Bridge 47 – Building Global Citizenship
EADI is proud to be partner of the Bridge 47 – Building Global Citizenship project which is co-created and implemented by 15 European and global civil society organisations. It seeks to mobilise and empower global civil society to contribute to a transformation towards global justice and eradication of poverty through Global Citizenship Education (GCE). EADI takes the leading role in the work on Knowledge Exchange Partnerships which serve to ensure a free flow of ideas and best practices for Global Citizenship Education between research institutions and civil society organisations.
Global citizenship education (GCE) helps people develop a deep and comprehensive understanding of how our world and its citizens are interdependent. With the help of this understanding, people can directly and actively participate in the political arena, make informed decisions and demand coherent policies for a more equal world from their decision-makers. Key areas of GCE can be defined as sustainable development, human rights, gender equality, human security, peace and appreciation of cultural diversity. Keeping it short, GCE educates to build a more just, peaceful and equal world without leaving anyone behind.
As an integral part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), GCE is an intrinsic part of Goal 4 – Education - under target 4.7, which focuses on promoting education for sustainable development.
The Bridge 47 Project relies on a diverse consortium of 15 European partner organisations from all around Europe, working on Global Citizenship Education. The project started in October 2017 and will run until October 2020. It is unique both in scope and innovative approaches to the promotion of Global Citizenship Education in Europe.
FINGO, the platform of Finnish development Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOa) acts as the facilitating organisation and is coordinating the overall project. Divided into four major outcomes, the Bridge 47 staff currently works in the following areas: (1) Bridge 47 Network (2) Advocacy (3) Partnerships (4) Innovation and Capacity Development.
EADI’s role is focused on outcome (3) Partnerships, aiming to build new and strengthen existing partnerships to facilitate knowledge exchange between researchers and practitioners. With a series of events, workshops and conferences we are contributing to bridge communication gaps between civil society organisations and academia.
EADI at Bridge 47 – Building Global Citizenship
Knowledge Exchange Partnerships
Knowledge Exchange Partnerships work with national and regional development research organizations and their civil society umbrella organizations.
The aim of these partnerships is to develop an appropriate model to address the dissemination, teaching, and researching how global citizenship education can be included at the juncture of universities, CSOs and policymakers, bringing these stakeholders together for a common agenda for cooperation.
EADI is the Bridge 47-member organization that coordinates three regional European partnerships: The Northern Europe Partnership, The Iberian Partnership, and the South Eastern Europe Partnership.
Who’s involved in the partnership?
EADI, Bonn
Fundación Etea, Spain
Sinergias ED (Portugal)
Universidade de Santiago de Compostela
Universidad de Las Palmas Gran Canaria
What are the partnership goals? To connect regional CSOs to Bridge 47, as well as Spanish and Portuguese researchers in order to build a coalition bridging the research and practice divide..
In this partnership, activities coincide with larger development-themed congresses/conferences to promote GCE and Bridge 47 before a wider audience.
The kick-off meeting took place in Córdoba, in December 2018, during the IV International Congress of Development Studies, where a specific thematic line on global development education was included in the program. In addition, a closed meeting took place with a keynote speech by Vanessa Andreotti. The Knowledge Exchange Partnership initiative of Bridge 47 was presented, establishing the start of the partnership. Link in Spanish with full program and book of abstracts, Link in English with general description
The second event took place in Santiago de Compostela, in November 2019. Bridge 47 facilitated a panel on perspectives of global citizenship education as part of the 8th Congress on University and Development in Santiago de Compostela, Spain on November 28th, 2019. The 8th Congress on University and Development is a biennial meeting point for universities working in the field of international development cooperation, including global citizenship education, in Spain and Portugal.
The panel looked at the evolution of global citizenship education, the contributions of academia to cross-sectoral collaboration in Spain, and how to further integrate practices in Europe.
After the panel, a meeting of the Iberian Knowledge Exchange Partnership took place to discuss the importance of bridging the gap between research and practice. More information here and here
The third event took place online on 14 May 2020 at 16:00 GMT, 17:00 CET as part of the Sinergias ED international webinar series on "Ibero-American Experiences on Collaboration between Higher Education Institutions and Civil Society". More information is available here
A publication exploring the potential of collaboration in global citizenship education and education for sustainable development was launched in August 2020: "Revista de Fomento Social", edited by Antonio Sianes, coordinator of the Iberian Knowledge Exchange Partnership is available on the website of the Universidad Loyola Andalucía
Who’s involved in the partnership?
EADI, Bonn
Liverpool World Centre, UK
MUNDU Denmark
IDEAS Scotland, UK
The University of Stirling, Scotland, UK
What are the partnership goals? To build a North European coalition between these actors to further the efforts of GCE by using already established research resources on GCE in the United Kingdom and Scandinavia to feed into other KEP and Bridge 47 outputs.
The kick-off meeting took place during January 2020 in Stirling, Scotland bringing together experts in GCE from Scotland, England, Denmark, Finland, and Ireland. More information here and here. Full presentations are available here
The second event took place online from 17 to 19 June 2020 with the participation of more than 30 academics. More information is available here. Presentations can be found here.
Who’s involved in the partnership?
EADI, Bonn
Ambrela, Slovakia
SLOGA, Slovenia
FSIS Comenius University at Bratislava, Slovakia
What were the partnership goals? To create a larger community and pool resources in order to develop greater knowledge of GCE in theory and in practice in the region. To build bridges between academia, civil society, and policy makers around GCE.
The partnership had its kick-off event in Bratislava in May 2019. Academics and CSOs representatives from Slovakia and Slovenia met to share their experiences in sustainable development education, global citizenship education, and possibilities for future cooperation under the Bridge 47 umbrella. More information here
A second event took place in Bratislava in December 2019 as a follow-up workshop focusing on international competence, anti-Roma discrimination within Slovakian society, generational poverty, and digital and media literacy.
Through this workshop, connections were established with other CSOs and government bodies working on these portfolios. Student participants gained valuable insight and depth on what comprises GCE, developing the ability to identify it in other aspects of their education and professional development. More information here
The third event took place online on 18 June 2020 as a workshop towards a strategy for GCE in Slovakia.
Bridge 47 Activites
EADI and Bridge 47 will bring together the experts and institutions that have actively participated in the process of building up knowledge exchange partnerships in Europe for a conference to be held online in mid-December 2020. The event will have the format of an expert seminar. More information will follow soon.
As part of the knowledge dissemination and resource sharing within the Bridge 47 global network, EADI contributed to the organization of two Bridge 47 webinars on partnerships, focusing on the experience of the South Eastern Europe and Iberian Knowledge Exchange Partnerships.
Webinar on Building Partnerships in Global Citizenship Education, December 2019
In December, the Bridge 47 Partnerships team hosted a webinar on building partnerships in global citizenship education (GCE) where valuable insights were shared by one of our experts, Dr. Gabriel Weibl from Comenius University in Bratislava. More information here. The full recording of this webinar is available here
Webinar on the SINERGIAS ED Network, February 2020
In February, the Bridge 47 hosted a webinar on building partnerships in global citizenship education (GCE) between civil society organizations and institutes of higher education. La Salete Coelho is a researcher at the Institute of African Studies, a hybrid NGO and research institute, at the University of Porto. Ms. Coelho helped establish Sinergias ED community network. More information here. The full recording of this webinar is available here
EADI and Bridge 47 support Knowledge Exchange Partnerships publication initiatives
Special Joint Number of Sinergias ED (Portugal) and Revista de Fomento Social (Spain)
These journals are usually thematic and cover topics such as informal education, development education, social media, the relationship between academia and the community, and the upcoming edition will explore development education policies regarding the SDP 2030 agenda. The Sinergias Journal is a unique production of knowledge centered on the inclusive values of the Sinergias ED network. It is open-access, published in four languages, open-structured to incorporate those beyond academia, a mixed profession editorial board of academics, civil society practitioners, local staff, and community, and scientific boards of CSOs and academia for a more dynamic peer review structure. The journal can be accessed here and downloaded here
ANGEL Conference, London, May 2019
In addition to the specific Knowledge Exchange Partnerships events, a side event during the ANGEL conference in London in May 2019 was organized jointly by the Partnerships and the Advocacy Teams of Bridge 47, focusing specifically on presenting the KEP to a wider academic audience. For more information see the blog entry by our Executive Secretary, Susanne v. Itter and the conference programme
