Samenvatting

This paper is an explanatory study which seeks to understand what is happening in the European Union in the field of development education and to recognize possible problems posed to the subject. It observes the development education within the context of EU development policy, within the Non-Governmental Organisations' field, in EU political commitments and further in EU Member States and in school curricula.

The first chapter of this paper presents briefly the development policy of the European Union, the document that is the basis of this policy ("The Consensus on Development") and it moves to state the need of a different approach to development, one that entails awareness and action. The second chapter, takes us on the search for the (right) definition of development education. The following chapter starts with a presentation of recommendations made by governmental and non-governmental organisations in the favour of development education, continues with the introduction of the document that wishes to guide the development education within Europe ("The European Consensus on Development: the contribution of Development Education & Awareness Raising") and ends with a brief look into its future.The last chapter of this paper, "Current developments", is structured around three sections. The first section discusses the financial support offered by the European Union to development education activities. The second section presents the state of affaires within the Union's Member States. The final section gives us an overview of development education in the Member States' school curricula.