Global Education Network Europe

The Global Education Network Europe (GENE) is the European network of ministries, agencies and other national bodies responsible for support, funding and policy-making in the field of global education. Started in 2001 with 6 national structures, GENE has grown to include structures from 14 countries leading the provision of global education in Europe, with combined annual budgets in excess of 100 million Euro.

Definition

Global education can be defined as:^[1]

... an education perspective which arises from the fact that contemporary people live and interact in an increasingly globalised world.

Goals

The purpose of GENE is to support national structures in their work of improving the quality and increasing the provision of global education in Europe. GENE does this through networking and regular round table discussions, through peer learning and policy research, and through the development of national strategies.

Aims of GENE:^[2]

• To share experience and strategies among existing and emerging national structures, in order to inform best practice nationally and provide mutual support and learning.
• To disseminate learning from the participating countries to other countries in Europe, so that structures for Global Education subsequently emerging will learn from this experience, and so that, eventually, all countries in Europe might have national co-ordinating structures for the increase and improvement of global education.
• To develop and pursue a common European agenda on strengthening global education.

The overarching aim of GENEs work is to improve the quality and provision of global education in Europe. The ultimate benchmark towards which GENE works is towards the day when all people in Europe will have access to quality global education. GENE achieves this through networking of national strategies, through peer learning, and through common projects, bilateral exchange and capacity building.

Members

European global education peer review process

In 2002 the Maastricht Declaration^[3] identified the desirability of developing a system of peer review for global education in Europe. Following a 2003 feasibility study, the "European Global Education Peer Review Process" was established to increase and improve the provision of global education in Europe. GENE and the North-South Centre worked closely together to develop this process.

The European Global Education Peer Review Process has, since late 2005, been facilitated by GENE, through its secretariat. The funding for the process and the peer review expertise has been provided by GENE participants.

The key aim of the Europe-wide process is to increase and improve support for, access to, and the impact of global education in European countries. National reports, and the peer review processes leading to them, act as both a tool to enhance quality and impact nationally, and a mechanism for international comparative analysis, benchmarking and policy making.

National reports

To date five national reports have been published. The first Global Education National Report, on Cyprus, was published in early 2004 as a pilot review being part of the initial feasibility study. The Global Education National Report on Finland was launched in October 2004. The National Report on the Netherlands was launched in April 2005, while in June 2006 the National Report on Global Education in Austria was completed and launched. The latest national report, on Global Education in the Czech Republic, was launched on 16 November 2008 in Strasbourg, at the European Development Days 2008.

Further reviews are underway or envisaged including Norway, (2008–2009), and Poland (2009), while Belgium, Germany, Ireland and Portugal have indicated interest in and commitment to forthcoming reviews. There will also be a number of follow-up learning processes undertaken, concerning some of the previous peer reviews.

References

External links

• Reports
• GENE website
• Council of Europe's North South Centre
• Useful explanation of Development Education