in its second year of project implementation. There was a need for the different stakeholders to be made aware of GCED, increase their knowledge on the subject and be equipped with necessary skills so as to integrate it successfully into the curriculum and ensure effective measures are put in place to guarantee the success of the project.