2nd European congress on global education: education, interdependence and solidarity in a changing world; final report

The 2nd European Congress on Global Education: Education, Interdependence and Solidarity in a Changing World took place on 27 – 28 September 2012 in Lisbon. It was organised by the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe (NSC) in partnership with Global Education Network Europe (GENE) and CONCORD Europe, in cooperation with the Portuguese Institute of Cooperation and Language - Camões, the Portuguese NDGO Platform and the University of Lisbon and with the financial support of the European Commission. This Congress brought together approximately 200 stakeholders in global education, in particular international organisations, governments, parliamentarians, local and regional authorities, civil society organisations, as well as educators from Europe and beyond, using the principle of “quadrilogue” and a holistic approach to global education. This two-day event built on the efforts of the North-South Centre (NSC) and other stakeholders to promote global education since the Maastricht Congress Declaration (2002) which established a European strategy framework for improving and increasing global education in Europe to the year 2015. Thematic dialogue and exchange of ideas and practices together with a reflection on the political dimension of global education contributed to the formulation of a Lisbon Statement and the revision of the proposed Strategic Recommendations for Strengthening Global Education till 2015. The resume of the thematic dialogues, the Lisbon Statement on Global Education and the Strategic Recommendations represent an integral part of this report. This is also complemented with a short concluding section with follow-up proposals.