A Dublin post-primary school has welcomed a delegation of Ugandan teachers to Ireland. The visit to Rosary College, Crumlin, is part of a cultural exchange organised by Irish Aid and WorldWise Global Schools. The visit part of an initiative named ‘Teachers Making a Difference’ a scheme is supported by the Irish Embassy in Uganda and the Ugandan Minister of Education and Sports. The ‘Teachers Making a Difference’ scheme works to encourage and motivate teachers while also identifying teachers who have contributed positively to the delivery of quality education in Uganda. The winners were given an opportunity for an educational trip to Ireland where the delegation visited Rosary College.
The educational visit aimed to foster collaboration between the Ugandan and Irish teachers in sharing best practices in education. Rosary College was chosen by WorldWise Global Schools, for its excellence and continued dedication to Global Citizenship Education (GCE), an approach that equips learners and educators to understand and challenge global injustices. Rosary College has made great efforts to embed GCE across subjects and extracurricular activities by researching and running action projects on global water issues, sustainable consumption, fast fashion, gender equality and human rights.
Students have linked local to global issues in many ways, both in and beyond the classroom. They have compared homelessness in Ireland with that in the Global South. They have promoted Fair Trade to support the rights of Global South agricultural workers. Third Year and Transition Year students have written to MEPs and TDs calling for sustainable policies to ensure the safety of asylum seekers. To highlight the impact of biodiversity loss in the Global South, as well as to boost local biodiversity, students have distributed seed bags with accompanying fact sheets to the local community. Their projects invite all learners to look more deeply at issues and challenge the root causes of injustice, to understand the role that they and their school community can play in creating a more just and sustainable world.
During their visit, the Ugandan delegation was shown the facilities of Rosary College and learned about the day to day activities in the school. For the Irish students and teachers, the visit was equally enriching. It provided an opportunity to engage with educators from a different part of the world and gain new perspectives on global education. Jean Doyle, Principal of Rosary College, said that it was a day of mutual learning and that ‘we have so much to learn from each other’. Teachers Grace McDermott and Donna Mullen were ‘honoured’ by the visit and aim to pursue connections with the Ugandan teachers in the future.
Rosary College is supported by WorldWise Global Schools. As Irish Aid’s national Global Citizenship Education programme for post-primary settings on the island of Ireland, WorldWise Global Schools offer a comprehensive range of supports to teachers in post-primary. Irish Aid and WWGS play a pivotal role in supporting Global Citizenship Education in Irish schools though funding, resources, and training opportunities to help educators bring global perspectives into their teaching. The partnership with Ugandan schools is just one example of how these organisations are promoting cross-cultural learning and collaboration, reinforcing the idea that education is a key driver of global development.
