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What is development education?

Are you doing development education with young people? Send us your story!

NYCI development education team is looking to gather examples of doing development education in youth work. We are looking for stories of development education in all types of youth work settings, and all over the country. Please contact us to tell your story...

To see previous examples of good practice in development education from youth work organsiations, see our publication "Going Global".

Development education in youth work aims to support young people to increase their awareness and understanding of the interdependent and unequal world in which we live, through a process of interactive learning, debate, action and reflection. It challenges perceptions of the world and encourages young people to act for a more just and equal society at a national and an international level.

Cartoon on Global Justice

Development education in youth work is about...

  • Justice
  • Global development
  • Starting from young people's experiences
  • Human rights
  • Global citizenship
  • Listening to young people
  • Exploring the connections between young people in Ireland and the Majority World
  • Understanding the causes and consequences of global poverty and inequality
  • Learning from and sharing with people in the Majority World
  • Understanding how our actions affect people in the Majority World
  • Justice rather than charity
  • Learning through participation and action
  • Challenging stereotypes and prejudice
  • Respecting different cultures and challenging the dominance of one culture over another
  • Having Fun
  • Learning how countries depend on each other
  • Solidarity with people who are poor, marginalised or discriminated against
  • Concern for the environment
  • Celebrating the diversity of people in our world
  • Enabling young people to imagine a better world
  • Taking action for a more just and fair world

NYCI believes that every young person in Ireland involved in voluntary youth work should have access to quality development education. During 2004-2007, Development Cooperation Ireland (now Irish Aid)  had a Development Education Strategy for the Voluntary Youth Sector. You can read the Strategy here.

The Development Education Programme provides a range of supports to youth organisations:

Programme Support
Support to individual youth organisations to design and develop programmes and activities that incorporate development education.

Training for Youth Workers
The programme delivers training at a national and local level to youth workers on a range of development and justice issues. The DEP also works with individual youth organisations to design and deliver training to youth workers.

Resource Production and Dissemination
The DEP produces theme-specific educational resources annually. The programme also supports individual youth organisations to produce their own publications.

Intercultural and Anti-Racism Week
Intercultural and Anti-racism Week takes place in March each year in Ireland North and South. The week coincides with the United Nations designated International Day against Racism (March 21).

One World Week
One World Week is a week of youth-led awareness raising, education and action that takes place throughout Ireland during the third week in November every year. During One World Week young people throughout Ireland learn about local and global justice issues and take action to bring about change.

Promotion of Good Practice
In the Development Education Programme we promote good practice for development education in youth work. Going Global! is a set of good practice guidelines based on the experience of youth groups of integrating a global justice perspective into their work.

Networking and International Opportunities
We promote networking for development education in youth work locally, nationally and internationally. The programme seeks to provide opportunities to youth workers and, where appropriate young people, to participate in international opportunities related to development and justice issues.

Representation

NYCI is represented by the Development Education Programme on a number of bodies to further its advocacy and practice objectives.

Information Sharing
Through the website, DE News newsletter and direct contact with youth groups locally and nationally, The DEP continually shares information about who is doing what in development education in youth work.

Research and Policy Development
NYCI is committed to influencing policy on relevant global development and justice issues affecting young people. It works with Government, Development Education organisations, youth organisations and young people to develop policies.

NYCI is committed to producing quality research in order to inform the practice of development education in youth work in Ireland. The Development Education Programme commissioned Maurice Devlin and Hilary Tierney from the Department of Applied Social Studies in NUI Maynooth to carry out qualitative research on youth workers' and young people's attitudes to development and global justice issues. The reseach is available to download here.

Download a copy of the Development Education Programme leaflet here.