These annual conferences have been organised by the Institute for Global Ethics UK Trust since 2000, with funding support from the Gordon Cook Foundation.  Targeted at practitioners, policy makers, curriculum planners, the inspectorate, NGOs and more recently young people from within the formal and non-formal education, each country has taken turns in ‘hosting’ the annual event, planning the agenda and ‘showcasing’ the work of their respective education system.

Between 2003 and 2007, funding was secured from the Department for Education and Skills (England), Curriculum Development Unit and the Department of Education and Science (Republic of Ireland), Department of Education and CCEA (Northern Ireland), Learning and Teaching Scotland (Scotland) and the Welsh Assembly Government (Wales) to enable a number of representatives from each jurisdiction to attend the series of conferences.

In 2008, a planning group embarked on a new strategy. It is intended to work more closely together on:

• Planning all future annual conferences

• Commissioning new research

• Encouraging more inter country collaboration and the development of new joint projects