Global Citizenship Education

Global Citizenship Education (GCE) is an important strategic focus of CBM Ireland. We strongly believe that a global perspective and greater understanding on structural causes of poverty and inequality that persons with disabilities and their organisations (OPDs) come across is crucial. This would help the public, the governments, and the development partners to support and promote inclusive development, humanitarian and climate action and better equip them to tackling poverty, inequality, social exclusion – both locally and internationally.  

Persons with disabilities comprise 15% of world population, forming the largest global minority denied equal space in all spheres of development. Eighty percent of them live in the Global South. Therefore, it is anticipated that all partners in international development should promote disability-inclusive development and allocate equitable resource to ensure that.               

CBM operates in the Global South addressing the exclusion and injustice that people with disabilities come across, imposing them to live in poverty and marginalisation. We believe that an inclusive developmental, humanitarian and climate action in Global South should be equally perceived and supported by the people and authorities in the Global North to ensure long term partnership of the people, communities and the organisations to foster and nurture sustainable development. A shared understanding of intersecting global crisis, injustice and inequalities and to tackle the challenge of the future requires critical mass, active participation and collective action beyond political borders to support changes that benefit the people and the planet.  

CBM Ireland is a member of Irish Development Education Association (IDEA) and a member of Code of Good Practices to ensure the best practices and the rigour in our citizenship education work and to create a greater impact of inclusive GCE in Irish context and beyond. We are also a member of Development Education Working Group at the Dochas Network working alongside the partners in international development. 

CBM Ireland is a partner of Irish Aid. With the support from Irish Aid, we are developing capacity and creating greater awareness on disability inclusion in GCE and in the development sector.

Lydia, a woman smiling with other women sitted behind her

Lydia, 70, of Muthara Organisation of Persons with Disabilities (OPD) attending MERU Inclusive Trachoma WASH-Plus project meeting in Kenya. Copyright : CBM/Hayduk

What We Do?

  • Training and workshops on disability inclusion in GCE

  • Promoting accessibility, provide technical support

  • Mapping out the progress on inclusion in GCE

  • Creating technical and advisory resources to aid the sector

  • Supporting others with inclusion advisory

  • Networking, collaboration and advocacy

Our training, technical advisory supports and resources strongly emphasise the importance of working alongside the Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) and the greater disability movement.

In our recent engagements, we have initiated the conversation on disability inclusion in GCE sector. We will continue the dialogue so that the agenda is mainstreamed in both local and international actors. We envision that the actors in development and humanitarian sector work alongside persons with disabilities and their organisations, challenge the power and inequality, tackle ableism and promote inclusion through their work both domestically and internationally.

A few other recent engagements of our GCE work in Irish context include:

  • Endorsing the End Orphanage Care campaign to raise greater awareness on importance of inclusive communities as opposed to exclusive institutions.

  • Joining the Peoples Vaccine Alliance Ireland to create greater solidarity for inclusive and equitable global health system.

With support from Irish Aid, we are currently carrying out a mapping exercise, which we wish to continue on an annual basis. This mapping will identify the gaps and opportunities in the sector to promote and work together on disability inclusion.

For more information, support and collaboration, contact Mahbub Kabir at mahbubkabir@cbm.ie

Currents Projects

‘Disability Inclusion in Global Citizenship Education: A Report on the 1st Mapping of Disability Inclusion in Ireland’s GCE Sector’
CBM Ireland is a member of CBM Global Disability Inclusion – a dual mandate organisation active both in development and humanitarian contexts in the Global South. The organisation promotes Development Education, which would progressively be called Global Citizenship Education to support the paradigm shift on this agenda. The organisation carried out the first mapping of disability inclusion to identify the strengths and gaps and inform the sector about the progress the actors are making together.

The objective of the report is to map out the state of disability inclusion especially the inclusion of persons with disabilities and their organisations (OPDs) into the current development education/ global citizenship education practices in Ireland. This mapping exercise will help create an overview of inclusive practices within the sector. Read the report and its findings below.