Are you creative, savvy and can design an effective youth engagement strategy on global citizenship? We are hiring a consultant! Please share with your networks. Or apply! Global Citizenship Education: Dialogue Co-Ordinator Terms of Reference Background: The notion of global citizenship education is fast becoming a common currency in policy discussions about the value, importance and purpose of education. Expanding upon traditional conceptions of education’s role in providing skills and knowledge for the job market, education for global citizenship expresses the importance of education as a tool for understanding and resolving social, political, cultural and global issues by developing the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes learners need for securing a more just, peaceful, tolerant, inclusive, secure and sustainable world. Several initiatives have placed emphasis on the role of global citizenship and its related thematic areas as a priority for education and learning. The United Nations Secretary-General’s Global Education First Initiative (GEFI) includes global citizenship education as one of its three priorities, alongside universal access and quality of learning. A recent resolution at the 37th session of UNESCO’s General Conference endorsed a Global Action Programme on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) as a follow-up to the UN Decade of ESD. At the UNESCO Forum on Global Citizenship Education in December 2013, global experts and youth leaders emphasized a need to measure aspects of global citizenship education, including skills and values related to thriving as a citizen of the world. The Learning Metrics Task Force 1.0 recommended to globally define and track the skills and values necessary for being a citizen of the world. But what precisely does it mean to be a global citizen? What are the critical ingredients necessary to be one? How can education foster global citizenship, and how can we measure it in our education systems around the world? There is already debate within academic and policy circles aiming to answer these and related questions. The GEFI Youth Advocacy Group (YAG), in partnership with UNESCO, UNICEF and the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution, has convened a diverse and multi-sectoral working group to explore these questions and develop recommendations for measuring global citizenship in the context of education. This working group, bringing together about 80 esteemed experts from around the world, has been established to attempt to define more clearly the meaning of global citizenship education, establish a consensus around competencies, skills, values and attitudes which are applicable to the teaching of global citizenship education in all countries, and make recommendations for the measurement of learning outcomes. A critical part of this process is an even broader stakeholder engagement – particularly, but not limited to, young people. The YAG, with support from UNICEF and other partners, will launch a four-month global dialogue allowing stakeholders to air their views, help shape the conversations of the group and inform the recommendations that they make. Purpose: As the arm of the initiative charged with promoting the priorities and voices of young people in advocacy messages and activities of GEFI, the YAG is committed to ensuring the meaningful engagement and consultation of youth, including the most marginalized young people. The group seeks exciting and interactive ways of doing this, but expects all consultations to represent a two-way learning process for facilitators and participants, and believes passionately in young people’s voices being considered and respected by decision-makers and able to influence wider processes. The aim of this consultancy is to help spur and foster a global dialogue about global citizenship education in an innovative and engaging way, to encourage healthy debate, enhance the personal awareness of individuals about its meaning and importance, and create a movement for its inclusion in education curricula. As part of this global dialogue, a series of comprehensive consultations will be facilitated by YAG members at the regional, national and international level, strategically targeted at particular stakeholder audiences, especially young people from a variety of national and personal contexts. These consultations will address a wide range of questions and challenges associated with the definition, teaching and measurement of global citizenship education. The global dialogue should inspire and encourage individuals to discuss a variety of topics that have global relevance, enabling them to explore those attributes unique and personal to them and their communities, regions and countries, as well as those values and issues that transcend national, culture and ethnic borders and unite humanity as a whole. The purpose of this consultancy is therefore to design, facilitate and support these efforts toward a global dialogue by: 1. Developing a global dialogue strategy: identify and pursue innovative opportunities to ‘mainstream the conversation on global citizenship’ through effective and multi-track communications. Developing a system for tracking the trends in that dialogue and outputs emanating from the dialogue. The strategy should map existing opportunities and explore other creative and innovative ones for engaging young people and other stakeholders in this dialogue. 2. Developing an action plan for consultations: identify a range of concrete opportunities to consult with young people and other stakeholders at regional and national levels, establish the objectives and content of these discussions, and create a framework of activities for use in the dialogue. 3. Supporting the execution of the action plan for consultations: support YAG members in pursuing opportunities to lead the dialogues, develop a simple framework for collating views and feedback from the process and provide general ongoing support throughout the execution. 4. Compiling and collating the outcomes of the dialogue: develop one interim and one final report detailing the findings, and reflecting upon the trends and outcomes of the global dialogue and consultations. Explore and develop creative means of reporting the process and outcome of the dialogue via audio-visual means. Develop a plan for widely disseminating the reports and sustaining the global conversation. Expected Results & Deliverables: This position will work closely with the YAG, UNICEF, UNESCO and the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution. The YAG will support and interact with the selected candidate in the design, production and implementation of all deliverables. The selected candidate will also be expected to engage with the global citizenship education working group and its co-conveners if deemed necessary. The consultant will report to the chair of the YAG. Deliverables Duration (Estimated # of days) Global Dialogue Strategy • Design and pursue a strategy to trigger, scale up and ‘mainstream’ international dialogue about global citizenship at national, regional, sub-regional and community levels. o Develop and implement, in consultation with partners, an innovative and interactive communications campaign using a diversity of media and reaching a range of target audiences, and especially youth, in order to heighten public consciousness around the issue of global citizenship internationally. o Design an effective system for monitoring the nature and content of the global dialogue. o Identify communications and dissemination opportunities to share the results of this consultation and the publication of the final report. 65 days Action Plan and Execution • Design and pursue an action plan for consultations (global, regional and national) o Design an interactive consultation framework: identify the objectives of consultations and key questions to pursue, and develop a range of activities, materials and resources, alongside session timelines, to be used by YAG members. o Identify and pursue new and existing opportunities and platforms – online and offline, and at the global, national and local level – to initiate conversations and conduct consultations with a range of young people, including the most marginalized children. o Provide strategic and hands-on support to the YAG and partners in the implementation of the action plan. 65 days Reporting and Dissemination • Develop an interim report and final reports (written and audio-visual), including summary versions, which synthesize the findings of the process, recognize the key trends in the dialogue and help to inform the recommendations made by the working group. • Develop a plan for the dissemination of the findings, using a range of media. 24 days TOTAL 154 days Ongoing Deliverables • Regular meetings with assigned YAG members to provide progress updates. • Final report presentations on process and findings (facilitated by YAG) for the working group. Duration: Start Date: 15 August 2014 End Date: 15 January 2015 Competencies: • Ability to promptly become broadly familiar with the concepts associated with global citizenship and competence education, with an appreciation for the nuances in the current state of global debate. • Ability to work with a global team across barriers of geography, culture and language. • Ability to create high-quality outputs in a face-paced environment and with short turn-around times. • Excellent written and visual communication skills. • Familiarity with global, national and regional youth engagement structures; a history of working in youth engagement is an asset. • Ability to process and synthesize large amounts of information. • Excellent communication, presentation and drafting skills in English. Working knowledge of other UN languages would be an asset. Required Skills and Experience: • University degree in a relevant field. • At least five years of professional experience in designing engaging and innovative communications strategies for implementation, preferably at the global level. • Some professional experience in developing and implementing effective, innovative and comprehensive consultation strategies. • Proven experience of working with policy makers and advocates to create successful results in any field. Selection Process Interested candidates should submit a covering letter highlighting their suitability for the role, along with a CV. Shortlisted candidates will participate in an interview process with YAG members. The selected candidate will be expected to partake in a start-up meeting with assigned YAG members to discuss the specific needs of this project. All covering letters and CVs should be sent to: Amalia Veronica Anderson ([email protected]); Chernor Bah ([email protected]); David Crone ([email protected]).
Posted on: Mon, 28 Jul 2014 21:49:29 +0000
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