Brand new bricks. Photo: fdecomite, July 27, 2007. CC-BY-2.0 via Flickr
"Why should I be studying for a future that soon may be no more, when no one is doing anything to save that future? And what is the point of learning facts when the most important facts clearly means nothing to our society?”
Daring to teach human rights, global justice and to challenge unsustainable practices may seem impossible. Taking a look across social media today, on international Human Rights Day, the stories of shocks to democratic processes and mechanisms are painting a picture rolling back and even stifling of gains in the movement for human rights.
When the developmenteducation.ie digital development education project was piloted 20 years ago it went live during the lead-up of preparatory work to build an active public constituency to critically engage with global development goals seeking to end poverty, eradicate hunger and to deliver on the global responsibilities of the richest countries on the planet to the rest.
The new developmenteducation.ie seeks to get to the heart of teachable moments, in crisis, in opportunities and in education for change, now in the era of Sustainable Development Goals strained by extreme inequalities and human-induced climate shocks. It builds on the energy and ideas from dozens of focus groups, survey work, the hundreds of queries and comments shared annually and the long-term partnerships we thrive on with educators, contributors, readers and our consortium colleagues in Aidlink, Concern Worldwide, the Irish Development Education Association, the National Youth Council of Ireland, the Irish Development Education Association, Self Help Africa, Trócaire and 80:20 Educating and Acting for a Better World in conjunction with Irish Aid.
Daring to learn about and challenge the realities of climate injustice, of the many forms of violence against women and the cost shouldered by human rights, humanitarian and environmental defenders, and to change them, is what developmenteducation.ie is all about.
This update has been over six months in the making, and we hope the changes are a future-proof for issues, ideas and resources needed as fuel for global solidarity and action.
We hope that you enjoy it – and thanks for being part of the community of activist educators – students, parents, teachers, researchers and life-long learners.
A new look for global digital citizens
The style of developmenteducation.ie has changed to be more responsive, more fluid and more interactive than ever before. Whether by tablet, phone, desktop or taking the debate onto social media we believe an invitation to join in should be obvious, and immediate.
Our content and features will be characterised by keeping our readers’ interests, needs, stories and involvement at the core of what we do.
Say hello to the ‘Sustainable Development Goals Explorer’
Have you ever wanted to look for which SDGs are directly or indirectly related to a resource – whether a booklet, a short film, an issue-based activity pack or an NGO report?
Say hello, to the Sustainable Development Goals Explorer.
The resources library has gone through the largest overhaul since it was introduced on developmentedcation.ie in 2011, and we’ve added a Sustainable Development Goals filter that covers all resources and related SDG material.
We couldn’t find any like it online, so we built one.
Sign up to the new eZine...
…which includes resource round-ups, featured articles and teachable moment opportunities as they happen.