News & Views

On 11 November, Suzie Cahn, iCommunity’s Programmes Director, attended Session 5 of the Shared Island, Shared World, Shared Future series in Dublin. The workshop — hosted by Dóchas, IDEA and CADA — brought together practitioners, researchers and civil society organisations from across Ireland, North and South, alongside colleagues from Scotland, to further develop a Shared Island roadmap for Global Citizenship Education (GCE). 

The session began with a panel exploring the pressures facing the sector: shrinking civic space internationally, shifting donor priorities, and the uneven policy and funding landscape between the two jurisdictions. While the Republic of Ireland benefits from an established GCE strategy and dedicated funding, Northern Ireland continues to face significant gaps, including the absence of government support and limited visibility of GCE in public discourse. Despite this, the workshop recognized the high-impact work delivered by committed practitioners across the island. 

Suzie participated in facilitated exercises that identified key structural barriers — from fragmented funding and curriculum access issues to the lack of formal cross-border mechanisms. Participants also mapped opportunities for progress, notably the upcoming NI curriculum review, the renewal of the Irish Aid GCE Strategy, and the potential for formalized North–South partnerships and multi-annual funding to strengthen collaboration. 

For iCommunity, the workshop offered valuable insight into how structured dialogue and shared learning can support a more coherent, sustainable, all-island ecosystem for GCE. The emphasis on partnership, evidence-building and community-centred approaches mirrors many of the principles that guide iCommunity’s wider programme of work. 

The series now moves toward its final online session on 15 December, where sector stakeholders will translate this shared analysis into clear priorities and accountability structures for the final report. 

Download the GCE all-island slide deck here.