Interview with Ditta Trindade

Ditta Trindade Dolejšiová is an expert in global education and leads the Support and

Innovation section at GENE (Global Education Network Europe), an organization that brings

together ministries and agencies from various European countries to strengthen global

education strategies.

In an interview, she revealed that her life journey is closely connected to multiple countries.

She was born in Bratislava but spent her childhood in Algeria, where her father worked as an

urban planner after an earthquake in the city of Chlef. She grew up in a multicultural

environment and experienced different education systems—she was taught at home by her

parents, secretly attended a French school, and later had to adapt to the socialist education

system upon returning to Slovakia. She studied in Prague and Amsterdam, worked in

Portugal, and spent nine years in Brazil. This diverse experience taught her to view the world

from multiple perspectives and to find connections between global challenges and local

solutions.

Her professional path has been focused on working with youth and global education from an

early age. She participated in Council of Europe campaigns against racism and xenophobia,

worked for Forum 2000, and organized international youth meetings. She has long been

dedicated to connecting young people, developing their soft skills, and engaging them in

solving global issues.

Ditta explains that global education can be described in many ways, but her favourite

definition comes from the Dublin Declaration:

"Global education is education that touches us, opens our minds, eyes, and perspectives on the world. At the same time, it opens our hearts to diversity and helps us understand different realities."

According to her, global education is not just about information—it is a transformative

process that combines critical thinking with empathy. It helps people realize how their lives

are interconnected with global events. She also emphasizes the importance of collective

action—teaching people that their decisions can contribute to solving global challenges such as the climate crisis, social inequality, and disinformation. Key aspects include learning

through experience, connecting theory with practice, and fostering collaboration among

young people. She sees great potential in schools that promote interdisciplinary education,

critical thinking, and community engagement.

In Slovakia, she strives to support ministries in developing global education strategies and

integrating them into both formal and non-formal education systems. Since 2016, she has

been working to implement a new national strategy for global education in Slovakia, and

although the process is slow, she believes that significant progress will be made this year.

Ditta is also working to ensure that global education reaches schools—from preschools to

universities—and that teachers and future educators receive proper training in this field.

The whole interview with Ditta is available at https://ciernalabut.dennikn.sk/13261/je-

dolezite-prepojit-mladych-aby-spolupracovali-aj-napriek-rozdielnym-nazorom-hovori-

odbornicka-na-globalne-vzdelavanie/