Development Education Research Centre (DERC) partners with UNESCO to host international conference

The theme for the 2023 ANGEL Biennial International Conference was “global education and learning for a just, peaceful and sustainable world.” The event intended to create opportunities for dialogue around today’s global challenges. 

With funding from the European Commission, it brought together more than 200 academics, researchers and policymakers from more than 60 countries at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. Keynote presentations, workshops and panel discussions featured key figures in the field and explored the many facets of global education and learning. 

Global Education and Learning is a growing area of educational research and practice that enables people to think critically of the world they live in – and includes topics like social and climate justice, peace and equity and environmental sustainability. It is a topic DERC has remained committed to developing. 

The Development Education Research Centre (DERC) is a leading centre for development education, sustainable development and global citizenship, based at IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society. DERC co-founded the Academic Network on Global Education and Learning (ANGEL) project, together with Global Education Network Europe (GENE) with support from the European Union. 

The conference was the culmination of a collaboration between DERC and UNESCO, together with the Global Education Network Europe (GENE), IOE and the UNESCO Chair in Global Citizenship Education in Higher Education. 

Professor Douglas Bourn, the Director of DERC and the Chair of the ANGEL project, says, “The importance of learning about global issues, climate change and the promotion of global citizenship were major features of what was the largest ever global education-related academic conference. 

“In partnership with a range of national and international policymakers, researchers from around the world demonstrated how people of all ages have a thirst for understanding and making sense of today’s global challenges and the role they can play in securing a more just and sustainable world.” 

Links

• ANGEL's Biennial International Conference 2023
• Q&A with Professor Douglas Bourn
• ANGEL Network
• Development Education Research Centre (DERC)
• Department of Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment

Image

Kester Muller for DERC via Flickr.