Global Issues Courses

This intro session sets the scene for the Global Issues Courses by introducing participants to the big questions shaping our world today. This opening workshop explores what we mean by “global issues” and why they matter, encouraging students to look beyond headlines and personal perspectives to understand our shared global context. Through discussion and reflection, participants begin to examine interconnected challenges such as inequality, justice, and responsibility, while considering their own values and role in an increasingly complex and unequal world.

Right now, a future in which people and nature thrive can feel difficult to imagine. But what about all the times the environmental movement has fought for people and planet, and ... has won?

Giving up is not an option. In this session, we'll explore world-wide efforts to curb emissions, reimagine economy and society, and restore the human-nature connection. We’ll take inspiration from ordinary people actively building a better future. Finally, we'll look at ways you can protect your wellbeing in this fulfilling but challenging space.

Wins inspire wins, and so much is being achieved at the grassroots level that we're forced to ask ... what if it's never too late?

Irene Ní Shúilleabháin

Irene Ní Shúilleabháin is an ecologist and environmental educator with experience across the NGO, third-level and consultancy sectors. She engages people of diverse backgrounds and ages in proactive, solution-focused workshops on environmental themes. As an ecologist, Irene works to enhance opportunities for nature. She is passionate about collaborating with others to create a just, equitable and nature-rich world.

Anyone else got a sneaking suspicion that our economic set-up- the way we get hold of and share “stuff”- mainly serves a select few? This workshop unpacks those often-used words- capitalism, neoliberalism, colonialism- to explore who wins, who loses, and how this shapes the world we live in. We’ll imagine alternatives together, exploring ideas like degrowth and doughnut economics that dare to put people and the earth before profits. 

Vicky Donnelly

Vicky is the Education and Outreach worker with Financial Justice Ireland. She has over 20 years of experience in designing and delivering critical Global Education and anti-racism programs, working in schools, colleges and universities, and with service-providers, and youth and community groups around the country. During this time she has taken a particular interest in creative, participant-centered, and participatory methodologies, and experiential learning. Vicky's approach is informed by a range of thinkers and activists, anti-racism and decolonising perspectives, and pedagogies of hope. Her work is driven by an addiction to optimism, a stubborn belief that 'another world' is indeed possible, and profound faith in the power of collective solidarity action for change. 

History often tells us that colonialism ended in the twentieth century.  Flags changed, borders shifted- but, for many of these newly ‘sovereign’ countries sublte and insidious forms of foreign control cnotinued and continue to exist. This engaging workshop uses creative and visual methods to explore how neo-colonial power operates in the Global South through corporations, resource extraction, and modern imperial agendas. Drawing on case studies such as Palestine and the Congo, participants will examine how colonial systems persist beyond formal independence and how we might begin to recognise them. The session invites critical reflection on what it means to view the world - both locally and globally- through a decolonial lens, and how this understanding can help build meaningful global solidarity.

Aleesha Wiegandt 

Aleesha is a creative facilitator, Global Citizenship Educator, multi-disciplinary/socially-engaged artist and activist. For over a decade, Aleesha has been spinning the threads of community-building, global justice and advocacy work. Following her initial studies in politics, she has worked in predominantly youth-specific settings, creating spaces for raising consciousness about global inequality and forging pathways to empower those she works with to take action. Aleesha is the co-founder of Pleasure Activism Ireland, founder of Colláis Chorcaí and deeply passionate about zines as a tool of liberation. 

This hands-on workshop invites participants to explore what it really takes to build a fairer, more sustainable world. Through an engaging and interactive experience, students will develop a deeper understanding of complex global issues in an accessible way, while discovering their own capacity to make a difference. The session encourages collaboration, sparks curiosity, and builds confidence to take meaningful action, offering insight, energy, and “aha” moments as participants experiment with the future and explore what’s possible when we work together.

David Nyaluke 

David is the Education for Sustainable Development officer at University College Cork (UCC), where he works at the Centre for Integration of Research in Teaching and Learning.

David got his PhD from Dublin City University with research on the trajectories of political and socio-economic development of African states having begun his academic journey from Tanzania at the University of Dar es Salaam and several European universities both in East and Western Europe.

Currently, a trained and certified facilitator of SDG 2030 Game, David facilitates the game to ignite deeper conversations on and about SDGs and sustainability.

In the African (Afro) Irish community David is currently the co-chair of the National Steering Committee for United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent 2015-2024 and 2024-2034 (UNIDPAD) in Ireland and serves in the advisory board of Proudly Made in Africa and African Scholars Association of Ireland.

The final session will be dedicated to learning, sharing, and dreaming together about more just and hopeful futures. “Imagining Better” will invite participants to reflect on what they’d learned, draw from their personal stories and experiences, and consider how imagination can be a powerful tool in addressing social and global issues. It will be a space of connection, creativity, and forward-thinking energy, planting seeds for future action.

This interactive session invites students to explore the intersections of racism, xenophobia, and anti-racism through the lens of Irish identity and global solidarity. Drawing on personal reflection, group dialogue, and critical frameworks, participants will unpack how racism shows up in everyday life—not just in overt acts, but in the subtle, systemic ways it’s embedded in institutions, language, and culture. 

It challenges the myth of cultural exceptionalism and invites participants to confront the contradictions between national identity and racial justice. Through guided discussion and practical tools, students will leave with a deeper understanding of what it means to be an active ally and how to apply anti-racist principles in their academic, social, and professional lives. 

Malissa Bosch

Melissa Bosch is a social justice strategist who turns theory into action. With a background in equity, inclusion and belonging and deep roots in community engagement, she’s led powerful workshops across multinational organisations, NGOs, and grassroots movements—challenging learners  to move beyond performative allyship and step into real accountability. 

 Melissa’s sessions are known for their honesty, warmth, and refusal to shy away from uncomfortable truths. She believes anti-racism isn’t a destination—it’s a daily practice. In Ireland, where histories of colonisation and migration intersect, Melissa calls on the next generation to confront racism with courage, conviction and compassion. Whether you're new to social justice or ready to deepen your impact, Melissa’s work invites you to show up, speak out, and stay committed.