LIST OF WORKSHOPS

The objective of this workshop is to bring together the Lead Project Investigators (LPIs) of a recently launched 5-year research grant on SDG education and global citizenship so that they can share their work with international policy scholars working on SDGs and policy transfer. The workshop will be semi-closed, with one session for the LPIs, and possibly two others with invited papers.

While the workshop will focus on selected themes, it is anchored in a broader multidisciplinary project on SDGs and Education supported by the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF). The title of project is SDG Education and Global Citizenship in Qatar: Enhancing Qatar’s Nested Power in the Global Arena, and was launched in late 2021. The Cluster Director is Dr. M. Evren Tok of Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar (co-chair of the workshop). Leslie A. Pal (co-chair of the workshop) is one of the LPIs.

The practical and applied objective of project is to produce a creative space in the educational ecosystem in Qatar which is conducive to support, study, and implement SDGs education and practice. The theoretical and analytical objective of the project is to interrogate the theory and practice of SDG Education (SDGED) as a species of international policy transfer. The framing of SDGED within the climate crisis and sustainability, and the coupled framing of the climate crisis with eco-system and hence political instability, and the further coupling of these themes with peace and human rights and education, gives SGDED a remarkable force and momentum. The SDGs themselves (or Agenda 2030) were only adopted in 2015, but by 2019, UNESCO called attention to the importance of, and urgent need for, increased Global Citizenship Education (GCED), and framing this effort in the loftiest of terms. GCED was in response to the alarming rise in human rights violations, inequality, and poverty that threaten global peace and sustainability. GCED integrates the “principles, values and practices of sustainable development into all aspects of education,” to create a sense of belonging to a “common humanity”. In 2016, a UNESCO report argued that GCED “empowers learners to take informed decisions and responsible actions for environmental integrity, economic viability and a sustainable society, for present and future generations, while respecting cultural diversity”. GCED is positioned to build on the work of Peace and Human Rights Education to instill in learners the values, skills, attitudes and behaviors that support responsible global citizenship and urges learners to become agents of change in their communities, to face and resolve global challenges, to endorse cultural differences while preserving their national identity, and to live healthy and fulfilled lives.

The project is divided into eight sub-projects that examine existing initiatives, policies, knowledge, and curricula in Qatar and review global best-practices related to education and advancement of the SDGs. In its practical applications, it will work with students, teachers, administrative and leadership personnel, relevant government personnel, and schools to identify progress in advancing SDGED and GCED in Qatar.

This IWPP workshop focuses on a trio of theoretical and analytical themes that underpin the larger project: (1) SDGs as a “global public policy framework”, (2) the making of “global citizens via SDG Education, and what that means for policy making processes, and (3) policy transfer and the localization of knowledge models. This is admittedly ambitious for a single workshop, but the session with the project PIs will provide a foundation and a tour d’horizon, and the invited sessions can supplement and enrich the discussions.

The first theme of “global public policy” has been at the heart of numerous debates within various ICPP conferences (Stone, Making Global Policy [2020] provides a review of the literature), and drives discussions in the policy transfer field as well (see Hadjiisky, Pal, Walker (eds), Public Policy Transfer [2017]). There are numerous policy fields, from financial regulation to travel, transportation, and public health, that are “orchestrated” through networks of international organizations and national states. The orchestration may be uneven and at times inept but is clearly a key feature of modern public policy. But above and beyond this orchestration by policy fields is what we think of as “overarching policy frameworks” that super-charge global institutions and affect virtually every policy field at the national level. The two interconnected ones of interest here are the Paris Climate agreement and the SDGs. The combination of climate emergency, a vast and rapid consensus (at least rhetorically) on that crisis, and the coupling with the 17 SDGs has created a space of global policy discourse that frames planetary priorities as the necessary touchstone for domestic policy making.

“Making of global citizens via SDG Education” is the second, related theme of the workshop. UNESCO, cited above, illustrates the logic perfectly. All of humanity is threatened by the climate crisis, by inequality, by injustice, and by human rights violations and violence. Our common challenges should call forth our common humanity, and our stance should be one of global, not national, citizens. Education is an instrument to “make global citizens” since all of us have to be educated to the threats, and educated to the SDGs as a common, global aspiration. UNESCO hedges its language by “endorsing cultural differences” and “preserving national identity”, but the larger agenda of identity formation is unmistakable.

The third theme is policy transfer and knowledge localization through global policy frameworks like the SDGs and specific initiatives like SDGED and GCED. The policy transfer literature has tended to focus on the transfer of policy frameworks and policy instruments, models, and standards, and less on the more granular transfer and localization of what we will call “knowledge models”. These are conveyances of both information and knowledge frameworks that shape the attitudes and perceptions of ordinary citizens. SDGED “empowers” learners and encourages them to become “agents of change”. A leading example of this effort is the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), formed under the auspices of the UN and directed by Jeffrey Sachs. The SDSN has a Global Academy, which has developed lesson plans and learning models and other resources on the SDGs in multiple languages for K through 12.

The three themes form a rich backdrop to a set of research question and hypotheses that will  animate the workshop. Among them are:

1.     How do the SDGs illustrate the features of “global public policy” frameworks? Are there similar frameworks of the same scope and depth? How are global policy frameworks promoted and implemented?

2.     To what extent do global policy frameworks try to shape and make “global citizens”? Is this a necessary feature of such frameworks, or only some? What are the implications for domestic policy making in this type of identity formation? Are “global citizens” less oriented to national priorities, and is that the intent?

3.     Has the policy transfer literature neglected the transfer of knowledge and information, and its localization, particularly in educational fields? Are there particular types of knowledge localization that are less technical (e.g., as would be the transfer of professional skills and standards) and more overtly political (aiming at identity formation), and what are the implications?

The closed workshop session will have papers by six PIs, reflecting on these themes. Some of the papers will use Qatar as a case study. The general call will hopefully attract papers on the same general themes, but with different comparative cases, thereby enriching the empirical and theoretical debate.

Presenter 1: Muhammed Kebbeh and Leslie A. Pal

Title: Mapping Global SDGED Practices as Models of Policy Transfer

Presenter 2: Dr Tasneem Amantullah

Title: Mapping the status of SDGED policy and practices in Qatar

Presenter 3: Dr Michael Romanowski

Title: SDGED in Primary & Secondary Schools in Qatar: Citizenship Formation

Presenter 4: Dr. Eugenie Samier

Title: Embedding GCED and SDGED with Integrative Ethical Education (IEE) Framework

Presenter 5: Dr Jennifer Bruder

Title: Sustainability Literacy and Awareness of SDGs

Presenter 6: Dr Evren Tok and Dr. Duygu Sever

Title: Spaces of SDG in Qatar: Putting Research into Action

The workshop is interested in contributions on SDG education as an example of globally developed policy frameworks that are supported and sustained at the international level by a variety of government and non-governmental actors, and which transfer or localize knowledge models and products in order to encourage “global citizenship”. The workshop will address the following questions, among others: How do the SDGs illustrate the features of “global public policy” frameworks? Are there similar frameworks of the same scope and depth? How are global policy frameworks promoted and implemented?  To what extent do global policy frameworks try to shape and make “global citizens”? Is this a necessary feature of such frameworks, or only some? What are the implications for domestic policy making in this type of identity formation? Are “global citizens” less oriented to national priorities, and is that the intent? Has the policy transfer literature neglected the transfer of knowledge and information, and its localization, particularly in educational fields? Are there particular types of knowledge localization that are less technical (e.g., as would be the transfer of professional skills and standards) and more overtly political (aiming at identity formation), and what are the implications?

Proposals can focus on any one of these questions, as long as there is a connection to the SDGs. From the perspective of theoretical contributions, the workshop invites reflections on global policy making, policy transfer, social networks, identity formation, policy entrepreneurship, transnational networks, among others. Country case studies of transfers of models of SDG education are also welcome.

The workshop will focus on selected and specific themes, but is anchored in a broader multidisciplinary project entitled SDG Education and Global Citizenship in Qatar: Enhancing Qatar’s Nested Power in the Global Arena. In 2019, UNESCO called attention to the importance of and urgent need for increased Global Citizenship Education (GCED). GCED includes the “principles, values and practices of sustainable development into all aspects of education,” and learning to create a sense of belonging to a common humanity. This IWPP workshop focuses on a trio of theoretical and analytical themes that underpin the larger project: (1) SDGs as a “global public policy framework”, (2) the making of “global citizens”, and what that means for policy making, and (3) policy transfer and the localization of knowledge models. The first theme of “global public policy” has been at the heart of numerous debates within various ICPP conferences. Above and beyond the usual global orchestration of policy fields is what we think of as “overarching policy frameworks” that super-charge global institutions and affect virtually every policy field at the national level. The two interconnected ones of interest here are the Paris Climate agreement and the SDGs. The combination of climate emergency, a vast and rapid consensus (at least rhetorically) on that crisis, and the coupling with the 17 SDGs has created a space of global policy discourse that frames planetary priorities as the necessary touchstone for domestic policy making. “Making of global citizens” is the second, related theme of the workshop. All of humanity is threatened by the climate crisis, by inequality, by injustice, and by human rights violations and violence. Our common challenges should call forth our common humanity, and our stance should be one of global, not national, citizens. The third theme is policy transfer and knowledge localization through global policy frameworks like the SDGs and specific initiatives like SDGED and GCED.

Leslie A. Pal is Founding Dean of the College of Public Policy at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar. He is the author, co-author or editor of over thirty books, the most recent of which are The Future of the Policy Sciences (2021), ­­Global Governance and Muslim Organizations (2019), Policy Transfer: Micro-Dynamics and Macro-Effects (2017), Policy Making in a Transformative State: The Case of Qatar (2016), Frontiers of Governance: The OECD and Global Public Management Reform (2012), and Beyond Policy Analysis: Public Issue Management in Turbulent Times (6th edition, 2020). He has published over ninety articles and book chapters in a wide variety of areas of public policy and administration, and international public management reform. His articles have appeared in the journals Governance, Policy Sciences, Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis, Canadian Political Science Review, Political Studies Review, and Policy and Society. He was the Executive Editor of the Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis from 2015-2020, and is currently a member of the editorial boards of the International Review of Public Policy and the Journal of Economic Policy Reform. In January 2020 he was elected as one of the Vice-Presidents of the International Public Policy Association.

Dr. M. Evren Tok is Associate Professor and Assistant Dean for Innovation and Community Advancement, Program Coordinator for Islam and Global Affairs Program at College of Islamic Studies, Hamad Bin Khalifa University. Dr. Tok also acts as the regional coordinator for the Executive Master’s Program (Development Policies and Practices) jointly offered by Graduate Institute of Geneva and Hamad Bin Khalifa University). He is the co-editor of Policy Making in a Transformative State: The Case of Qatar, published by Palgrave MacMillan, 2016. His recent publications Global Governance and Muslim Organizations published by Palgrave MacMillan and Innovating South-South Cooperation by University of Ottawa Press in 2020. He is the director of a QNRF funded cluster (2021-2026) entitled “SDG Education and Global Citizenship in Qatar”. He is the Lead Project Investigator for Qatar National Research Fund Priority Program for 3 years on “Localizing Entrepreneurship Education in Qatar”. He is the founder of the maker space entitled Maker Majlis: Islam in a Global World, which received Qatar Sustainability Award under Best University Initiative in 2020. His recent publications include Evren Tok, Muammer Koç, Cristina D'Alessandro (2021), Entrepreneurship in a transformative and resource-rich state: The case of Qatar, The Extractive Industries and Society, Volume 8, Issue 2; Tok, E. The Gulf Cooperation Council states: Crystallization of the regional cooperation and alliances amid dwindling resources. Digest of Middle East Studies. 2021; 30 and Muslehuddin Musab Mohammed, M Evren Tok, Syed Nazim Ali (2020), The Potential of Islamic Finance in Reinforcing and Regaining Economic Stability in Qatar, Journal of Economic Cooperation and Development, Vol 41, Issue 4.