iLEGEND III
iLEGEND III (Intercultural Learning Exchange through Global Education, Networking and Dialogue) is the third cycle of a joint project of the European Union and the Council of Europe: co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe.
As part of the European Commission’s Development Education and Awareness Raising (DEAR) Programme, iLEGEND promotes Global Education by strengthening individuals’s capacities to respond to social, environmental, political, and ethical challenges. iLEGEND brings together people from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa to encourage intercultural learning and dialogue, based on the Council of Europe’s priorities and values.
The project operates in schools, youth groups, and other learning settings, supporting government officials, education practitioners, civil society organisations and young people around four pillars:
Capacity building
Improve skills and knowledge through online and residential trainings. These trainings strengthen educators’ and young people’s ability to engage in the promotion of global citizenship and human rights. This is achieved by increasing their understanding, among other aspects, of European and international human rights standards on issues such as media and information literacy, intercultural and interfaith dialogue, and environment and human rights.
Networking
Create partnerships through the implementation of Youth Summer Universities, that bring together hundreds of young people, youth workers, experts from the field and decision makers from different regions of the world in an intercultural learning context to enhance peer learning on issues related to human rights and interregional collaboration.
Advocacy
Promote open dialogue and improved education policies (advocacy), for instance through the Global Education Network meetings, thematic seminars and congresses.
Awareness raising
Raise awareness of Global Education for example through the Global Education Week, an annual campaign promoting quality, inclusive and equitable education, mobilizing thousands of activities across Europe and beyond to engage schools, youth organisations, educators, and the wider public.
The project supports the priorities of the European Union as laid out in the 2017 European Consensus for Development and the current Global Europe: Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI-Global Europe) 20222O278.
The project also highlights the extent to which intercultural and global citizenship education related competences are mainstreamed in the CoE Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture.
December 2022 - December 2026
2 000 000 Euros
The European Commission's Development Education and Awareness Raising Programme (DEAR), supports projects that engage the EU public in worldwide issues of social, economic and environmental development. The DEAR programme works with civil society organisations and local authorities to promote universal values of freedom, democracy and the rule of law and enables the European public to make positive contributions to global development.
Since the 1970s, the EU has supported educators and civil society actors in introducing development themes in curricula and public awareness. Through its programme for Development Education and Awareness Raising Programme (DEAR) and other EU-funded Programmes (e.g. Erasmus, Horizon Europe and cohesion funds), the EU continues to support campaigns, advocacy actions and more focused Global Citizenship Education projects like iLEGEND.
iLEGEND contributes to turn global education from a concept into practice.
The running iLEGEND project builds on the results of its first and second phases, running since July 2016. More than 1050 young people and education practitioners, including representatives of national ministries, have strengthened their skills through courses on Global Citizenship and Sustainable Development, Media and Information Literacy, Intercultural and Interfaith Dialogue, Environmental issues, and Human rights. These participants are now better equipped to bring global education values into classrooms, youth work, and public policies.
The association of the third phase of iLEGEND with the Human Rights Education for Youth (HEY) methodology further enhances its multiplying effect, notably through a cascade of national-level trainings delivered by certified tutors drawn from the successful participants of the online and residential training activities.
At the same time, iLEGEND has consolidated and expanded the Global Education Network, bringing together 55 national coordinators and 4 international organisations. Through regular network meetings, seminars and congresses, GEN has created spaces where policymakers and civil society, formal and non-formal education actors, work together. This dialogue has strengthened trust, shared expertise, and supported the development and implementation of global education strategies at both national and international levels, in Europe and beyond.
Change is also visible at the grassroots level. Between 2022 and 2025, more than 40 European civil society organisations received iLEGEND financial support to develop and implement their own Global Education initiatives, multiplying the project’s impact across national communities.
Finally, iLEGEND has helped extend the reach of Global Education Week. Originally a European campaign, GEW has increasingly attracted interest from non-European countries, expanding the network and reinforcing global ownership.
These results show how iLEGEND contributes to lasting change: empowered educators and youth, stronger cooperation between institutions and civil society, and a growing international movement committed to global citizenship and sustainable development.