global citizenship

Global Citizenship Education (GCE) enables people across the island to explore complex issues such as climate justice, human rights, and equality - and to take informed action for a more just and sustainable world.

‍In today’s turbulent context - with rising disinformation, polarisation, climate emergencies, and deepening inequalities - the need for GCE has never been greater.

Promoting Global Citizenship Education is an important strategic focus of CBM Ireland. Our GCE initiatives are placed uniquely under our advocacy work. We strongly believe that a global perspective and greater understanding of the structural causes of poverty and inequality that persons with disabilities and their organisations (OPDs) come across is crucial. This would help the public, the governments, and the development partners to support and promote inclusive development, humanitarian and climate action and better equip them to tackle poverty, inequality, and social exclusion at various levels - locally, regionally and internationally.

However, CBM Ireland’s 2022 Survey suggests that there is still limited public understanding of how climate change and disability are interconnected.

Through partnerships with Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs), we are working to close this gap by ensuring that the voices of people with disabilities are heard in climate discussions.

Our Funding Fairer Futures programme, co-funded by the European Commission under the DEAR Programme, empowers civil society organisations and disabled people’s groups to raise awareness, advocate for disability-inclusive climate policies, and inspire communities across Europe to take action for climate justice.

This work is vital to building a more just and sustainable world where no one is left behind.

Persons with disabilities comprise 16% of world population, forming the largest global minority denied equal space in all spheres of development. 80% of them live in the developing world also known as the Global South. Therefore, it is anticipated that all partners in international development should promote disability-inclusive development and allocate equitable resource to ensure that.

CBM operates in the Global South addressing the exclusion and injustice that people with disabilities come across, imposing them to live in poverty and marginalisation. We believe that an inclusive developmental, humanitarian and climate action in Global South should be equally perceived and supported by the people and authorities in the Global North to ensure long term partnership of the people, communities and the organisations to foster and nurture sustainable development. A shared understanding of intersecting global crisis, injustice and inequalities and to tackle the challenge of the future requires critical mass, active participation and collective action beyond political borders to support changes that benefit the people and the planet.

Network

gce networks

We work alongside some of the key organisations and networks below to achieve its objectives: