Children in Crossfire’s Public Engagement Programme is synchronised with Ireland’s policy for International Development, and is situated within Children in Crossfire’s organisational strategic plan, contributing towards strategic objective 3: ‘to increase public knowledge of development issues, and increase the skills and values needed for global citizenship’.
Through working to raise awareness of global justice issues, the Sustainable Development Goals, and Ireland’s Aid Programme, Children in Crossfire’s Public Engagement Programme aims to increase our public community’s resilience for creating positive change.
Public Engagement acts as a means to promote and raise understanding of global interconnectedness, along with the structural causes and consequences of global poverty and inequality, and how these issues can be challenged.
We work with our public audiences to increase their emotional intelligence and critical thinking skills so that we can all understand what it means to be an ‘active changemaker’ and take action to create a world which is more compassionate and equal for all.
A key element of our Public Engagement Programme focuses on working with other likeminded organisations and individuals to bring about positive change. We recognise that in order to fully achieve full sustainable change, we all have a key role to play in supporting national and international development efforts.
Through combining training, our series of both online and offline resources, along with public outreach seminars and workshops; Children in Crossfire’s Public Engagement Programme uses a number of innovative ways to help to reach our mission of working with others to tackle the injustices of poverty affecting children.
Key Strategies
The Key Strategies presented below, outline Children in Crossfire’s approach to Public Engagement 2017 -2021.
To implement and disseminate an accredited Vision 2030 Continuing Professional Development course for youth and community workers, to support them to engage critically with global issues and develop the skills, knowledge and values to act as compassionate changemakers. The knowledge component of this programme is strongly situated within the context of the Irish Aid Development Cooperation and the SDGs.
To work in partnership with other relevant organisations to help raise awareness and understanding of Ireland’s Aid programme, and the role we all play in helping to enhance it.
To create awareness raising resources and website tools which underpin and highlight how the SDGs and Ireland’s Development Cooperation Programme seek to tackle global poverty and injustice.
To organise public awareness raising workshops and seminars which increase understanding of the injustices of global poverty and the role of Children in Crossfire, the SDGs and Ireland’s Development Cooperation Programme in addressing these.
Outputs
Through these strategies, Children in Crossfire will work to achieve the following Outputs:
Output 1: Children in Crossfire delivers a Public Awareness Programme to increase understanding of the injustices of poverty and the role of Children in Crossfire, the SDGs and Ireland’s Development Cooperation Programme in addressing these
Output 2: Children in Crossfire strategic supporters take action as ‘PE Multipliers’
Output 3: Children in Crossfire contributes to wider sectoral efforts to inform the Irish Public about global development issues and promote support for international development