Development Education plays a vital role in SERVE’s Volunteering and Immersion Programmes.  Development Education is mainstreamed throughout the programme. All participants take part in seminars and workshops before, during, and after the placement.

SERVE have always strived to provide an experience that is more involved than the physical acts of construction work or running programmes.  SERVE believes that if you are privileged enough to be able to travel to work with the various partner organisations that you ought to learn something about the underlying issues of the place, and start to critique your own actions and contribution to global inequality. Having a first-hand educational experience in a country in the Global South should inspire you to create change at home, and live a life in solidarity with the people, communities and projects with which you worked.

1. SERVE believe that development education has a critical role to play in increasing awareness and understanding of the rapidly changing,interdependent and unequal world in which we live.
2. SERVE is committed to informing people, especially young people of the causes and realities of poverty with an explicit focus on developing countries.
3. We are able to achieve this by:

Training volunteers to have both the strategies, techniques and capacity to make presentations in schools, colleges, parishes, communities and workplaces. SERVE estimate close to 8,000 annually benefit from these presentations.

The Sustainable Development Goals:

GOAL 1: No Poverty

GOAL 2: Zero Hunger

GOAL 3: Good Health and Well-being

GOAL 4: Quality Education

GOAL 5: Gender Equality

GOAL 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

GOAL 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

GOAL 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

GOAL 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

GOAL 10: Reduced Inequality

GOAL 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

GOAL 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

GOAL 13: Climate Action

GOAL 14: Life Below Water

GOAL 15: Life on Land

GOAL 16: Peace and Justice Strong Institutions

GOAL 17: Partnerships to achieve the Goal

• SERVE supports the SDGs by supporting partners who are involved in education, healthcare and promoting gender equality.
• SERVE’s annual Flip Flop Appeal event supports SDG#5, promoting gender equality and empowering women.  Through Flip Flop Friday, SERVE  is successfully working towards achieving this goal with our partner The Regina Centre, Nong-Khai. Thailand.
• For further reading on development education check out www.developmenteducation.ie, www.ideaonline.ie, and www.comhlamh.org