In this video, Talia Vela-Eiden from Bridge 47 and EADI explains the 8th Congress on University and Development in Santiago de Compostela, Spain on November 28th and Bridge 47's role during the event.
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.
A panel discussion facilitated by Bridge 47 discussing perspectives of GCE in Europe.
The 8th Congress on University and Development is a biennial meeting point for the work of universities in international cooperation for Global Citizenship Education in Santiago de Compostela.
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.
Panellists discuss European perspectives on GCE.
María Luz Ortega Carpio from the Andalusian Agency for International Cooperation to Development discussed the impact of Agenda 2030 on GCE. Manuel Sierra from Polytechnic University of Madrid reflected on the experiences of the #GlobalChallenge initiative and how universities and development agencies have incorporated the concept of GCE into their practices. Talia Vela-Eiden from Bridge 47 and EADI presented Bridge 47 initiatives on partnerships and remarked on the importance of incorporating the contributions from academic and civil society organisations in Spain.
Speaking about the conference Antonio Sianes from Loyola University who moderated the panel discussion said: “I think that this is a very good opportunity for me as an academic and also for the Spanish and Portuguese community to share our knowledge on GCE… There are people here in Spain and in Portugal that have been working on GCE for more than 20 or 30 years. So I think that this is an opportunity to share our knowledge, our findings, our experience as well with other people across Europe.”
An artist graphic harvests from the panel discussion.
When asked about the importance of initiatives such as Bridge 47, Carmen Duce from the University of Valladolid said:
"It’s nice to discover other visions and other ways to organise GCE practices from other countries in Europe. The culture is sometimes a little different with organisational activities and also with the ways to evaluate and facilitate groups for example and it’s insightful sharing these experiences.”
Carmen Duce from the University of Valladolid.
After the panel, a meeting of the participants of the Iberian Knowledge Exchange Partnership took place to discuss the importance of bridging the gap between research and practice.
“This conference is the main fora here in Spain and Portugal to discuss the contributions of academics to development cooperation in the Iberian region. And so it fits in really well with the objectives of the Iberian Knowledge Exchange Partnership (KEP). To bring together these different actors, academics, civil societies and development cooperation agencies and then find their common points of interest,” said Ms Vela-Eiden.
After the panel, a meeting of the participants of the Iberian Knowledge Exchange Partnership took place to discuss the importance of bridging the gap between research and practice.
Tamara DeVera, driven by her passion for gender equality (SDG 5), became interested in GCE and was one of the organisers of the conference. Through the panel discussion, she learnt about Bridge 47 and decided to attend the open Bridge 47 meeting in the afternoon. When asked on her impressions of Bridge 47’s work she said:
“I found the meeting really exciting. I felt good and listened to, it’s cool to find places where the young voices are heard and taken into account. I think this project can give me good experiences and knowledge to continue working in the global citizenship education sector!”
Tamara DeVera, one of the organisers of the 8th Congress on University and Development in Santiago de Compostela.
The Iberian partnership will have its third meeting in the new year.