The United Nations Global Education First Initiative (GEFI) will organize an advocacy training workshop for young leaders in Global Citizenship Education (GCED) from the 30th March to 4th April 2015, at the Geumjeong Cultural Center in Busan, Republic of Korea.
Organized in partnership with the Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding (APCEIU) and the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP), the workshop aims to build the capacity of dynamic young leaders from across the world to advocate for GCED.
Approximately 50 participants, between the ages of 18 to 24, will be selected on the basis of their current engagement and future commitment in educating youth at the local and national levels around GCED. Participants must have a minimum of two years’ experience in youth advocacy activities, an understanding of GCED issues and priorities, and a proven record of influencing change at the local or national levels.
The four day Advocacy Training builds on the outcomes of the second UNESCO Forum on GCED, held in Paris from 28 – 30 January 2015. As well as enabling participants to deepen their understanding of GCED, the workshop allows the young leaders to play a major role in the development of advocacy strategies for GCED implementation, and to become part of a wider network of youth advocates on GCED, to advance the agenda beyond 2015.
Attending participants will be asked to identify specific topics around GCED and advocacy, reflecting on the global challenges around post-2015. Working both individually and in groups, the young leaders will expand on these topics, devising advocacy goals and strategies for use at local and national levels. Participants will also engage in information sessions and workshops at the training to support them in this task, on areas such as ‘Advocacy tools to build strategies’, and ‘Bottom-up planning for advocacy campaigns’.
The Youth Advocacy Training is supported by Educate A Child and Geumjeong District of Busan City, Republic of Korea.
Applications for the Youth Advocacy Training must be received before 20 February 2015. Successful applicants will be notified by 6 March 2015. Travel and local expenses will be covered for all successful applicants.
About the Global Education First Initiative
The United Nations Secretary-General launched the five-year Global Education First Initiative (GEFI) in September 2012 to accelerate progress towards the Education for All goals and the education-related Millennium Development Goals. The Initiative aims to:
• Rally together a broad spectrum of actors for the final push to 2015;
• Put quality, relevant and transformative education at the heart of the social, political and development agendas;
• Generate additional and sufficient funding for education through sustained global advocacy efforts.
The initiative focuses on three priority areas:
- Put every child in school. Education is a human right. Yet advances in education have not benefited everyone equally, leaving some 57 million children out of school. Barriers to school enrollment and completion must be removed.
- Improve the quality of learning. An estimated 250 million are not able to read, write or count, whether they have been to school or not. Urgent action is needed to ensure children have the skills they need to thrive in life and work.
- Foster global citizenship. Education must be transformative, cultivating respect for the world and each other. It should provide children with the understanding they need to cooperate in resolving the interconnected challenges of the 21st Century.
