Today, we are faced with a range of interconnected challenges, from growing social inequalities and unacceptable economic conditions to the normalization of violence, the impact of climate change, and the deterioration of mental health and socio-emotional resilience. War and militarism remain rampant, while support of basic liberties and democratic institutions erodes. “We face an existential choice” of whether to “continue on an unsustainable path or radically change course”, to borrow the landmark report from the international commission on the Futures of Education (UNESCO 2021). In the same vein, the UN Secretary-General calls for our solidarity to carry out “our common agenda”, reminding us that we are at a critical juncture to make our choice, or fail to make, which “could result in breakdown or a breakthrough to a greener, better, safer future.” (UN 2021)

While education alone cannot bring about the deep-set changes, we seek it entails a pivotal location in the social world where individuals and communities can develop their capacities to help foment change. With this conviction in mind, advocates of Global Citizenship Education and its related education initiatives have been working tirelessly to create an education field that enables all citizens to “break through” the shared challenges. These efforts are currently positioned under the banner of “transformative education.”

Despite the spread of diverse GCED policies, there are many questions in the field of practice: How can these interconnected issues and urgent concerns be translated or converted into curricular content and pedagogical practice without overwhelming educators and learners? How can we effectively materialize the multidimensional and interdisciplinary nature of GCED? How can we shift from a technical approach to GCED ‘competences’ to a more holistic one? What kinds of tools do we need to ensure that GCED contributes to transformative learning and critical empowerment?

The 9th International Conference on GCED (9th IConGCED) will invite concerned and committed scholars, policy-makers, and practitioners in GCED to discuss and explore such issues and share experiences, lessons learnt, and good practices. In particular, it will shed renewed light on the multidimensionality and interdisciplinarity of GCED as well as issues of practicality and possibility, especially through the integration and re-articulation of GCED competences in innovative curricular content and pedagogical practices.