In 1999 the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe has launched the first Global Education Week, promoting school activities in the member States with a specific focus on how to overcome poverty and social exclusion.
Since, and on the basis of the positive feed-back from 1999, the North-South Centre invites the 47 member States of the Council of Europe to participate annually in the Global Education Week through the active collaboration of national contacts integrating the Global Education Week network.
The theme choosing process for Global Education Week 2013 resulted from an interactive discussion between the network co-ordinators on the issue of Global Education Week and its relation to the Millennium Development Goals. Various proposals were considered and the final theme agreed by the network was :
“GO FOR A SUSTAINABLE LIFE STYLE ! ”
The Global Education Week encourages pupils and teachers as well as youth groups to explore educational activities for global citizenship. It is a matter of addressing issues of diversity and inequality at the local as well as at the global level with an understanding of the core issues of global citizenship and responsibility:
- awareness of the wider world and of our own role as a world citizens;
- attitudes of respect for diversity and intercultural communication skills;
- ability to take action to make the world a more equitable and sustainable place;
- responsibility for our own actions