National Strategy for Education for Sustainable Development

The Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn, T.D. on the 6th of August launched a public consultation on the development of a National Strategy for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). 

The development of a National Strategy for ESD is one of the commitments in Our Sustainable Future – A Framework for Sustainable Development in Ireland which was published by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government in 2012. 

Minister Quinn is inviting submissions from interested parties outlining their views and recommendations related to the area of ESD. Submissions are welcome from all interested parties, including education and training providers at all levels of the formal and non-formal education system, business and professional organisations, agencies and NGOs in the field of equality, development education and environmental protection, media, and social partners. The responses received from stakeholders will be considered as the  National Strategy on ESD is finalised. 

The closing date for submissions is Friday 27 September 2013 .

Further information on the consultation process, including the template for submissions and a background information paper, can be accessed here.

April 7, 2025
Last week, IDEA hosted the second webinar from our 2025 series, ‘Exploring Contemporary Crises and Issues through Global Citizenship Education, ' focusing on Palestine. If you missed out, you can watch the full video below!
April 4, 2025
At the end of March, IDEA staff and representatives from three IDEA members travelled to Riga, Latvia, for a two-day event marking the launch of IDEA’s Erasmus+ project with our partner LAPAS (Latvian Platform for Development Cooperation) focused on the IDEA Code of Good Practice The project’s core objective is to enhance the quality of global citizenship education (GCE) at local , national and European levels. Central to this work is the creation of a Code of Good Practice for Latvia based on learning from the IDEA Code that will support Latvian GCE practitioners, including teachers, NGOs, youth workers and others, by fostering a common understanding and approach to GCE. This represents the first piloting of the IDEA Code in an international context. The new IDEA task group for the project, made up of Code members, alongside IDEA staff, are supporting LAPAS members to adapt the Code for the Latvian national context by sharing our own experiences and learnings from the Code and GCE in Ireland. The event in Riga was the first in-person gathering of the project, bringing together LAPAS and IDEA members. This face-to-face interaction allowed us to begin the process of knowledge exchange, and mutual learning which will spread the Code’s reach and strengthen our GCE practice. IDEA was represented in Riga by Dean Oke (CDYS (Cloyne Diocesan Youth Service), Georgina Eastaugh (Concern Worldwide) and Claire Glavey (Global Village), alongside IDEA staff Elaine and Aine.
March 31, 2025
06 May 10.30am – 4.30pm IDEA offices, 6 Gardiner Row