Index24

Stop Climate Chaos campaigners call on the government to take stronger action against climate change on Sandymount Strand June 2009. Photo: Steve Ryan

index Issue 24 / September 2009

Irish Newsletter for Development Education Exchange

Time to think, time to act

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Editorial The climate, economic and resources crises currently facing us can seem overwhelming; however they also provide opportunities for us to reflect, explore our options, ask questions, and take action for change. This issue of Index looks at some of the inspiring activity taking place in Ireland and abroad.

On page 3 the Carnegie Inquiry explores ways to strengthen civil society in Ireland and the UK, and the roles educators can play in this process. On page 5 Barry Cannon investigates Venezuela’s social, cultural, political and economic model and whether it provides a possible alternative form of development.

A 2008 UN report ‘Organic Agriculture and Food Security in Africa’ found that organic, smallscale farming offers Africa the best chance of breaking the long cycle of poverty and malnutrition, reversing environmental and social damages, and achieving greater food security.

On page 10 Suzie Cahn explores the practical opportunities that community gardening in Ireland provides for us to get involved in strengthening our societies, enhancing our educational practice, and in working towards sustainable development.

Inquiry into the future of civil society in 3 the UK and Ireland by Morven Masterton

IDEA corner 4

Bolivarian Venezuela: an alternative 5 development model? by Barry Canon Dev Ed & CSPE by Ruth Doggett

INDEX Links: Dev Ed courses and events

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Community gardening: a growing phenomenon by Suzie Cahn

EU News & International Dates

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Resource Review: KODE course

by Deirdre Healy

We have added new pages, including one looking at how to use this newsletter as a classroom resource (page 7) and the ‘IDEA Corner’ (page 4) with updates from the Irish Development Education Association.

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Please contact index@comhlamh.org to comment on this issue, to contribute to future issues, or if you are interested in placing an advert on the back page of this publication.

“The problems of today cannot be solved with the same thinking that gave us the problems in the first place” – Albert Einstein

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How can global education enhance 12 the work of the minority ethnic sector?

by Charo Lanao-Madden

Dev Ed news, funding, 14 and resources

Charo Lanao-Madden describes how the CGE’s new course is using global education to enhance the work of the minority ethnic sector on page 12, while Deirdre Healy explains the workings of Kimmage’s new Open and Distance Education programme on page 15.

As usual we have news on what’s happening in the DE sector in Ireland and at EU level, dates to remember, courses and events information, and a cartoon.

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Contents

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www.comhlamh.org

INDEX is a free Comhlámh publication for people interested in educating on global development issues, funded by Comhlámh, Trócaire, and Irish Aid. The views expressed in individual articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organisations to which they are affiliated, the editorial committee, or Comhlámh.

Development Education is about increasing people’s awareness and understanding of global issues and of the interdependence of different countries and parts of the world in relation to those issues. In particular, it is about what sustains underdevelopment and what is needed to reach and sustain more equal development. It is an education based on reflection, analysis and action at local and global level (Dóchas).

Editorial committee: Ali Leahy (Comhlámh), Jenna Coriddi (CGE), Aoife Rush (Trócaire), Senan Gardiner (NYCI), Mbemba Jabbi (Africa Centre), Nogugu Mafu (KADE).

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Inquiry into the Future of Civil Society in the UK and Ireland Andrew Siddall, civic Architects Ltd

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esponding to today’s critical threats and opportunities, the Carnegie Inquiry into the Future of Civil Society is exploring what can be done to strengthen civil society. Its research has focused on three particular challenges.

Building a rapid and just transition The threat of climate change and resource depletion has led the Inquiry to explore the contribution civil society can make to mitigating and adapting to these challenges.

The key roles include holding the market and state to account; building a constituency for change [for example by communicating and educating]; providing innovative and alternative service provision in areas such as transport, food production, and energy supply; and through campaigning and advocacy to ensure that the inevitable transition to a low carbon economy is a socially just transition.

The poor and marginalised are particularly vulnerable to both the direct impacts of climate change and the indirect impacts such as rising energy prices and climate change policies. Engagement by non-environmental civil society groups is critical to ensure that climate change impacts and the associated policy responses do not disproportionately burden the poorest both globally and within Ireland.

Growing a civil economy Historically civil society has played very influential roles in the economic sphere in a number of different ways. Civil society groups have directly provided alternative financial products [credit unions, building societies, mutual insurance]; formed

producer, consumer and worker cooperatives in a number of areas; and held market actors to account and influenced their behaviour through scrutiny and trade unionism.

In modern times the influence of civil society on the economy has become more marginal. If the values that inspire and motivate the best of civil society [mutalism, cooperation, solidarity and social justice] are to be more widely applied and are to challenge the neo-liberalism and individualism that currently dominate society then civil society groups must be more robustly engaged in the economic sphere.

Enabling dialogue and deliberation Many of those contributing to the Inquiry, through workshops and interviews, expressed concern at the lack of spaces for citizens to deliberate and a perception that the spaces that do exist, particularly in the media, are simply not up to the job. For example, much of the public debate visible in the media is more focused on scoring points than on fostering genuine engagement with different perspectives. Moreover, the ways in which particular issues are framed constrains the range of alternatives that are considered. As one practitioner put it in one of the workshops ‘media does real violence to deliberation’.

Expectations of voice and participation in decision-making processes have changed radically in recent history. This relates to people of all ages and backgrounds, and indeed to decision-making processes from the very local to the global.

The Inquiry commissioned the International Centre for Participation

Studies at Bradford University to explore how civil society groups can harness and use deliberative processes. The report, to be published later this year, provides ‘ideas for action’ that are aimed at both civil society and the state in order to develop a more deliberative culture. It also provides links to and examples of tools to enable civil society groups who might want to engage in deliberative work.

Critically it will be important for civil society not just to create the spaces and convene deliberative processes but also to generate activism around these processes.

We are in the midst of a triple crisis - economic, climate and resources – and whilst this presents major challenges, it also brings opportunities for change and for doing things differently. A strengthened civil society can be a leading agent of change towards a more socially just world. Dialogue and deliberation are not a panacea for all of our ills but they can be part of a process of wider change.

The Carnegie Inquiry into the Future of Civil Society will publish its final report in early 2010. For more information about the Inquiry visit www.futuresforcivilsociety.org.

All Inquiry publications and tools will be available from this website on publication. The Carnegie UK Trust’s website contains a number of practical tools that can be used to map and exercise power. Visit http:// democracy.carnegieuktrust.org.uk/ democracy.

Morven Masterton, Democracy and Civil Society Programme, Carnegie UK Trust, www. carnegieuktrust.org.uk

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Development education and the perfect storm

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n July 2009 the activist and campaigner Kumi Naidoo opened his keynote address at the annual IDEA conference by referring to the current global crisis as a “perfect storm”, which is – as the popular definition goes – an event where a combination of circumstances drastically aggravates a situation.

In reaction to Kumi Naidoo’s talk IDEA has developed a thinkpiece with the view to initiating a discussion on the role of dev ed in the current climate (see below).

For us in IDEA it is clear that educators who have worked in dev ed could – with all their expertise and knowledge about teaching global and social justice issues – play a key part in this process.

Such a discussion may also inspire us to make connections amongst groups working locally and globally in campaigning for justice, both in international development and in the community sector in Ireland.

Because only if we start making those connections and building up a strong and outspoken civil society sector will we succeed in having a real impact. It seems to be time for civil society in Ireland to reclaim public space.

If we were to take something positive from these crises then it

is the opportunity presented to us to stop and reconsider how we do things, how we live our lives and – as educators – how we teach, learn and think about the world we live in. Educating citizens on social and global justice issues should always be an important part of any development cooperation run by a state because real involvement of the public only comes through a better understanding of the issues at hand.

To put it bluntly, the Irish citizen is entitled to be educated as a global citizen and the Irish government would be failing its people if they curtailed this service.

But there is also a job to be done by civil society actors in Ireland.

We have to start making serious connections again between the different sectors; we have to create a public space that facilitates an open discussion on how we can react to this global crisis and how we want our government to respond to it.

Such a structure would then also allow us to become active as a civil society again. How to reclaim this space might be a good starting point for the discussion itself.

(Full thinkpiece available online at www.ideaonline.ie) Matthias Fiedler

Highlights On July 6th Mayfield Community Arts Centre (MCAC) held a successful and dynamic conference on “Culture, Participation and Transformation”.

The event was organised in collaboration with IDEA’s Regional Working Group. The day focused on the use of public participatory art methods as a tool for engaging

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young people in global justice issues and as a way of reclaiming and transforming public space.

A full report on the conference is available at http://web. me.com/mayfieldartscentre/ globalfestjuly09/ www.ideaonline.ie.

Future events Evaluating Development Education 25TH September IDEA and the RCE (the Regional Centre of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development) are inviting all IDEA members to attend a consultation on evaluation tools for DE in the University of Limerick. To register your interest or for more information contact Nancy Serrano at the RCE: nancy.l.serrano@ ul.ie www.rce-ireland.ie

Web 2.0.

12th November IDEA together with Dochas will host a seminar on Web 2.0 for Development Education in Dublin. The seminar will explore good practice in the use of social media tools such as Facebook .

More details will be posted on the IDEA website soon: www.ideaonline.ie

Have your say IDEA has made a podcast of Kumi Naidoo’s keynote address available online with an accompanying thinkpiece. The purpose is to initiate a discussion on the issues raised by the speech and by the conference itself. We invite you to listen, read and contribute your viewpoint at www.ideaonline.ie.

Bolivarian Venezuela:

“No longer is profit the only motive to justify economic activity, and no longer is private property sacred if it fails to fulfil its social function.”

an alternative development model?

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t has been ten years since Hugo Chávez became president of Venezuela, signalling the beginning of the so-called ‘pink tide’ of left-wing governments which have swept Latin America. A majority of Venezuelans voted for Chávez, responding to widespread condemnation of a corrupt party system, that had been in power since 1958, and the neoliberal model that it was implementing.

A referendum on rewriting the constitution paved the way for a newly elected Constitutional Assembly. This body, with wide civil society participation, produced the 1999 Bolivarian Constitution, setting out a brand new vision for Venezuela. It brought entirely new sets of institutions, establishing a new balance between political representation and popular participation, government and citizenry, and business and state.

These neoliberal policies adhered to the standard Washington Consensus development model assiduously promoted by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), including provisions for privatisation, tariffs reductions, public spending cuts, liberalisation of financial sectors, reduced entry and exit costs for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), secure property rights, and so on.

The Constitution affirmed that economic activity must have social purpose as its main aim. Some areas – most notably oil – were constitutionally guaranteed to remain in public ownership, and state ownership was returned to others such as in electricity, telecommunications, banking, and airlines.

They had been applied throughout Latin America and beyond, but Venezuela was one of the last to receive such medicine in the region. We in Ireland are also familiar with these policies, and due to the current financial crisis they are appearing once again in their ubiquitous form of TINA: There Is No Alternative.

After ten years of Bolivarian Venezuela it is a good time to ask if there is an alternative to TINA. What can we learn from the Venezuelan experience under bolivarianismo over the last ten years? This article will look at these questions very briefly, by looking at the political, economic, social and cultural policies implemented over the last ten years.

Indeed, one of the chief ways in which Bolivarian Venezuela departs from the neoliberal model is its emphasis on the political. Development orthodoxy insists on the technical over the political as the means by which development can best be achieved. This attempts to remove ideology from debates on development, making politics more about management abilities than true policy alternatives.

Chávez immediately put the political at the centre of debate, arguing that Venezuela needed a fundamental change in its political structures. He drew inspiration primarily from the philosophy of Simón Bolívar, a Venezuelan responsible for the liberation of most of South America from Spain at the beginning of the eighteenth century. The movement led by Chávez is thus known as Bolivarian and its ideology as bolivarianismo.

There has been a huge move to cooperatives for the provision of local services, much of it financed by new credit-giving banks for the popular sectors, including one exclusively directed at and run by women. Private banks are now required to give a percentage of loans to small businesses and farmers.

A massive redistribution of land has taken place, with technical support for farmers to reduce the country’s dependence on food imports. Many business enterprises seen as ‘unprofitable’ by their owners have been expropriated by the state and handed over to the workers to run collectively. As a result of these measures, private business has felt itself under increasing pressure to justify its activities on a social level, and workers’ rights have been strengthened. No longer is profit the only motive to justify economic activity, and no longer is private property sacred if it fails to fulfil its social function.

Internationally Venezuela launched ALBA, the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas, a trade and cultural association based on reciprocity and with in-built recognition of asymmetries between countries.

For example, payment for goods is allowed in kind – hence Cuba pays for Venezuelan oil with doctors and educationalists. This once again contradicts neoliberalism with its pretence of ‘free trade’ and its emphasis on the monetary over the social.

While politics is the engine by which change is enacted, and the economy is the means to create wealth for the common good, it is in the social that such change should manifest itself. The 1999 Constitution affirmed the

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INDEX principle of universal access to social goods. From 2004 a whole series of wide-ranging social programmes called missions were launched.

Some, such as those for health, education, and land have been more successful than others, such as those for employment and housing. Social spending rocketed as a result, aided by a huge oil boom, representing a massive investment in the Venezuelan people, mostly in those who had not benefitted previously. This is a far cry from the targeting of social programmes under neoliberal development practice and its subjugation of the social to the economic, for example in spending cuts to ‘balance the public finances’.

Finally, the Chávez government set out to ensure a cultural revolution.

Educational access was increased, the university sector was expanded, and the values transmitted through these emphasise cooperation and solidarity over competition; the human over the commercial. Corporate media were countered by a huge state-funded programme of community media expansion.

An international satellite news channel TeleSUR was set up with fifty per cent Venezuelan capital, providing a southern perspective to world events. A greater emphasis was placed on Venezuelan and Latin American culture, with increased financing for ventures such as new film studios and rules ensuring that more Venezuelan and Latin American cultural products reach new audiences. Here we can see a favouring of the local, the national and the regional in order to enrich the global, not to culturally dominate it.

To what extent has the Bolivarian project been successful? Venezuelans regularly report amongst the highest levels of satisfaction with their political system in the region, according to Latinobárometro, a regional polling firm based in Chile. Economically, Venezuela has 1 had amongst the highest GDP growth rates in the region with average rates at 11.85 per cent between 2004 and 2007, according to the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), and around 7 per cent in 2008.

Socially, spending has tripled under Chávez leading to dramatic reductions in poverty and inequality. According to the United Nations, income poverty fell from 44 % in 1998 to 31 % in 2006. Government figures show that inequality, measured by the GINI coefficient, fell from 0.4865 in 1997 to 0.4200 in 2006. Culturally, Venezuela has been at the forefront of the re-evaluation of Latin American identity – inclusive of its indigenous and African heritages – contributing to new attempts at regional integration, such as the Union of South American nations (UNASUR).

The new system has not solved all problems and has in fact created some. Venezuela is still heavily oil dependent, for example, with noxious effects in terms of the environment. This oil wealth has made prevalent a consumerist culture especially in cities, engendering a

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1 Gross Domestic Product - this is a basic way to measure a country’s economic performance

strong middle class identification with US cultural values which has in turn contributed to severe political and social polarisation. Crime, violence, and corruption have been endemic in Venezuela for many years and have until recently gone unattended. The Bolivarian movement itself is heavily dependent on the leadership of Chávez, which may cause problems in terms of the longevity of the project.

So is Bolivarian Venezuela a possible alternative model? Venezuela’s experience highlights some important lessons, such as the need to negotiate globalisation from a position of sovereignty and the need to keep natural resources and the value derived from them in public ownership. It also illustrates clearly the crucial position of politics as key to development, and how all else must flow from that. Leadership is important in such a process, but it must be accompanied by a popular participation which goes beyond elections, to making citizens and communities co-equal partners.

Above all Venezuela shows us that a different form of globalisation is possible – one based on mutual respect and cooperation between nations, rather than on dominance and competition. In conclusion, if anything it shows us the redundancy of a universal, one-size-fits-all model of development, and the need for one based instead on the right of each country to develop in its own manner, cognisant of the experience of others, but based on its unique individual circumstances.

Barry Cannon is a Post Doctoral Fellow at the School of Law and Government, Dublin City University. He leads the Active Citizenship in Central America civil society project, funded by Irish Aid. His book ‘Hugo Chávez and the Bolivarian revolution: populism and democracy in a globalised age’ is published this September by Manchester University Press.

Further reading: • Venezuelanalysis – a Venezuelan news site – www.venezuelanalysis.com • Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), US website with papers on Venezuelan economics - www.cepr.net • North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA) – magazine on Latin American issues – www.nacla.org • Venezuela Solidarity Campaign UK – www.vicuk.org

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Dev Ed & Civic Social and Political Education - Using Index to enrich your classroom practice

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evelopment Education has direct synergies with the Civic, Social and Political Education syllabus for Junior Certificate and its core concept of Citizenship - the realisation of the civic, social and political dimensions in the life of the individual person through active participation in society - along with Democracy, Interdependence and Development.

Community Gardening: a growing phenomenon The article by Suzie Cahn on page 11 covers a topic most students will be familiar with through their study of the environment and involvement with their primary school’s green flag initiative. You could build on existing knowledge and interest with new concepts such as guerilla gardening and food security.

The following information provides some starter ideas for how you could use the type of specific participatory class-work activities suggested for achieving the CSPE syllabus objectives while using this article as a valuable resource. The activities below could be used to explore the concepts of stewardship and interdependence and for Unit 1: The individual and citizenship, and Unit 2: The community: Community and active citizenship.

Research/Discovery Activities: Research the concept of guerilla gardening: its origins, key dates, processes, and key organisations to contact.

Extension ideas: Research organic agriculture and fairtrade or the UK’s Landshare approach.

southcirculargarden.blogspot.com/, petition for access to suitable land, contact the local council for details of allotments or suitable waste land.

Extension ideas: Link the project with your town’s ‘Tidy Town’ Committee or link with primary feeder school and green flag application Bolivarian Venezuela: an alternative development model?

In the current climate students may ask how the economic crisis has evolved and how we might find our way out of it. As a part of this discussion, alternative models and alternative forms of government and political leadership, such as that presented in Barry Cannon’s article on Bolivarian Venezuela (page 5) could be discussed. The task plan below uses an Assessment for Learning matrix.

Task: Article comprehension and response Topic: Law & Government Learning Intention: •T hat the students explore an alternative type of political leadership using “Bolivarian Venezuela: an alternative development model?” as an initial comprehension exercise •T hat students develop an initial understanding of an alternative form of political leadership •T hat the students make a personal response to the article and provide an opinion on whether they consider it a viable alternative model

Group work/Discussion Activities: • Introduce the topic of guerilla gardening/community gardening using the story of Johnny Appleseed (www. enchantedlearning.com) or the Greenbelt movement (www.greenbeltmovement.org).

• Hold a discussion on the name ‘guerilla gardening’.

Discuss the key concepts ‘Guerillas’, ‘Legal status’, ‘Seed Bombing’.

• Present students with sample slogans used by UK guerilla gardeners in a protest in 2000. ‘Resistance is Fertile’, ‘Let London Sprout’, Discuss and get them to come with some of their own.

Extension ideas: The concept of ‘guerilla’ brings up imagery of violence and war. Tie the discussions in with discussions on food security and land ownership e.g. ‘Community gardens contribute to food security’ at http://ipsnews.net/news. asp?idnews=45243. Research stories of community gardening and food security in the Global South

Students will be able to: Class work • Take part successfully in individual activity • Demonstrate an awareness of types of government •D emonstrate an ability to point out how the Bolivarian Venezuelan model differs to the Irish model of governance • Demonstrate an ability to respond to alternatives

Action Activities: Set up a community garden, link with local community group, organise a debate, hold a photo project based on local area/ waste land where gardening might take place, invite a speaker from the green party or a guerilla gardening group e.g. http://

Written Exercise Write a short response to article (200 words) Identify how it differs to the Irish model Follow on Issue Tracking in the media

Task Description: Students read the

article and answer a series of lower and higher order questions set by the teacher to highlight their level of understanding of the article and its key concepts.

Students write a response to the article giving their opinion on whether it presents a viable alternative model of development and identifying how it compares and contrasts with Irish government and policies.

Criteria for Success:

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Courses What’s Next? How to work for a better world Practical participatory skills-based series of linked workshops aimed at people interested in global development and wanting to explore the variety of options available for getting involved in working for a better world in Ireland.

Date: 10am – 4.15pm, Saturday, Oct 24th, Nov 14th, Dec 5th Venue: Dublin TBC Contact: Call 01 4783490, email developmenteducation@comhlamh.org

Trade Justice Five evenings focusing on international trade and development justice, asking: How does global trade work? What role do Ireland, the EU, and the WTO play? What impacts are they having? What alternatives can we propose?

Date: 7-9pm, Tuesday evenings Oct 20th, 27th Nov 3rd, 10th, 17th Venue: Irish Aid Volunteering Centre, O’Connell Street, Dublin.

Contact: Call 01 4783490, email developmenteducation@comhlamh.org Comhlámh’s Options & Issues in Global Development: This course is open to anyone considering volunteering overseas for global development (both short-term and long-term) who wants to consider their options in a participatory manner. Some of the issues which we will examine include: What is development?, the role of the development worker, motivations and expectations, meet with returned volunteers/development workers, types of agencies and projects, working for global development from Ireland.

Date: Saturday 10th (10am -4.30pm) and Sunday 11th (10am-1.30pm) October Venue: Sat - Irish Aid Volunteering Centre, O’Connell Street, Dublin.

Sun – Comhlamh office, Ballast House, Aston Quay, Dublin Cost: €35 member / €60 non member / €25 unwaged & student Booking: For a booking form or for

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more information contact Kate on 01-4783490 or kate@comhlamh.org.

Booking is essential.

Dtalk – Development Training & Learning @ Kimmage Advocacy and Policy Influencing: 1-3 September Initial Preparation for Working in the South: 8-11 September Creative Facilitation: 4-6 November Climate Change and Development: 11-13 November Monitoring and Evaluation: 17-19 November Working with the Media: 1-2 December Venue: Dublin Development Studies Centre, Kimmage.

Contact: Selam Desta, selam. desta@kimmagedsc.ie, 01 4064341 or Niamh Brennan, niamh.brennan@ kimmagedsc.ie, 01 4064307 or visit www.dtalk.ie.

Dev Ed Masters Degree This course is run by the Institute of Education, University of London.

Students can apply to undertake the full MA or particular modules. These modules are: - Principles and Practices in Development Education - Development Education in Era of Globalisation - Training for Development Education - Global Partnerships Applications are now open for students who wish to undertake any of these courses, which will begin in the January 2010.

Contact: Doug Bourn, email d.bourn@ioe.ac.uk, www.ioe.ac.uk.

Skills in Development Education This participatory evening course aims to equip participants with the skills and methodologies to work effectively with groups on global development and social justice issues.

Date: 6.30 – 9pm, Thursdays, Jan 21st - Mar 25th 2010 Venue: Dublin TBC Contact: Call 01-4783490 or developmenteducation@comhlamh.org Explore Global Issues and Diversity through the Arts

Three linked workshops exploring how to use a variety of art forms such as music, drama, and visual arts to explore diversity and global development issues with children.

No previous artistic experience necessary!

Dates: 10am – 4.30pm, Saturdays, February 6th, 13th, 20th 2010 Venue: Dublin TBC Contact: Call 01-4783490 or developmenteducation@comhlamh.org NYCI Dev Ed Programme Development Education through Forum Theatre: 6 Oct Global Justice in Youth Work (FETAC level 5): 1-3 & 22-24 Oct Participative Approaches in Global Youth Work: 9 Sept Act Up! 17 Sept Creative Approaches in Dev Ed: 24 Sept One World Week Training: Sept Nov Linking to the Wider World: 18 Nov Dev Ed through Forum Theatre: 6 Oct Funding Dev Ed in Youth: 3 Dec Contact: Alan Hayes, 01 4255932, alan.hayes@nyci.ie Stand for Global Justice!

Campaign with Trócaire!

Campaigners course: This 6 week evening course is aimed at people who are interested in learning more about global justice issues and how to campaign on them. Matching real insights with practical skills, this course will prepare participants to become active Trócaire campaigners.

By campaigning with Trócaire you will challenge the root causes of poverty and injustice, and make a real difference in the world. You can help Trócaire to expose inequality, and change the factors that cause it. Bringing about change starts with you. ‘The world is changing all the time- we have to be part of the change’. Nuki (Kenyan Activist) Date: 17 Sep- 22 Oct (Thur evenings only), 6- 8pm Venue: Dublin City centre, venue TBC Contact: Orla Quinn, oquinn@ trocaire.ie, Tel: 01 5053266, or visit www.trocaire.ie

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Events Bewleys Debates Comhlámh’s Bewleys First Wednesday Debates are back with an exciting line up of key topics for debate and discussion on the first Wednesday of the month in autumn 2009 and spring 2010. We start with ‘Lisbon 2 – a good Treaty for Development?’ on 2 September.

Date: 6.30pm, 1st Wednesday of the month, starts 2 September Venue: Bewleys Café Theatre, Grafton St, Dublin 2 Contact: For more information contact Orla, email orla@comhlamh. org, call 01 4783490, Portraying the developing world: The whole truth and nothing but the truth?

This seminar will explore portrayals of the developing world by aid agencies and western media. It will look at how the images and messages of the South affect the public, in particular people from developing countries now living in Ireland.

Date: 9.30am - 12.30pm, Thursday, 10 September Venue: Irish Aid Volunteering and Information Centre, O’Connell Street, Dublin Contact: Places are limited. RSVP to rebecca@africacentre.ie Volunteering Options Information Evening: Volunteering Overseas This informal, short event offers the opportunity to hear more about the issues you need to consider before making a decision about volunteering. It also provides an opportunity to hear first-hand about the experiences of a person who volunteered abroad and to ask any questions you might have about your options.

Date: 6pm-7.30pm, Thursday, 1st October Venue: Irish Aid Volunteering and Information Centre, O’Connell Street, Dublin Booking: There is no charge for this event, but please register your interest by emailing kate@comhlamh. org or calling 01 478 3490

1-to-1 Advisory Sessions Thinking of volunteering? Finding it hard to make a decision? Want to know more about the options available? 20 minute appointments are available with Comhlámh staff to talk through options for volunteering for global development.

Booking essential!

Date: 4-7pm, Thursdays 10 Sept, 8 Oct, 5 Nov Venue: Irish Aid Volunteering and Information Centre, O’Connell Street, Dublin Booking: Call Kate on 01 4783490 or email kate@comhlamh.org.

Visit www.volunteeringoptions.org Stand Up Against Poverty For the fourth year in a row, millions of people around the world will Stand Up and Take Action to show their support for the fight against poverty and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

This year Stand Up will take place against the backdrop of a deepening financial crisis and a slowing global economy.

Date: 17 October Contact: Visit www. standagainstpoverty.org/en/aboutstand-up.

Critical Thinking for Dev Ed - Moving from Evaluation to Research This conference seeks to address the extent to which dev ed, global learning/education and global citizenship are influenced by government and non-governmental organizations priorities; to review the extent to which evaluation has been used to legitimise policy and practice; and to discuss approaches within dev ed and related fields that have begun to move beyond issues of evaluation and towards broader questions about research and learning processes.

Date: 3 - 4 October Venue: National University of Ireland, Galway.

Visit: http://www.nuigalway.ie/dern/ conf_criticaldeved.html

Sustainable Global Development 2009 This major international conference, supported by Irish Aid, will include papers, symposia, educational workshops, and audio-visual presentations with presenters from Africa, Latin America, Asia, and Europe.

Date: 16-17 October Venue: University of Limerick Visit: http://paulo.ul.ie/ developmentconference2009.

November One World Week One World Week is a week of awareness raising and action for global justice that takes place during the third week of November each year. This year’s theme is ‘Just Us or Justice’. This highlights young people’s understanding of justice and actions they can take locally and globally. The National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI) is providing free training for youth workers, and others working with young people in non-formal settings, throughout Ireland between September and November on how to take part in this exciting week.

Date: November 14th to 22nd Contact: Senan Gardiner at senan@ nyci.ie or 01 425595 Visit: www.youthdeved.ie Coming Home Weekend This weekend provides an enjoyable opportunity to meet other returned development workers. It will ensure that you are aware of all the services available to you and link you in to groups, organisations and activities.

It provides an opportunity to reflect on your overseas experience so that you can integrate it effectively as you look forward to the years ahead.

Date: 6 - 8 November Venue: All Hallows, Dublin Contact: Suzie, email suzie@ comhlamh.org, call 01 4783490 Visit: www.comhlamh.org/ support for development workers/coming home/coming home weekends/.

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EU Corner European Development Days Held in Stockholm, Sweden October 22nd to 24th, this year’s topic ‘Citizens and Development’ will look at awareness raising, global education and engagement.

How to strengthen Dev Ed in Europe will be discussed.

Visit www.deeep.org.

YOUth ACT Summer Schools In June DEEEP’s week long summer school explored ‘recognizing, engaging, motivating young people as actors in Dev Ed, advocacy, campaigning’. Sessions were held on ‘Do no harm’, ‘Youth and politics’, ‘School curricula’ and ‘Creative methods for Dev Ed’, and the week culminated in an action. To watch the mob action and the YOUth Act clip made by participants visit the DEEEP website. Next year’s school will be in Hungary focusing on ‘Schools and Dev Ed’. Contact c.tripepi@deeep.org and t.troll@deeep.org and visit www.deeep.org.

Putting Development on the Agenda in Europe The development sector worked hard to ensure that development and global justice issues were discussed during the recent European election campaign. Read the Dóchas manifesto at www.dochas.ie/EPmanifesto.pdf and Trócaire’s at www.trocaire.org/en/takeaction/euelections.

Both organisations hosted meetings giving people the chance to quiz their Member of European Parliament (MEP) candidates about their positions on a variety of issues.

Comhlámh ran a campaign in advance of the June elections, encouraging people to take an active interest in the role of the EU with regards to development, and encouraging people to engage with their MEP candidates.

Supporters had the opportunity to use their lobby skills, while asking their candidates to call for a re-think of the EU’s trade policies. They found the experience empowering ‘I truly feel more empowered with regards to “Politics” which hereto was a bit of a scary arena for me!’, informative ‘I got to understand better the workings of the EU’, and a valuable learning experience ‘I learnt how to contact and canvass MEPs - a very valuable skill for the future’.

In total six of the 12 elected MEPs have signed the pledge. Candidates highlighted the importance of people being active EU citizens. MEP Eoin Ryan commented “I think that is of the utmost importance that people such as yourself bring your concerns and these issues to our attention”.

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To understand more about the role MEPs play in Europe visit www.europarl.ie/abouteu.html and www.europarl. europa.eu/news/public/default_en.htm

International Dates to Remember October 17

Stand up Against Poverty

Visit www.dochas.ie or www.standagainstpoverty.org to join the global movement to end poverty.

October 16

World Food Day

November 29

WTO Ministerial

December 5

UN Climate Change Negotiations

One in six people go to bed desperately hungry every night (UN). On last year’s World Food Day Bill Clinton admitted “we all blew it, including me when I was president” by treating food as a commodity instead of as a vital human right. Visit http://learn. christianaid.org.uk/Other/Events/world_food_ day_2009.aspx to learn what people are doing to tackle this crisis and how you can support them, and for educational activities.

The World Trade Organisation’s 7th Ministerial Conference will be held in Geneva. Trade agreements need to protect the consumer, the environment, workers, and the interests of poor countries. Visit www.ourworldisnotforsale.org/ for information on trade agreements and www.oxfam. org.uk/education/resources/category.htm?30 for trade activities.

At the UN climate summit in Copenhagen world leaders will decide how to tackle global warming. They must deliver a fair international deal that keeps global warming under two degrees C and protects the most vulnerable people. Visit www.stopclimatechaos.org and www.klimaforum09.org for ideas on how to get involved.

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Community gardening:

The first Garden established by Wicklow Community Gardening Group July 2007. Photo source: www.dulra.org/ node/218.’

a growing phenomenon

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hether it is garden clubs, allotments, school gardens or community gardens, gardening is on the rise. The reasons are as diverse as the people involved. Schools, active retired, disability, mother and toddler groups, and more seem to feel a new sense of empowerment from engaging with community gardening. Anecdotally, most cite the potential to create meaningful change as the reason for their enthusiasm. In this respect it can be seen as an ecological or social movement reflecting the resurgence of a way for people to self organise and work towards a self sustaining community.

The Green Party has a ‘Grow Your Own’ campaign (www.getgrowing.ie), many churches have provided land for community gardens, and the VEC has introduced courses and trainers. Local Environmental and Heritage Officers, An Taisce, community development workers, social inclusion companies, health promotion sections of health boards, and Tidy Towns also offer support.

So what are some of the examples and how do they work? Garden clubs or “Backyard Growers” are groups of individuals who come together to grow their own food. A ‘Grow it Yourself’ conference is being held in Waterford, on September 12th aimed at getting more groups going countrywide. One innovation is an online garden match-up service, developed by the Transition Movement (transitiontownsireland.ning.com), where older or less able-bodied people are matched up with enthusiastic gardeners.

Allotments are areas divided into plots and usually rented. There was a great tradition of ‘plots’ in Ireland that mostly died off in past years. However, new plots are springing up all over the country on council and farm land.

One allotment scheme was set up by a local residents association on their private estate’s green space.

School Gardens are on the increase as resources for education dwindle. The learning that can result covers all areas of the curriculum from chemical reactions in the compost heap to heritage, maths, and literature. This active based learning frequently works best with those for whom the classroom is a less than ideal environment.

I worked with one school in Bray who went on to win an EcoUnesco Young Environmentalist award. Another transition year group grew beetroot, made it into chutney in home economics, and gave it to the Active Retired group that manages the Baltinglass garden, who sold it.

Proceeds were spent on seeds for the garden to be used

by other groups.

Community gardens can create an outdoor community centre focused on growing food, but also providing a space for community building. The Organic Centre in County Leitrim supports many groups and has published a ‘How to’ Guide, available at www.theorganiccentre.ie.

I have become involved in supporting groups because the re-establishment of local food systems and re-skilling people to move towards a more fulfilling and sustainable future is Carraig Dúlra’s core vision. We set up eight community gardens in County Wicklow over the last two years. The Wicklow Town Garden now has a number of active groups, including mother and toddler, autism, and youth, with occasional input from others, such as Travellers and new Irish. We hope this neutral meeting ground will continue to foster social inclusion.

Suzie Cahn, Carraig Dúlra organic farm and training centre, www.dulra.org Links: Feasta looks at how we can transition to a sustainable society, www.feasta.ie. For example it looks at how environmental degradation, water shortages, soil erosion, climate change, and corporate control all pose serious threats to our food supply.

GM-free Ireland works to keep the island of Ireland off-limits to the environmental release of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) - www.gmfreeireland.org Guerrilla Gardening is a form of direct action related to land rights, land reform, and permaculture. Visit www. guerrillagardening.org Organic Agriculture and Food Security in Africa This 2008 UN report (http://www.unep.ch/etb/ publications/insideCBTF_OA_2008.pdf) concludes that organic, small-scale farming offers Africa the best chance of breaking the cycle of poverty and malnutrition, reversing environmental and social damages, and achieving greater food security.

Future of Food This movie provides information about GM foods and global food security. Visit www.thefutureoffood.com or watch clips on YouTube.

‘The year round organic school’ rresource details how to set up or progress your school garden. it has class plans and curriculum links, and is available at www. theorganiccentre.ie/node/1131 or at the Organic Centre ecoshop for €12 + p&p.

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How can global education enhance the work of the minority ethnic sector?

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s there a role for ethnic minorities in Global Education? What is the point of supporting collaboration between the minority ethnic and the Dev Ed sectors?

For the last couple of years, the Centre for Global Education (CGE) has been exploring these questions and argues that there is a strong need for this collaboration.

It can be summarised with the phrase “the world is our neighbourhood”. This is not only because many ethnic minorities are individuals coming from the global south, but also because of the importance of linking global issues to a local context. Many individuals with a minority ethnic background have direct experience of the issues that the global education sector addresses through its practice. That said, no one should assume that an individual from the global south knows or cares about global development education issues.

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Training course participants and tutors doing a mixture of brain training and yoga.

It is said all storytellers retell the same four stories with slight variations. The same could be said about training in global education. The key is to adapt the principles, values, methodologies, and issues to your particular audience.

The “Global Educator” was designed using as a baseline the accredited Global Youth Work training course previously offered by the CGE. Other influences were the Global Dimension in Schools (www. globaldimensioninschools.org) and Children in Crossfire (www.childrenincrossfire.org).

The content has three parts: ‘Principles and values’, ‘Key elements of the global dimension’ and ‘Methodologies’.

The training has been accredited by the Open College Network (OCN) and consists of at least 70 hours of training, mentoring or personal work.

In September 2008, the CGE started a three year project called “Making Connections: The Global Dimension and Minorities” funded by the Department for International Development’s (DFID) Development Awareness Fund.

The project’s vision is to enhance the capacity of the minority ethnic sector in taking on an active role in global education. It aims: 1) To provide training to enhance the capacity of the minority ethnic sector in bringing global issues alive.

This training takes the form of an accredited course that includes training and continuous mentoring. It will be offered five times during the project; 2) To support networking between the minority ethnic sector and the global education sector, but also with other actors who could benefit from this link, such as schools, local councils, and youth groups. This networking will happened in annual creative spaces in which practitioners will have the opportunity to meet, create and get inspiration from others; 3) To develop, collate and adapt a set of resources that will be accessible through a dedicated web site, including an interactive tool box.

In a nutshell, the training is about exploring our values and perceptions to review what we know and to learn new perspectives. It is like a journey in which the travellers were reminded that the map (the picture of the world that we create in our minds) is not the same as the actual territory they are travelling through (the reality).

Global Educator Training The training aspect of this project was designed to draw upon the personal experiences of participants to enhance their skills and knowledge of how to bring global issues alive at a local level.

Recruitment For the recruitment of course participants it was important to reach organisations based all over Northern Ireland, therefore the rationale for the recruitment was by region. We started with the North East region building

Participants learned and discussed global education, particularly the eight key elements of the global dimension. The training focused on three of these elements: diversity, conflict, and interdependence. The focus for the session on diversity was interculturalism, for conflict was racism, and for interdependence was migration.

Methodologies included critical literacy, the world café and Forum Theatre. We also linked global education to the school curriculum as we hope that the course learners will be a valuable resource for schools. Part of the course evaluation involves each participant implementing what they have learned by designing a training session.

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“The strategy was to talk with the organisations, listen to where they were at, and explore how global education could enhance the work they were doing.” up a relationship with three organisations working with minority ethnic issues (Ballymena Interethnic Forum, Coleraine Multicultural Forum, and Ballymoney Resource Centre). We talked with the organisations, listened to where they were at, and explored how global education could enhance the work they were doing. They were willing to take part and most participants were contacted through them.

Their involvement is a key element in this project, not only in the recruitment process, but also in providing ongoing support to the ‘global educators’ in applying their skills and knowledge, and in strengthening the possibility of future collaborations.

The enrolment system consisted of completing an application form that had to show that applicants were involved in some way in the minority ethnic/faith sector, and had some prior experience in facilitation or training, as well as a working knowledge of English.

The composition of the training group was diverse (in terms of age, gender, nationality, ethnicity, religion, waged and unwaged, and sector). The expertise and energy invested by the participants in the training was outstanding. Each individual had their own strength and the training was a space not only to learn but also to share and build relationships.

The training lasts for four months. It consists of two residential weekends, two days training, plus continuous one-to-one mentoring provided according to the individual’s needs.

Here are some examples of how this training has been implented so far: • Indu and Christine are currently exploring issues around identity and migration with a group of Asian men and women over 50.

• Simone is working with a group of Romanian children.

Most children are starting to forget the Romanian language and traditions. The idea is to encourage them to value different cultures and traditions.

• Laura from the Latinoamerican Association wrote an article about the role parents have as global educators for minority ethnic children.

• Kala wrote an article about children from mixed marriages – understanding ‘mixed’ in a broad sense: religion, ethnicity, nationality and skin colour.

• Robin has incorporated the global education approach in a hate crime training on offer to police recruits. Elena is developing an antiracist training using sports and global education.

Group presentation on Intercultural Relations, from left to right: Joanne (Australia), Laura (Colombia), Natasha (Serbia), Ameer (Sudan).

•A nne Marie and Daniel developed a session for vulnerable young people on discrimination, using the case of Irish Travellers. Joanne is developing a session on global and local discrimination against the Roma Community.

• I vy delivered a session to 60 people on the links between community relations and global education.

All these projects can be considered global education as they have an impact on the way people build their perceptions and values by highlighting the way we are related to each other and by highlighting social injustice both globally and locally. One evaluation used the De Bonno Thinking Hats method (www.debonoonline.com/ Six_Thinking_Hats.asp). Comments included: •Y ellow (What worked well?) “The group was excellent” “Supportive and well-informed facilitators, a great mix of perspectives, and an effective set of process to make the best come out of people”.

•W hite (What was missing?) “More time for the training” “more examples to explain how to apply global education” “More use of arts, drama” “I think more sessions where the whole group meets in-between the residentials would have been more useful”.

•G reen (Opportunities) “The opportunity to keep the relationship with other participants and tutors” “The link with Dev Ed organisations”.

•B lack: (Challenges) “Too much content attempted in first residential” “Some sessions were covered too fast” “Maybe content fixated on large steps rather than small steps?” “I will need more practical experience and guidance to implement global education”.

•R ed (feelings) “I can see myself being proactive, an activist” “I feel I need to learn more about global education because it is really important for my work and to improve my own life” “I feel energised and inspired”.

The project is organizing a “creative space” on October 8th for practitioners to make connections. Contact Charo@centreforglobaleducation.com, tel: 028 9024 1879, visit www.centreforglobaleducation.com.

Charo Lanao-Madden is project manager for the Making Connections project at the Centre for Global Education, Belfast, Northern Ireland.

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Dev Ed News In the first half of 2009, the Irish Government cut this year’s budget for official development assistance (ODA) by €195 million, or 21.8%. This follows two other cuts in the second half of 2008. The cuts have resulted in the cancellation of vital programmes in developing world.

They are enormously damaging to the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people, and also threaten the jobs of Irish aid workers. Two other EU member states have cut ODA so far; Italy (by more than 50%) and Latvia (100%).

Development NGOs are campaigning to ensure that there are no further cuts to the budget in 2009 and that the Government honours its commitment to spend 0.7% of GNI on ODA by 2012. Visit www.wedocare.ie.

IDEA, the Irish Development Education Association, has joined this campaign to focus on the development education aspect of activities. If you are interested in getting involved contact info@ideaonline.ie.

The Dev Ed sector was shocked when Irish Aid’s June funding round was cut, mainly as the lack of forewarning meant programmes which normally applied in June found themselves facing a funding crisis. This particularly affected small organisations. An informal consultation on the impact of the funding cuts on the Dev Ed sector carried out by IDEA found that they have had a serious impact on Dev Ed programmes, resulting in staff and activity cuts, while in some cases whole programmes have been forced to close. In addition, pressure on some Dev Ed programmes to incorporate fundraising and marketing components into their work has increased. See page 4 for a thinkpiece from IDEA on the role of Dev Ed in the current climate.

Irish Aid funding Irish Aid has information about the organisations that successfully accessed Dev Ed funding in 2009, as well as the guidelines and other information for the January 2010 Dev Ed funding round at http://www.irishaid.gov.ie/ article.asp?article=1158.

DFID Funding for development research

DFID have announced the first call of the second phase of the £23 million joint DFID-ESRC scheme for development research. It will support high quality short to medium term development research on poverty reduction which provides a more robust conceptual and empirical basis for development and the achievement of the MDGs. Visit: www.research4development.info/news. asp?ArticleID=50448%20. Closing date: 24 September. com Closing date for applications: 5pm, 30 October.

DFID Mini Grant Scheme for Northern Ireland 2010 Visit: www.dfid.gov.uk/Working-with-dFid/ Funding-Schemes/funding-for-not-for-profit-organisations/dAF and click on the link for the Mini Grant Guidelines or contact: Stephen McCloskey, Tel: (028) 14

News 90241879, e-mail: stephen@centreforglobaleducation. com. Closing date for applications: 5pm, 30 October.

Global Photography Campaign on Humanizing Development Launched in June, this campaign aims to promote and showcase visual examples of people winning the battle against poverty, social exclusion and marginalization. To learn more or to contribute a photograph go to www.ipcundp.org/photo/.

Resources Global Education Guidelines This handbook for educators to understand and implement Global Education is available at www.coe.int/t/ dg4/nscentre/GEguideline_presentation_en.asp.

Focus Action for Global Justice Produced by Comhlámh volunteers this is Ireland’s only development issues magazine. From October pick up a copy or download it at www.comhlamh.org/mediapublications-comhlamh-media-and-publications-focusmagazine.html. To get involved in producing and distributing Focus contact fleachta@comhlamh.org or call 01 4783490.

Teaching from Theory, Learning from Practice E Book This e-book features a range of new contributions to Dev Ed and ICE by lecturers, teachers and practitioners working in primary education. The research papers were presented at the conference ‘Teaching from Theory, Learning from Practice’ in February 2008. Download at www.diceproject.org/research.aspx#

Dev Ed Journal

Issue 9 of the Centre for Global Education’s Dev Ed journal, Policy and Practice, is now available. Contact Jenna, email jenna@centreforglobaleducation.com, or visit www.centreforglobaleducation.com/.

Compass Directions

E-mag on how to incorporate Dev Ed into primary schoolrooms. Visit www.waterfordoneworldcentre.com.

Diversity through the Arts

Based on Comhlámh’s course of the same name this resource pack highlights some of the ways the arts could be used to promote inclusion, build participation, challenge discrimination and celebrate diversity in today’s classroom. Costs €10, free to download from www. comhlamh.org/developmenteducation. Contact Ali@ comhlamh.org.

Educating Development Educators

This report provides information on Dev Ed and global south communities across Ireland. Download at www. ideaonline.ie.

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Reviews & Resources

KODE (Kimmage Open &

Distance Education Programme)

A new learning model for development workers, introduced by Deirdre Healy, KODE Programme Development Officer.

In response to the needs of busy development workers and project managers, Kimmage Development Studies Centre (KDSC) has specifically devised a new learning model, KODE: Kimmage Open & Distance Education programme.

It was launched in March 2009 by the Minister of State for Overseas Development at the Department of Foreign Affairs Mr. Peter Power TD who praised the new initiative “KODE, which uses an educational model combining the traditional learning environment with modern technology, is a new and innovative way of approaching adult learning of which KDSC should be very proud.”

So what’s KODE all about? It offers a ‘blended’ learning package which includes in-country workshops and specialised tutor support and advice, a dedicated website to facilitate student communication and, essentially, full course material on CD. These clear, accessible and easy to follow courses enable participants to work through each course topic at their own pace, in their own time, in a location that suits them.

A recent Tanzanian participant remarked “Studying while keeping my job is very promising - KODE has made it possible. I have built my ability and confidence to develop credible project proposals.” A Kenyan participant added “All the exercises were well in line with the respective unit content, this helped me to deepen my

understanding and how it related to my reality.”

Participants have the additional benefit of being able to share their own experiences across country borders through the website and the opportunity to discuss and debate the many real life case-studies integral to the course content. KODE courses are between four and eight weeks long and are currently available in Kenya, Tanzania and Ireland, with the hope that they will soon be offered in other regions.

Courses on offer during autumn 2009 include: Project Planning and Proposal Writing; Monitoring and Evaluation; Project Management, Governance and Accountability; Sustainable Livelihoods and Poverty Reduction.

By the end of 2009, courses will also be available on Addressing Gender Based Violence and an Introduction to Development Issues with further course being developed in 2010.

Please visit the KODE website (www.kodeonline. com) for information. KODE courses cost €500 €950. Contact: Deirdre Healy, KODE Programme Development Officer. Tel: 00353(0)14064370. Email: deirdre.healy@kimmagedsc.ie.

Have you ever used cartoons as a resource for Dev Ed? Each issue we feature a cartoon you can cut out and adapt for your particular needs. Why not build up your toolkit?

For a great introduction and insight into ideas and activities for using cartoons in education go to www. developmenteducation.ie/cartoons Andrew Siddall, civic Architects Ltd

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INDEX is a free newsletter for people interested in educating on global development issues.

To subscribe to INDEX visit our INDEX page at www.comhlamh.org/media-publications To join Comhlámh go to www.comhlamh.org/get-involved-join-us.html

Design: www.alicefitzgerald.com Printed on recycled paper

INDEX is a Comhlámh publication for the Development Education sector, funded by Comhlámh, Trócaire, and Irish Aid Honorary Patron, Mary Robinson. © Comhlámh, 2009 Comhlámh, 2nd Floor, Ballast House, Aston Quay, Dublin 2.

The views expressed herein can Comhlámh is a signatory to the Dóchas in no way be taken to reflect the Code of Conduct on Images and official opinion of Irish Aid. Messages (http://www.dochas.ie).