Resources

The United Nations Secretary-General's Global Education First Initiative (GEFI) recognizes Global Citizenship Education (GCED) as one of its three priorities. UNSG GEFI has generated momentum for GCED which has since been in the target of the education goal in the Muscat Agreement 2014 and in the proposed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the Open Working Group. The proposed SDGs will provide the basis for further intergovernmental negotiations on the post 2014 development agenda.

In support of UNSG GEFI, UNESCO held its Second Global Forum on Global Citizenship Education on Building Peaceful and Sustainable Societies: Preparing for Post-2015 from 28 to 30 January 2015 in Paris, France. The forum aimed to identify GCED related inputs to the emerging Framework for Action on Education for the post 2015 development agenda, as well as key dimensions of GCED in relation to peace. Furthermore, it had a concurrent session dedicated to youth on Driving the GCED Agenda Forward: Acting with and for Young People to assemble the perspectives, ideas, and priorities of youth on GCED.

Against this background, the Global Youth Advocacy Workshop on GCED, co-organized by GEFI, the Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding (APCEIU) and UNESCO's Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP) aimed to build the capacity of dynamic youth leaders from countries around the world to advocate for GCED. The participants of the workshop were selected on the basis of their previous experiences, present engagement, and future commitment in educating youth at the local and national levels.

The objectives of the workshop were:

1. To build a common understanding of GCED and its key priority areas by building on the dialogue initiated at the Paris GCED Forum.
2. To allow the participating youth leaders to elaborate an advocacy strategy suitable for implementation at the local and national levels to advance the GCED agenda beyond 2015.
3. To establish a wider network of youth advocates on GCED to advance the agenda globally.