To create the just and sustainable world that Global Citizenship Education (GCE) aims to achieve, there is a need to abandon siloed tactics and prioritise cooperation. At Bridge 47, we believe, that to really have a transformative impact, the GCE sector must break out from the circle of educators, involve new stakeholders and be fully recognized as an essential tool among all sectors. This may require us to deepen our exchange with existing partners or step out of our comfort zone and engage with actors whose practices may seem to contradict the values and approaches of GCE or with actors who have not prior been engaged in GCE.
To gain insight into the potential of such partnerships Bridge 47 has engaged in collaborative work with academic researchers, adult educators, policy makers, the media, trade unions, and the private and public sectors across Europe.
We have harvested the learning from these partnerships in publications, videos, case studies and other resources to inspire and build the capacity of others and to contribute to a wider reflection, dialogue and knowledge sharing within the GCE sector globally about the opportunities and challenges for advancing the mission of GCE through cross -sector partnerships.
Our publication, Out of the Comfort Zone? Global Citizenship Education and Cross-Sector Partnerships for Sustainable Development, provides analysis, case studies and reflective questions to support the reader to think critically and practically about how a partnership with a new and potentially ‘unusual’ sector could support them to achieve their mission, who to approach and how, and what type of partnership to aim for. In our Global Event (see video below), hear directly from partners from the health, museum and private sectors and their CSO partners. For further inspiration, you can find links to sector-specific resources such as case studies, podcasts, blogs, videos, resources and other publications in the sections below.
Get inspired!
Academia
Our publication ‘Building Knowledge Exchange Partnerships Dialogues Across Europe’ shares some of the experiences from our CSO and academic partners.
The Bridge 47 Knowledge Exchange Partnerships led by EADI were also the basis for supporting a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) to provide online learning on global citizenship.
Adult Education
Check out our case study about the partnership between SLOGA and the Slovenian Institute of Adult Education.
Business
Watch partners Deloitte Ireland and the Irish Development Education Association (IDEA) talk about their GCE workshops for Deloitte staff. Read more from Deloitte in their blog.
Hear from CSOs and Businesses in Northern Ireland that attended our Building Bridges event in partnership with Business in the Community Northern Ireland. For further inspiration, read our case study about how the partnership developed.
Check out our practical guide to initiating and building GCE partnerships with the private sector.
Coalitions
The Estonian Coalition for Sustainable Development in Latvia is a great example of a cross-sectoral cooperation on GCE and sustainable development and a way of sharing knowledge. Read more about it in their publication.
Health
IDEAS and Scotdec, in partnership with the Global Health Coordination Unit at the National Health Service Scotland developed Active Global Citizenship resources and training for NHS staff. Listen to Charlotte from Scotdec and Emily from NHS Scotland talk about their partnership in this 2 minute video. Read more about the partnership in our case study and Emily's article in the Scotsman newspaper.
Media
Check out our case study of the partnership between AKÜ and the Estonian National Broadcasting Company where pre-documentary clips on themes of human rights and sustainable development were created collaboratively and shown to thousands. You can view the clips here.
Museums
Get inspired by Inga Surgunte from the Latvian Museum Association in this short video about her GCE partnership with the Centre for Education Initiatives. Read more in her blog.
Police
We commissioned an international police training consultant and GCE experts to develop some practical guidance and reflective questions for CSOs on the potential of GCE partnerships with the police. See the publication here.
Policy Makers
Our partnership with Women for Election in Ireland resulted in a training pack for those wishing to train local councillors on the SDGs using GCE approaches. Listen to Irish Senator Alice-Mary Higgin's podcast in which she talks about why the SDGs matter to local politicians and why local politicians matter to the SDGs.
In Scotland, IDEAS managed to get GCE approaches and methods incorporated in a toolkit for policy-makers. Read a blog from their partners in the National Performance Framework Team at the Scottish Government.
Trade Unions
Read about MUNDU’s partnership with the Technical National Union East Jutland, Denmark in our case study and a blog written by our trade union partner. Hear also from Stephen McCloskey, Director of the Centre for Global Education in Belfast to get his take on GCE-Trade Union Partnerships.
Further Partnership Resources
Stronger Together: A Toolkit for Partnerships in and Beyond Development Education