Anna Lindh Foundation

Working towards Educational Sustainable Development - National Forum Dublin 22 November 2024

On Friday 22 November 2024 the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth held its ninth National Forum on Education Sustainable Development in Dublin Castle, Ireland. This event brought key stakeholders and more importantly, the voices of our young people. They played an integral part of the planning and voicing of their concerns, insights and recommendations. They were supported throughout the year - our  highlight included a one-day workshop co-facilitated by members if the Anna Lindh Irish network Cloyne Diocesan Youth Services and the Chester Beatty  in July 2024. The Youth Advisory Group, supported by Comhairle na nOg, worked together with our two members of the Irish Anna Lindh network and explored their concerns and wishes they wanted to share with the formal education sector, decision-makers, government officials as well as teachers and educators at the event in November.

The key note speech by Professor Laura Lundy, Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, cited Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the right to be heard and raised their concern that children are not involved in the drafting of Sustainable Development Goals. Professor Lundy advocates - Children’s Rights and Education - Children’s Participation in decision-making- Implementation of the UNCRC.

The overall theme for the conference was "Intergenerational Equity." The vision is of a society that protects the environment for future generations while
ensuring fairness, respect, and inclusion for everyone in the present. Organisers also hoped to have opportunities for different generations to interact on the day.

Key take-aways for the Cloyne Diocesan Youth Services and the Chester Beatty include:

Embedding SGDs across the national curriculum in Ireland

Offer climate action training in the formal education sector

Include youth work in SDGs training and climate action training

Facilitate and support space, voice, audience and influence in all of the work around climate action based on the Lundy model of child participation

Support the development of skills for young people - formal education in schools does not equate the development of creative and critical thinking needed for this work. The formal education sector approach is teacher-centred whereas young people need critical thinking and innovative skills

Major shifts are needed in the education sector - it needs to be re-framed, repurposed and offer capacity building

 

 

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