Irish Aid Global Citizenship Education Grants 2026 - open for applications

Minister of State for International Development and Diaspora, Neale Richmond TD, today launched the Irish Aid Global Citizenship Education (GCE) grant application process for 2026.

Irish Aid’s GCE grants support organisations to build awareness and understanding of the rapidly changing, inter-dependant and unequal world in which we live, and encourage individual and collective action by people of all ages. Grants are available to a range of organisations, including those working in schools, third level institutes, youth organisations and in the adult and community sector in Ireland.

The Global Citizenship Education grant scheme is a competitive process that provides grants of between €10,000 and €180,000 of one, two or three years in duration. It includes the Innovation Challenge Fund, which supports initiatives designed to reach new audiences, or which pioneer fresh approaches to Global Citizenship Education, including the use of new technologies.

Minister Richmond is urging Irish organisations working on Global Citizenship Education to apply for funding:

The world faces enormous challenges in the years ahead Global Citizenship Education aims to build awareness and understanding of global development issues among the Irish public to act, individually and collectively to help build a better world.

I encourage all non-profit groups interested in promoting Global Citizenship to apply for support through the GCE scheme. Teaching people about the challenges facing our world, and the roles played by Ireland, the UN, and the importance of a rules based order in addressing those challenges must start at early years and primary school level and should be lifelong.

36 organisations across Ireland were funded under the scheme in the course of 2025.

The call for proposals for the grant process opens today and the closing date for receipt of Application Forms is 28/11/2025.

More information on how to apply for funding is available here.

Outcome of the Global Citizenship Education Strategy
Increased reach, accessibility, quality and effectiveness of Global Citizenship Education in Ireland