UNESCO Beirut, in cooperation with (KAICIID) and (APCEIU), organized on 1-2 October 2018 a regional seminar on “Integrating GCED and shared universal values in Teacher Training Programmes in the Arab States”, in Muscat-Oman. The meeting, which gathered 40 representatives of GCED-implementing institutions from the region, members of the GCED Network, and Deans/Professors of faculties of Education from different universities in the region, aimed at introducing participants to the GCED concepts and common human values; developing an action plan to include GCED in teacher training programmes; and launching the Arab E-Platform on GCED.

Commitment of actors around the world to promote Global Citizenship Education (GCED) has contributed highly in the development of GCED, including raising awareness and catalyzing action. Furthermore, this has led to the incorporation of GCED in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through Target 4.7 , which captures the clear call for an education that addresses the needs of the twenty-first century, empowering learners to act towards a more peaceful, just, inclusive and sustainable world. GCED reflects the aim of the education to go beyond just access and “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong opportunities for all”.

At the regional level, UNESCO Beirut Regional Bureau for Education has been actively working on promoting GCED with the aim of assisting education authorities in the development and implementation of GCED policies, learning content and practices. Since 2015, several regional advocacy and capacity building events have been organized and have already generated the interest of some member states to promote GCED at the national level. Capitalizing on this momentum with the goal to solidify global action on GCED, UNESCO Beirut in cooperation with King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID) and the Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding (APCEIU) under the auspices of UNESCO, organized on 1-2 October 2018 a regional seminar on “Integrating GCED and shared universal values in Teacher Training Programmes in the Arab States", in Muscat-Oman. 

The meeting, which gathered 40 representatives of GCED-implementing institutions from the region, members of the GCED Network, and Deans/Professors of faculties of Education from different universities in the region, aimed to: 

• Introduce participants to the GCED concepts and common human values; 
• Deepen the importance of GCED in the national teacher training programmes ; 
• Launch of the Arab E-Platform on GCED; - Share ideas and lesson learned on the issues of GCED; 
• Develop a workable joint action plan to include GCED in teacher training programmes. 

In the two-day event, in addition to general presentations about GCED, participants discussed in small working groups the contextualization of GCED concepts and their adaptation to local, national contexts. The meeting also provided an opportunity to discuss country updates and overview. At the end of the seminar, participants were able to: 

• Identify regional, sub-regional and country-level entry points for GCED and strategies 
• Mobilize country level teacher training programs in GCED and identify capacity building needs 
• Agree on expanding the activities of the Arab States Regional GCED Network and identification of partnership strategies, including follow-up plans and checklists for future reference