Resources

This publication is based on an initiative about the development education, intercultural education, popular education, the education of values, human rights education, education for sustainability, education for peace, education for gender equality, etc. The pedagogical proposal of Global Citizenship Education aspires to integrate in a coherent and challenging vision all these themes, keeping them in a close relationship with one another and taking into consideration the (increasing) interdependence of human beings living in a planet whose sustainability is under threat. This book is the fruit of a process that was triggered off by the joint effort of four European development NGOs, namely Cidac, Inizjamed, Intermón Oxfam and Ucodep within the frame of a project co-financed by the European Commission. These organisations set for themselves the objective to promote the acknowledgment and the inclusion of the contents and the methodology of Global Citizenship Education in the formal educational contexts in their respective countries, in order to kick-start a process of change in attitudes, values, and the beliefs of the pupils. Thanks to the initiative and efforts of the above-mentioned four organisations, and through various meetings and seminars carried out over the last three years in Spain, Italy, Portugal and Malta, groups of educators have been able to come face-to-face with each other, exchange experiences and reflect on the role of formal education with respect to the challenges of our times. Among the other experiences, the publication contains that of a key moment in the process. This took place in July 2008 in Cortona, a small and beautiful Tuscan city close to the border with Umbria, and in which many educators shared the benefit of what was the first international encounter of educators for global citizenship. The Cortona experience, in which around ninety teachers coming from Spain, Portugal, Malta, Italy, the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica have participated, was one of the stages – the starting point, in fact – of a process and a relationship that it is our aim to develop at the regional, national and international levels. In this publication, therefore, one can find theoretical cues put forward at Cortona that encourage educators to share their experiences and to compare the work done by different groups.

This publication has two parts. The first part contains contributions of a theoretical type, whereas the second part concentrates on the educational experiences of the participants in the Cortona meeting.