Dublin Declaration Adopted at European Global Education Congress, Co-Chaired by Luxembourg

Luxembourg's Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, Franz Fayot, travelled to Dublin on Thursday 3 and Friday 4 November 2022 to take part in the European Congress on Global Education, which was co-chaired by Ireland and Luxembourg.

The congress marked the occasion to adopt a new European Declaration on Global Education in Europe to 2050, the culmination of a process launched in June 2021 by the Global Education Network Europe (GENE). GENE, of which Luxembourg has been an active member since 2013, is a European network which includes more than 50 ministries, agencies and other national bodies in charge of support, funding and policy formulation in the field of global education. Within Luxembourg's development cooperation programme, reference is made to development awareness and education to designate global education.

20 years after the Maastricht Global Education Declaration, which provided the first definition of global education, this new declaration, also called the Dublin Declaration, adopts a common long-term vision until 2050 and is intended to allow people to think critically about the world and their place in it. It aims in particular to strengthen partnerships between key players at national, European and global levels, curriculum reform and whole-school approaches, appreciation of the leadership role played by civil society and youth in driving change, as well as continued cooperation for policy coherence and the integration of global learning across education.

The congress was opened by Minister Fayot and Colm Brophy, Ireland's Minister of State for Overseas Development Aid and Diaspora, in the presence of Mamusa Massaquoi, Deputy Minister of Education of Sierra Leone, and Bjørn Berge, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe. The congress brought together all the stakeholders involved in the development of the new declaration, namely representatives of the ministries and agencies that make up the GENE network, representatives of youth organisations, civil society, local governments and regional authorities, academia and international organisations.

The adoption of the new declaration constituted the final moment of the congress. "It is our common responsibility to become aware of the impact of our actions and our lifestyles beyond our immediate environment", emphasised Minister Fayot in his closing speech. "And I am convinced that through this new declaration, we are laying the groundwork to encourage more people, especially the youngest, to become agents of change and create a sustainable movement".