Arts and Storytelling for Social Justice 

These projects use drama, performance and craft to connect personal and community experience to wider social and global issues. 

Threads: Global Citizenship Education Through Drama 

A community drama group in Dublin’s north inner city spent six months connecting local issues of poverty and social disintegration to global concerns inspired by the UN’s SDGs, including the war in Ukraine. The group wrote, produced and performed their play Threads at The New Theatre in March 2023, later recording it as a radio play. 

WCI Ronanstown Drama Group 

A women’s community drama project using theatre to raise awareness of Article 41.2 of the Irish Constitution ahead of its planned referendum. Through acting, writing, directing and producing, participants built confidence and skills while giving voice to women’s stories in a Community Art Activism Performance. 

The Forgotten Women Project, from Gorey to Antarctica 

Learners from Gorey Women’s Quilting created a quilt honouring overlooked Irish and Anglo-Irish women scientists, guided by WWETB tutor Mary Walsh. The quilt travelled to Antarctica with scientist Dr Niamh Shaw as part of the Homeward Bound leadership programme, linking community learning to global climate awareness. 

International Exchange and Global Learning 

These initiatives connect Irish adult learners directly with peers abroad, building understanding of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals through shared experience. 

Two Learning Cities – Communities and Students Working Together to Achieve Common SDG Goals 

Cork adult learners partnered with Erasmus+ partner Noorderpoort College in Groningen, the Netherlands, to explore the UN’s 17 SDGs together, exchanging students for three weeks between the two cities. The project connected classroom learning with local community action, engaging Cork’s Learning City and Learning Neighbourhoods initiatives along the way. 

Roots & Horizons – Global Citizenship through Erasmus+ (Cork ETB) 

Cork ETB’s Adult Education Service brought 14 adult learners from horticulture and wellbeing programmes on an Erasmus+ exchange to Groningen. The five-day trip combined biodiversity, food growing and mindfulness workshops, giving many participants their first experience of international travel and inspiring wider conversations on embedding sustainability across Cork ETB’s programmes.

Start Your Nomination Today 

I hope this gives you a sense of the Global Citizenship Education category. If you are unsure if your project will fit in this category know that we have five other categories. Visit the other blogs in this series to hear about other STAR Awards nominees from 2024-2026. 

Reach out to me at bdesmond@aontas.com if you’ve any questions or technical issues nominating for STAR Awards. 

The closing date for receipt of nominations for STAR Awards 2027 is 30th October 2026 at 5pm.