The Bigger Picture
The project is being developed against a background of unprecedented challenges and opportunities facing the world such increasing globalisation, a digitally connected and interdependent world, international and religious conflicts, mass movement of people from conflict zones and poor countries to Europe, the refugee crisis, climate change and environmental degradation, the Sustainable Development Goals, BREXIT, the rise of populism and the right, and the recently published OECD “global competency for an inclusive world”.
In order to address these issues successfully, citizens will require new capacities, and it is crucial therefore, that they understand the forces that drive these challenges, the threats they pose, the opportunities ,and how citizens and decision makers can contribute to a more sustainable world. In the increasingly globalised interconnected world, most people come into contact frequently with people of other cultures and from other parts of the world, are affected by events in other countries, have multiple global relationships (at work, in business, socially, through family ties, travel etc.), and will have to negotiate and collaborate across social, cultural, ethnic, racial, political and geographic differences.
Education has a crucial role to play in ensuring citizens develop these new capacities, address the challenges and opportunities. However, if educators are to facilitate the development of adults’ global competences, it is essential that they themselves are globally competent, because creating globally competent citizens require globally competent educators.
The project activities will be achieved through a number of activities that include intellectual outputs, joint staff training, and blended training. The main activities will include analysing global adult learning in Europe, identifying the global competences required by adults and adult educators, developing learning programmes and resources, joint staff training and blended learning of adult learners.
The activities are expected to produce the following results:
1. A comparative analysis of adult global learning in Europe
2. Global competency frameworks for adults and adult educators
3. A course for adult educators on global and international development issues
4. Learning resources including guidance for global education
5. Guidance for educators on delivering global education.
The global and development issues to be addressed in the project affect everyone, no matter where they live, so there is added value in carrying it out transnationally. It will provide different perspectives to the issues and opportunities to share experiences, learn from each other, generate solutions capable of replication internationally, and foster future partnership working on issues of common European interest.
In addition to learning about global and international development issues, the project provides opportunities for adults to develop and improve their core competences, especially those of digital competence, social competence and cultural and artistic expression.The results of this project has the potential to generate debates at all levels on the issue of global competence, and could lead to some kind of consensus on the specific global competences for citizens and educators, and how they might be developed.
Project coordinator
United Kingdom – Global Learning & Skills Partnership
Project partners
Estonia– ETKA Andras
France – Institut de Formation et d´Appui aux Initiatives de Developpement
Portugal – AidLearn, Consultoria em Recursos Humanos Lda.
United Kingdom – Morley College Limited
Spain – Universidad de Sevilla
Italy – Prometeo