Youth, Adult & Community

Youth workers and adult education tutors are bringing global justice issues into their teaching and increasing the awareness of young people and adult learners about their role and responsibilities as global citizens 

‌While a lot of teaching and learning about development issues  takes place in schools, equally important is that which occurs in settings such as youth clubs and community groups.

Interested young people and adult learners all around Ireland can find lots of opportunities to learn about development, making the connections between the lives of young people and adults here in Ireland and those in the developing countries. 

Below, we highlight the work of some groups and organisations, supported by Irish Aid, who are integrating global justice issues into their education programmes and projects.

One World Week: young people take action for a fairer world

One World Week is a week of awareness raising, education and action programmes organised by young people, which takes place throughout Ireland during the third week in November every year.

The theme for 2012 was ‘Bouncing Back’, which explored the resilience of people and their ability to bounce back in the face of adversity that they face personally or in their communities. Education packs and training were available for groups taking part.

Over the last number of years, themes have been as diverse as young people’s rights, justice systems, the impact of images and messages and the causes of poverty. This is what one youth worker had to say about a Zambian exchange programme that took place as part of One World Week 2010.

“Young people had an opportunity to discuss stereotypes; this had a huge impact, and the central action was great and creative and the young people got a chance to interact with other people and the youth workers on the Zambian exchange.”

One World Week is organised by the National Youth Council of Ireland’s Development Education Programme with financial support from Irish Aid.

Interested young people and adult learners all around Ireland can find lots of opportunities to learn about global development.

Returned volunteers raise awareness about HIV and AIDS

Workshop participants are learning about the community responses to HIV and AIDS in South Africa. These workshops are delivered by returned volunteers who are working with Experiment in International Living (EIL Intercultural Learning).

The EIL Intercultural Learning Global Awareness Programme is a training, volunteering and awareness raising programme which focuses on the issues of HIV and AIDS and environmental sustainability. Irish Aid is funding this programme through our Development Education Funding Scheme.

Communities acting local and thinking global

Lourdes Youth and Community Services (LYCS) is a community-based education, training, recreation and development project based in Dublin's north-east inner city. It offers opportunities for members from the local community to understand and learn about global development issues through accredited courses and through workshops around events such as One World Week, Africa Day and Fair Trade Fortnight.

As a result, participants become more involved in their own development and the development of their community. In more recent years, LYCS has been providing training for community workers around the country, increasing their capacity to bring development and issues into their work.