THE CODE INTERNATIONALLY

A key strand of IDEA’s current strategy involves working with relevant organisations in other countries to help those working on Global Citizenship Education outside of Ireland adapt and adopt our Code of Good Practice.

Erasmus+ Project with Latvia:

This is a relatively new area of work for IDEA and 2025 saw us take our first step in expanding the Code beyond Ireland by partnering with LAPAS, the Latvian Platform for Development Cooperation, representing 35 NGOs across Latvia working for Global Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship Education, through an Erasmus+ project. Global Citizenship Education Code of Good Practice & Community of Practice: Ireland & Latvia ran for a year and enabled the first piloting of the Code in an international context.

International Knowledge Sharing

Throughout the year members from LAPAS and IDEA shared good practice, challenges and compared the different national contexts for our work. This took place through in-person and online events and podcasts, as well as exchange visits, workshops, and buddying. It facilitated a crosspollination of expertise, allowing IDEA to gain new insights about our Code while LAPAS established its first structured approach to quality Global Citizenship Education.

Transnational Community of Practice

As part of this project, IDEA and LAPAS took the first steps in establishing a pan-European Community of Practice for Global Citizenship Education. IDEA formed a dedicated Task Group of Code Members to support the Latvian partners and enhance the existing Code in Ireland, while LAPAS conducted mapping and consultations to establish its first Global Education network, which grew from 20 to 52 members over the course of the project. We established a shared learning space and facilitated "buddying" connections between similar organisations to share practice. This collaboration deepened our understanding of critical Global Citizenship Education and reflective practice. It also helped establish a "bottom-up" community of practice for LAPAS’ members strengthening their nationwide Global Citizenship Education network with a shared framework reflecting IDEA’s approach

Promotion

Staff and members from both IDEA and LAPAS attended three European events. The project was promoted as a European blueprint through presentations at pan-European Global Citizenship Education events in Bulgaria, Croatia, and Slovakia. Staff and members from IDEA and LAPAS shared their experience and reflections on the project to promote the Code of Good Practice with practitioners in other countries. We also developed a short animation on "What is GCE?" that made the formal language of the Code more accessible, and this was shared widely in both countries.

A New GCE Roadmap for Latvia

LAPAS facilitated national workshops where practitioners defined quality Global Citizenship and adapted the Irish Code of Good Practice to the Latvian context to create a "GCE Roadmap". IDEA supported the Latvian organisations with this process along with the piloting of the new Roadmap by 20 of LAPAS’ members.