CICED was recreated on d. 18-11-2010. Not in any religious sense, just more down-to-earth. We established a new framework for our engagements and embarked on new partnerships.

Until that day in November 2010, CICED had been a so-called knowledge center and anchored in various Danish university environments. Different because the years since the first establishment in 1992 at the Royal Danish School of Educational Studies (now the School of Education of Aarhus University) have been characterized by one institutional reorganization and merger after another. In those years, CICED was a key partner in DANIDA’s large-scale education programs in Mongolia, Eritrea and Nepal, as well as in many small and medium-sized projects.

In the years from 2001 until version 2, now as a civil society organization in 2010, CICED was also the international department of CVU Copenhagen-Nordsjælland, which after several mergers has ended up being today’s University College Copenhagen.

By 2010, interest at CICED’s home institution in working with partners in the Global South had dwindled dramatically, but a number of people who had been involved since 1992 still had plenty of energy and enthusiasm for more. That’s why we changed the meaning of the first C – for Center – in CICED to Community for International Cooperation in Education and Development.

Then, as now, our ambition is really quite simple. About the purpose of CICED, the statutes say this:

• We must work for better preschool, school and education for children and young people in low- and middle-income countries
• We must support the development of active civil societies in low- and middle-income countries and education must play a central role

By 2030, CICED is committed to contribute to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, in particular: 1. end poverty; 3. health; 4. quality education; 10. less inequality; 13. climate action; and 17. partnerships for action.

Climate change and climate adaptation are in the spotlight these days for good reason. Therefore, CICED also strengthens its capacity to be a relevant and competent partner in climate adaptation efforts. However, we maintain that SDG 1 – ERADICATE POVERTY – remains the primary objective of development work. And that #4 – Quality Education – is a crucial factor in the fight against poverty.