DevelopmentEducation.ie

What does your morning coffee connect you to? ☕

For the International Day of Cooperatives, we’re sharing a story that begins in the mountains of northern Nicaragua and reaches all the way to Ireland.

In our podcast episode From Nicaragua to Ireland: Fairtrade Coffee and Global Solidarity, Fátima Ismael of SOPPEXCCA speaks about coffee, cooperation, women’s leadership, Fairtrade and the long-term relationships that can support farming communities.

SOPPEXCCA is a union of coffee cooperatives, but its story is also about education, reforestation, food security, social justice and solidarity across borders.

It’s a reminder that cooperatives are not just business models. At their best, they are ways of organising around shared responsibility, community needs and a fairer future.

Listen to the episode and explore the story behind the coffee: https://developmenteducation.ie/blog/2026/02/05/from-nicaragua-to-dublin-fairtrade-coffee-and-global-solidarity/

Fairtrade Ireland

What does education look like when it respects culture, language, place and different ways of knowing?

For National Reconciliation Week, we’re highlighting our First Nations Education – Background Paper by ANTAR, a resource exploring First Nations approaches to education and learning.

The paper invites educators and learners to consider the importance of cultural knowledge, storytelling, language and connection to Country, while also examining the impacts of structural racism, discrimination and education systems that fail to recognise First Nations knowledge and experience.

A useful resource for anyone interested in education justice, Indigenous rights and global citizenship education.

Read the background paper on https://developmenteducation.ie/resource/first-nations-education-background-paper/.

National Reconciliation Week takes place in Australia from 27 May to 3 June. A a time to learn about shared histories, cultures and achievements, and to consider what reconciliation requires in practice.

Our feature, A Focus on Aboriginal Australia, explores Aboriginal history, culture and identity, as well as the impacts of colonisation, dispossession, the Stolen Generations, Native Title and continuing struggles for rights and recognition.

For teachers, educators and learners, this resource offers a starting point for discussion on Indigenous rights, historical justice, inequality and global citizenship.

Read the feature on https://developmenteducation.ie/feature/a-focus-on-aboriginal-australia/

Photo credit: Colleen Wallace - Ben Lawson/Flickr

On the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, DevelopmentEducation.ie is highlighting Q***r Voices / Glórtha Aiteacha — a Global Citizenship Education resource from ShoutOut focused on LGBTQ+ identities, equality, inclusion and human rights.

The resource supports post-primary students, educators and youth workers in exploring themes of identity, belonging, representation, discrimination and allyship through creative and participatory learning approaches.

Today is an important reminder of the need to challenge prejudice, promote inclusion and create educational spaces where all voices are respected and valued.

🌈 Explore the resource https://developmenteducation.ie/resource/glortha-aiteacha-queer-voices/ and discover more educational materials on DevelopmentEducation.ie.

***rVoices

Over 170 schools took part in this year’s Concern Worldwide all-island debate, discussing topics ranging from fast fashion and Artificial Intelligence to the virtues (or otherwise) of Western democracy.

Congratulations to Ursuline Secondary School, this year’s champions, for successfully proposing the motion: “It’s time to increase international aid, not walk away from it.”

We are delighted to see initiatives like the Concern Debate continuing to encourage discussion, critical learning and global citizenship among young people across Ireland.