Prof. Dr. Vanessa Andreotti de Oliveira, University of Oulu, Finland

Vanessa Andreotti de Oliveira was a school teacher in Brazil before she started working in the fields of policy, teaching and research in development, global, intercultural and global citizenship education. She has coordinated a number of international research and development projects focusing on teaching and learning about global issues and perspectives. Her interests include postcolonial, postcritical and indigenous theories applied to curriculum design and analyses of policies and practices in education. Vanessa Andreotti currently coordinates the EDGE (ethics, diversity, globalization and education) research group at the University of Oulu. 

Dr Nancy Commins, University of Turku Fulbright Scholar/University of Colorado, United States

Nancy Commins, from the University of Colorado at Denver, is the 2011 – 2012 University of Turku Fulbright Scholar. She has worked with linguistically and culturally diverse student populations over the past three decades. Her roles have included classroom teacher, university professor, program director, school district administrator and author.

Ms Jyoti Degroote, Education Officer, Belgian Development Agency

After obtaining her degree in teacher training in primary education, Jyoti Degroote worked as a teacher for 3 years. In order to end up at the development sector, she additionally studied Intercultural Management. For 3 years she worked at the educational service at the NGO ‘Broederlijk Delen”. Meanwhile she also worked in India for 2 local NGOs. All those experiences have led to her current position as Education Officer at ‘Kleur Bekennen”, the awareness programme that encourages and supports schools raising youngsters to real world citizens.

Mr François-Xavier Dubuisson, Education Officer, Belgian Development Agency

Before joining the coordination of the awareness programme “Annoncer la Couleur”, François-Xavier Dubuisson was teaching geography and social sciences in the third cycle of secondary education in Brussels during 8 years. Furthermore, he is a cofounder of the Brussels African Film Festival (Afrique taille XL) where he coordinates the film programme. He holds a master degree in Political Sciences, a postgraduate degree in Development and Population as well as a Teaching Certificate, obtained at the Université Libre de Bruxelles.

Ms Irmeli Halinen, Head of the Curriculum Development Unit, Finnish National Board of Education

Irmeli Halinen works at the FNBE as the Head of the Curriculum Development Unit in charge of preparing national core curricula for preschool education, basic education, general upper secondary education, basic education of arts and before- and after-school activities for pupils. The unit also monitors, guides and supports the implementation of the core curricula, and assists the Ministry of Education in all curriculum related matters. Ms Halinen is a member of the Finnish National Commission for UNESCO, and a permanent expert member of the Advisory Board of The Ombudsman for Children in Finland. Since 2006, she is the Focal Point of Nordic and Baltic Community of Practice for International Bureau of Education (IBE) of UNESCO coordinating the curriculum co-operation. Ms Halinen has worked in various national development, evaluation and research projects since the 1970’s. She has written several articles and acted as a teacher trainer and an active lecturer both in Finland and abroad. She has worked as a curriculum expert for UNESCO and for the Ministries of Education and of Foreign Affairs in, for instance, China-Europe cooperation project for Curriculum Development, different European countries, with Arab, Latin American and Caribbean countries, and in Nepal Curriculum Development Project. In 2010, she was awarded a badge of honour by the President of Finland.

Mr Mikko Hartikainen, Counsellor of Education, Finnish National Board of Education

Mikko Hartikainen works at the FNBE at the Curriculum Development Unit. His expertise is in the field of visual arts education at the different levels of education system in Finland. Among other things his work also covers guidance and support for the arts and media education related projects funded by development programs. Early in his career, he worked as the visual arts teacher mainly at general upper secondary schools. He has also worked as the teacher educator at the University of Helsinki and at the University of Art and Design (current Aalto -university). Mr. Hartikainen is particularly interested in integrative nature of learning, in the light of the multiple possibilities it offers to bridge disciplines and expertise on the school level. He sees the arts education as one of the key factors to further the transformation of schooling.

Dr Helmuth Hartmeyer, Director, Austrian Development Agency, Chairperson of GENE

Helmuth Hartmeyer was a secondary school teacher for 15 years before he changed into the field of development and global education (working for NGOs and since 1994 for the Austrian government.) His PhD (from 2007) is about the conceptual development of Global Learning in Austria. It was published in German and English.One of his theses is that Global Learning is primarily about the formation of competencies. They should contribute to a better orientation in our own lives and should enable us to develop a vision of a successful life in a humanely designed world society.

Ms Liisa Jääskeläinen, Counsellor of Education, Finnish National Board of Education

Liisa Jääskeläinen is Counsellor of Education at the Finnish National Board of Education (FNBE) in the department of General Education and in the unit of curricula. She is Master of Social and Political Sciences (politics of education) from the Helsinki University. She has been working mainly at the FNBE carrying different tasks but in recent years mainly those related to curricular reforms. Her focus in this work has varied from international/global education and other cross-curricular themes to values and operational culture of the education system. Her work encompasses education from primary to general upper secondary schools, from basic education of adults to integration of immigrants through education. As a GENE member since 2002, she participated in preparation and implementation of the national strategy of GE in Finland. Currently her two main tasks are the project “As a global citizen in Finland” and the revision of the national curriculum for integration of adult immigrants.

Dr Taina Kaivola, University of Helsinki, Finland

Adjunct professor Taina Kaivola has a PhD in education. She runs a pedagogical Unit for Science Education at the Faculty of Science, University of Helsinki, Finland. Her research interests include teaching and learning in science disciplines, as well as education for sustainable development and global education.

Dr Eija Kauppinen, Counsellor of Education, Finnish National Board of Education

Eija Kauppinen works at the Finnish National Board of Education (FNBE). She is responsible for developing music and dance education in pre-primary and basic education, general upper secondary education, and vocational education and training. Eija Kauppinen has a Master of Music in music education and a PhD in education. Before working at the FNBE since 2006, she worked as a music teacher.

Mr Jorma Kauppinen, Director of General Education, Finnish National Board of Education

Jorma Kauppinen is Director of General Education at the Finnish National Board of Education (FNBE). Department of General Education is responsible for developing pre-primary and basic education, morning and afternoon activities for schoolchildren, general upper secondary education, liberal adult education and basic education in the arts. He has been working at the FNBE since 2001, first as a Head of the Upper Secondary School Unit. Earlier in his career, he has been teacher of history and social studies in basic education and principal in general upper secondary education. Currently he is chair of Steering Committee for Education in Council of Europe. He is also chair of Steering Committee of "As a global citizen in Finland" Project at the FNBE.

Ms Gunvor Kronman, Director, Hanasaari – the Swedish-Finnish Cultural Centre

Gunvor Kronman is the director of Hanasaari – the Swedish-Finnish Cultural Center since 2003. Previously she has had a long career in the Red Cross and has extensive expertise in humanitarian and development policies. She has also served as a Senior Adviser to the Nordic Council in Copenhagen and as a journalist at the Finnish broadcasting company. Among her several appointments and commissions of trust she is member of the Finnish National Commission for UNESCO and President of Plan Finland.

Mr Rilli Lappalainen, Secretary General, Finnish NGDO Platform to the EU Kehys ry

Rilli Lappalainen (MSSc) is the Secretary Genral of Finnish NGDO Platform to the EU Kehys ry. He is also actively involved in CONCORD, the European NGO Confederation for Relief and Development, including serving as a Member of CONCORD’s Board, and as CONCORD representative to the Executive Council of the European Council’s North-South Center and the Co-Chair of European Development Education Multi Stakeholder process since its creation in 2006. In 2007, the MSH group produced a publication titled “European Consensus on Development: the Contribution of Development Education and Awareness Raising”. Previously, Mr Lappalainen has worked with the NGO Operation a Day’s Work (ODW), the European Commission and in development assistance in Nepal and Senegal. 

European Consensus on Development: the Contribution of Development Education and Awareness Raising (European Commission)

Mr Carl Lindberg, Special Advisor, Swedish National Commission for UNESCO

Carl Lindberg has served as Special Advisor to the Swedish National Commission for UNESCO on Education for Sustainable Development since November 2005. He was member of UNESCO’s High Level Panel on ESD 2004-20011 and has previously held the Chairmanship of the Swedish National Committee on ESD. He has served as Deputy State Secretary in the Ministry of Education and Science of Sweden and as a Political Advisor to the members in the Standing Committee on Education and Science in the Swedish Parliament. He started his career as an Upper Secondary School Teacher.

Dr Maeve Martin, Development and Intercultural Education (DICE), Ireland

Maeve Martin is a psychologist who has spent her professional life as a teacher-educator working with students at all levels of the teacher education continuum. Prior to qualifying as a psychologist, Dr Martin worked as a classroom teacher both in Nigeria and in Ireland. She is a Fulbright Fellow and has recently spent a year in Boston College researching new paradigms for teacher education. While in Boston, Dr Martin spent some time as a consultant on teacher education for the World Bank in the Leeward Islands of the Caribbean. Dr Martin has carried out some work for the Department of Education in Ireland, when at the invitation of the Minister of Education she headed up a Task Force on School Behaviour. Currently, Dr Martin chairs a committee on Development and Intercultural Education (DICE) which is a programme funded by Irish Aid, that is offered in the five Colleges of Education in Ireland that cater for pre-service primary school teachers.

Mr Reiner Mathar, Ministry of Education, Hessen, Germany

After nearly 20 years of practice in upper secondary and higher education, Reiner Mathar moved over to the State board of education with a main focus on curriculum and school development in the field of ESD. Since 1986, he is the German representative at the ENSI network for ESD, member of the executive committee since 1999 and President of ENSI since 2010. He was member of the expert group to develop the concept of "Gestaltungskompetenz” (Shaping competence) for ESD in Germany and co-editor of the Curriculum Framework for Global Development Education for German schools (2007). Since 2009, he is member of a global network of ESD experts from different countries (Germany, India, Mexico and South Africa) to develop a common understanding of ESD in the context of global development. This network is a global project of the German association for international cooperation (GIZ). One main focus of the expert network is to develop a concept of whole school approach for ESD from the perspective of different regions of the world.

Ms Paula Mattila, Counsellor of Education, Finnish National Board of Education

Paula Mattila holds a Licentiate degree in Education. She has worked in several positions within international education, such as Head of International Activities in Laurea Polytechnic. Presently, she is Counsellor of Education with the Finnish National Board of Education where her duties include administration of State Grants for Internationalisation of basic and upper secondary education and work with the Agency’s foreign languages and curriculum development teams. Her main professional interest focuses on developing and expanding the concepts and practice regarding internationalisation in schooling.

Dr Majda Naji, Slovenian GE School Model

Majda Naji is higher pedagogical adviser, specialist for global education and ESD. She has twenty years of school praxis as chemistry teacher in Secondary school. Her main task is to develop and promote the innovations in education especially in field of global education and ESD from preschools to high schools, in cooperation with Ministry of Education and the Universities in Slovenia and EU. She develops the cross-curricular themes such as global education and ESD and implements it in Slovenian school praxis. Majda Naji is author or co-author of six books in the fields of science and ESD. She has contributed in many journals, including Education in Chemistry, Chemie und Schule and Science Education News Letter. She is chief editor of Journal Developing Global Dimension in the Curriculum and she was a member of Comenius projects SEED and SUPPORT. Currently she works in Comenius project CoDeS. Majda Naji is a member of the group for Global Education at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Slovenia. She is the representative of Slovenia in the Steering Committee for the UNECE.

Ms Petronella Odhner, Programme Officer, The Global School/International Programme Office, Sweden

Petronella Odhner is working at the International Programme Office of Education and training since 2008 with the The Global School, an organization for Swedish teachers with activities in Education for global Sustainable Development. Before that she worked as a teacher and headmaster in a Swedish gymnasium for several years.

Mr Eddie O’Loughlin, Coordinator, GENE (Global Education Network Europe)

Eddie O’Loughlin is Coordinator of GENE (Global Education Network Europe), which is the network of Ministries, Agencies and other bodies with national responsibility for Global Education in Europe. He did the initial feasibility study leading to the establishment of the European Global Education Peer Review Process and has coordinated it since its initiation. Recent reviews focused on Poland and Norway, and currently a review of Global Education in Slovakia is underway. Previously he has worked on public awareness raising and Global Education as a consultant with the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe, and as Head of Information with Irish Aid, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ireland.

Ms Saila Poulter, Researcher in Religion and Citizenship Education, School of Education at Tampere University, Finland

Saila Poulter (M.A.) is researcher in Religion and Citizenship Education at School of Education at Tampere University, Finland. She also teaches religious education at the Department of Teacher Education at Helsinki University. Her research interests concern secularism, citizenship studies, Finnish school history and religious education. She is currently finalizing her Ph.D. entitled Citizenship in Secular Age.

Prof. Emerita Rauni Räsänen, Finland

Rauni Räsänen was working as a primary and secondary school teacher as well as a provincial advisor for languages for twenty years before she started her university career at the University of Oulu in 1986. Development of teacher education remained her main interest through her career and she has initiated courses on teachers' professional ethics as well as a program on intercultural teacher education in the Faculty of Education in Oulu. Her main research interests include ethics of education, values and education, global education and intercultural education. Global and intercultural education - and education in itself - are researched from the point of view of value-laden and ethical professionalism. Rauni Räsänen is a member of the national UNESCO Commission in Finland.

Prof. Dr Annette Scheunpflug, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany

Annette Scheunpfug was working for two years as a primary teacher before working in universities in different positions. Her special interest is global education and education in global perspectives, epistemological problems of didactics and school quality. She has run several international research projects in this field. One main topic she is interested in is the notion of global education for teacher education and the needed competences in a global and complex world.

Ms Mariëtte van Stalborch, Manager innovative projects, NCDO, the Netherlands 

Mariëtte van Stalborch has been head of NCDO's various sector programmes for 10 years. At NCDO she has designed the education programme in cooperation with people with practical experience. On the initiative of NCDO she organizes a Masterclass together with the Univesity of Utrecht, in the person of professor R. van der Vaart. The canon for global citizenship which resulted from the Masterclass had initiated al lot of discussion and inspiration in the Netherlands. Mariëtte van Stalborch is at this moment special advisor 'global citizenship' in the renewed NCDO.

Dr Margaret Trotta Tuomi, University of Jyväskylä, Finland

Margaret Trotta Tuomi, an Educational Sociologist from the University of Jyväskylä, specializes in World Citizenship Education and teacher training and professional development for the education of Finnish Roma and newly arrived immigrants. Dr. Tuomi was an expert in The World Citizenship and European Citizenship Working Group of the Socrates Thematic Group: Children’s Identity and Citizenship in Europe. (CICE).

Mr Liam Wegimont, GENE / Mount Temple Comprehensive school, Ireland

Liam Wegimont is the Principal of Mount Temple Comprehensive school in Dublin, a school "increasingly committed to learning for sustainable development and global justice". He has been involved in Global Education for over 25 years, as a teacher, youth leader, facilitator, lecturer, networker and nudger of policy learning processes. He has been involved in the birth and development of GENE, the Maastricht Congress, and the European Peer Review process. An advisor to the Board of GENE, and a member of the editorial Board of the International Journal of Development Education and Global Learning, he is interested in strengthening the theoretical foundations of Global Education. He is also interested in the practical question of how a stronger emphasis on global learning can transform schools and education systems (those more open to, and those more resistant to, curriculum reform); and in how policy learning processes cross borders.

Mr Jeroen van der Zant, Senior trainer/advisor capacity development global citizenship, NCDO, the Netherlands

Jeroen van der Zant has been active in the field of communication and education in various roles, especially for civil society organizations, but also in business. The past five years, Mr Van der Zant specialized as a consultant, project manager & trainer in education and youth communication in relation to global citizenship. Currently, he is working as a senior trainer/consultant at NCDO for various teachers, schools & civil society organizations in the Netherlands who want to embed global citizenship in education. He helped establish the canon for global citizenship, windows on the world, the starting point for many educational activities related to global citizenship education in The Netherlands. According to Van der Zant's Global Citizenship is not just a matter of learning the right skills, but also the transmission of knowledge and hard facts to gain insight into world relations, a huge challenge!

Windows on the world - canon for global citizenship