“Through Global Citizenship Education projects our students have learned to work together towards common goals, they learn to research, innovate, and speak openly about the work they are doing. All that collaboration, working as members of the community, and working on something that is bigger than themselves, is really valuable, and is so important for their educational experience”.
Educator Emma Doyle
Background
Led with passion and dedication by educator Emma Doyle, Global Citizenship Education (GCE) is at the heart of teaching and learning in West Wicklow Youthreach (WWYR). Reflecting this, West Wicklow Youthreach received a WorldWise Global Schools Special Passport Award in 2024 for their whole-centre approach to GCE. Key to this success is the determination to engage with justice issues beyond the classroom, to collaborate with the whole Blessington Further Education and Training Centre (BFETC) with the local community, and online. This is done primarily through learner-led, justice-themed projects that have a meaning and a lifespan beyond the classroom.
How it started
The success story in West Wicklow Youthreach is the result of years of commitment, collaboration, and steady progress by a dedicated team. Emma explains that it began with some small projects and built gradually over time. “For a while it felt like it was just me pushing it all the time, but it’s not just me anymore, everybody’s got their own part of it now and are taking it and running with it.” As the management and wider staff team began to see the potential for GCE, they gave it more and more time and space to grow.
“We would not be where we are today without the support and advice from WWGS, and the huge buy-in and dedication from our staff team. Through all of the wonderful efforts by the Youthreach staff we have tapped into what really works for our centre, and we have since developed our own identity in GCE.”
Where they are now
GCE now has a dedicated space on the timetable as a Sustainability module and is delivered to all groups at all levels. It is embedded into Emma’s Art & Design module, as well as Communications, SPHE, Cooking and Gardening modules. The cross-curricular and whole-centre approach to project work has been growing year on year and now characterises the high quality GCE work carried out in West Wicklow Youthreach.
West Wicklow Youthreach Projects
SDG Éire
SDG Éire is fully functioning student-inspired app created to propel learning and action based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and sustainability in Ireland. It is a user-friendly tool for SDG based learning inside or outside the classroom. Explore and download the app here.
West Wicklow Sustainability Virtual Exhibitions
WWYR Virtual Exhibitions are a celebration of creativity, sustainability and global citizenship. Each year, they publish a new virtual exhibition to showcase learner projects on global issues through a blend of art, research, and innovation. The exhibitions aim to raise awareness and provoke action on global justice issues. Tour and explore the virtual exhibitions here.
The Apollo Art Project
The National Gallery of Ireland Apollo Project with artist Lynn Haughton focused on textile waste, fast fashion and the associated human rights and environmental impacts. The collaborative project resulted in a piece of art work made entirely from recycled materials. This was exhibited in the grounds of Russborough House and is now on permanent display in WWYR.
Apollo Project exhibited in the grounds of Russborough House
Global Citizenship Education Display
The permanent Sustainability and Global Citizenship display features information on WorldWise Global Schools, the Special Passport Award, STEAM- GCE projects, actions for the Sustainable Development Goals, ‘Our Pledge as Global Citizens’, posters and artwork from virtual exhibitions. This display is regularly updated with new information and student work.
Global Passport Display
The Sustainable Garden
The newest GCE project at WWYR is the Sustainable Garden. The garden includes a biodiversity wild area, a small pond, a compost area, polytunnel, raised beds, fruit trees and more. The Sustainable Garden creation and management is thanks to the collaboration of staff and learners across the entire Blessington Further Education and Training Centre. It will be supported by scaffolding the teaching and learning of justice issues such as food systems, water usage, seeds and agricultural practices. The garden will complement the whole-centre project ‘Eco-Eats’, a sustainable cookbook. For more details on Eco-Easts, see Part 2.
Sustainable Garden – Spring Time
Emma’s Advice for other Educators
“You have to know your group, what do they care about, what talents and skills do they have? That’s where to start. Draw out the knowledge and interest that’s already there. That’s an amazing place to begin, because when you tap into something they truly care about, you already have the buy-in.
Then it just becomes a matter of asking: ‘OK, how do we create something from this? How can we share it? How can we deepen our understanding, collaborate, and take action?’ It’s all about starting with their passions.”
Educator Emma Doyle
Emma emphasises the importance of empowering students to take action, of asking the question, what can we do?
“Because everybody can do something. Everyone has different capacities, different skills, but everyone can contribute something. Sometimes it takes doing the project to really feel that sense of empowerment, but once they have done it and seen the impact they can have, that is huge. And you cannot just explain that, they have to live it. I want my students to leave here, after completing their learning with me, feeling that they can go out, act on the world, and make things happen.”
Benefits of Doing GCE
“Doing GCE has enriched my practice as an educator because it just feeds into nearly everything I do now, it has a huge presence in how I work, and teach and live on a day to day basis. It’s really inspiring. There’s so much to keep learning all the time, there’s so much to keep talking about. It is our world, it is what we are living and breathing and existing in.
I think learning more and more about it (GCE) has made me more aware of our responsibilities as educators, to make sure that our learners are future-proofed with all the skills they need to exist in our world that is changing so fast all the time. And also to have their eyes open a little bit to all those systems and structures that exist in our world that need to be changed. We all have a part to play in this” (Emma).
Final thought from the 2025 virtual exhibition ‘Seeds of Change’.
More Case Studies
Lessons in Global Citizenship Education Leadership from West Wicklow Youthreach – Part 2
Learner-led Global Citizenship Projects in West Wicklow Youthreach
