KODE Distance Education Courses for Development Education

KODE (Kimmage Open & Distance Education) is delighted to announce the KODE 2010 Course Schedule.

All KODE courses have been specifically designed for development workers including
Project Planning & Proposal Writing
Monitoring & Evaluation
Project Management, Governance & Accountability
Sustainable Livelihoods and Poverty Reduction

KODE's new course, Addressing Gender Based Violence will be available from summer 2010.

Full information about the application procedure including excellent group discount rates is available on KODE's website: www.kodeonline.com

CGDE announces Spring Lunch Time Seminar Series

The Centre for Global Development through Education (CGDE) is running a Spring Lunch Time Seminar Series entitled 'Education in the Developing World: A Closer Look at Africa' through Spring 2010. The series takes place at 1.10pm every Thursday until 25 March at Mary Immaculate College, Limerick. All are welcome to attend.

For further details please download the Seminar Series flier.

Winners of Young Social Innovators Competition meet Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary General of the United Nations

Pictured with the students from St. Peter's College, Dunboyne and Coláiste Bhríde, Carnew are Caroline Toole (second from left); Dick Roche, Minister of State for European Affairs; Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary General of the United Nations; Brian Cowen, Taoiseach; Eleanor Lee (second from right) and Micheál Martin, Minister for Foreign Affairs

On his recent visit to Ireland, Secretary General of the United Nations Mr. Ban Ki-Moon described Ireland as a 'bridge-builder' and an 'inspiring example at the frontlines of disaster response'. So to are The Young Social Innovators of 2009 an ‘inspiring example of how young people engage in development issues'. Supported by the CDPC and Selp Help Africa, their project titled ‘The Butterfly Effect’ continues to make ripples as students presented the Secretary General with a copy of their book Twenty Fifteen on his visit to Dublin. The students, from St. Peter's College, Dunboyne and Coláiste Bhríde, Carnew, met with the UN Secretary General in Dublin’s Government Buildings on Tuesday, 7 July with their teachers, Eleanor Lee and Caroline Toole. Also present at the event were Dick Roche, Minister of State for European Affairs, Micheál Martin, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Taoiseach Brian Cowen.

Twenty Fifteen contains articles, essays, poems, songs and pictures dealing with the first Millennium Development Goal to eradicate poverty. The authors range from transition year students to scientists to politicians to well regarded writers and poets, including Seamus Heaney, Anne Enright, Joseph O’Connor and Sebastian Barry. Launched in May at the Irish Aid centre, all the profits from the book’s sale will be used by Self Help Africa for their projects in Africa. Twenty Fifteen can be purchased for €11.19 through Self Help Africa’s website or click here to fill out the order form directly.

As leaders from the G8 group of leading economies meet in Italy to try to agree a common approach for tackling climate change and food security, the number of people in cronic hunger rises to an estimated 1.02 billion this year: one in six of the world’s population (Reuters). The CDPC commends these transition year students, who have their fingers firmly on the political and economic pulse as they continue to make their voices heard while the UN engages in their critical responsibility of addressing these issues. Our young people are ‘an inspiration to all’ according to their teachers, Aideen Flood and Eleanor Lee.

Irish Aid Development Conference, University of Limerick: 16 - 17 October 2009

Irish Aid Development Education Conference 2009 at University of Limerick

Submission Guidelines

Papers addressing aspects of global sustainable development will be welcomed from any discipline. Papers can take a variety of forms, including formal papers, posters, round table presentations and panel discussions. Creative and innovative ways of presenting sustainable global development research initiatives using multimedia, installations such as story telling, art work, photography, film, dance or drama are encouraged.Submissions would be welcomed which highlight the experience of both women and men in sustainable development, as would those that highlight the personal experiences of development workers and of people from developing countries.Papers that address one of the following conference themes would be particularly welcome, however those that address sustainable global development more generally can also be accepted.

Abstract Submission

All prospective presenters are invited to submit an abstract of circa 300 words (an abstract template form is presented below.Abstracts should be submitted through the website by 31^st March 2009 for those who are applying for a bursary/ will need a visa to travel to Ireland or by 1^st May 2009 for other applicants.The early submission date for those will need a visa to travel to Ireland or is being offered in recognition of the fact that the visa process can take some time in Ireland.Those who avail of the early application process will be notified of the acceptance/ rejection of their abstract after 1^st May 2009.

Visit the Sustainable Global Development Conference website for more details.

Earth Hour 2009 - 8:30 PM local time, Saturday, March 28

Earth Hour 2009 is taking place on Saturday, 28 March at 8:30 PM local time, wherever you live on planet earth.

Earth Hour is the world's largest global climate change event. Each year, millions of people around the world turn off all non-essential lighting for one hour to show support for the world's shared environment. Earth Hour aims to create a visual global mandate for action on climate change and a platform through which every individual in the world can voice their environmental concern.

Earth Hour was founded by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in 2007 with 2.2 million homes and businesses in support. In 2008, Earth Hour witnessed involvement by 50 million people and hundreds of global landmarks from the Colosseum in Rome to the Sydney Opera House. This year, Earth Hour is expected to be bigger than ever.

Earth Hour is a global call to action to every individual, business and organization. It is a call to stand up, take responsibility and get involved in working towards a sustainable future. Iconic buildings and landmarks will stand in darkness. People across the world will turn off their lights and join together in creating the vital conversation about the future of our precious planet.

For more information, kindly visit the Earth Hour Official Website.