Promoting global education through team leadership and international dialogue

Abstract

When thinking of global education, sustainable development and culture of peace and non-violence, often, people think of theoretical frameworks and global strategies, forgetting about contextualizing these frameworks to national and local community contexts, hence, giving them adequate meaning and real sense. Focusing on the Egyptian context, this research examines an initiative for promoting global education that was undertaken in the years of 2016 and 2017 in a private university in Egypt. It is well known that since 2013 in the post-revolutionary Egypt, clashes, confrontations, and violent actions took place. Extremist violence and general insecurity led to a strong desire for social stability, economic recovery, and cultural transformation. Egypt’s Strategy for Sustainable Development 2030 Vision included four areas of the seven priority areas of the 2016 UN’s Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism. These four areas are community engagement for social solidarity; gender equality and empowering women; youth empowerment; and education, skill development and employment facilitation. A documentation research methodology, with literature review, was employed to analyze the process and outcomes of the global education initiative and the leading role of a team of national and international faculty members and experts (from Jordan, Tunisia-UNESCO Regional Office, and the United States). The leading team engaged with university colleagues and students in international dialogue on conflicting issues such as equity, justice, non-violence and peace building, and global citizenship. They also collaborated in developing a teaching module for integrating universal values in the university teaching and learning. The process and outcomes of this documentary research show case of using team leadership and international dialogue to promote global education in the university practice.