What Global Education Network Europe (GENE) does

Global Education Network Europe (GENE) is a Dublin-headquartered, Netherlands-registered non-profit intergovernmental network founded in June 2001 that convenes nearly 60 ministries, agencies, and other national bodies from over 25 European countries responsible for Global Education policy, funding, and provision. Its core activities are Peer Reviews of national Global Education policies, regular Roundtables (the 54th held in Prague in April 2026), the biennial State of Global Education in Europe report, the Global Education Youth Awards (€53,000 disbursed across 14 organisations in 2024), and policy learning programs including the Dublin Declaration on Global Education to 2050 adopted at the November 2022 Dublin Congress.

GENE operates as a policy learning and knowledge-sharing platform rather than a software product. Its underlying technology consists of a website (www.gene.eu), a dedicated Knowledge Platform (knowledge.gene.eu), webinars, and online publications supporting its endogenous Policy Learning Methodology and Peer Review Process. The secretariat is small (9 employees), and the model depends on direct engagement with national policymakers, supplemented by partnerships with the European Commission, UNESCO, OECD, ANGEL, CONCORD Europe, PLATFORMA, and major European universities.

GENE is funded through membership contributions from participating ministries and agencies, together with European Commission co-funding. It does not sell commercial products or services and does not disclose pricing. Its go-to-market is event-driven: high-level political convenings, peer review processes, webinars, and publications aligned with EU Council Presidency cycles (Cyprus 2026, Ireland 2026) and the upcoming EU Multiannual Financial Framework.

Name

Global Education Network Europe (GENE)

Legal name

Global Education Network Europe (GENE)

Website

https://gene.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Global Education Network Europe (GENE) is a Dublin-based non-profit intergovernmental network, founded in 2001, that convenes nearly 60 ministries and agencies from 25+ European countries to enable policy learning, peer review, and cooperation on Global Education.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Dublin

HQ country

Ireland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Contributions: Funding from ministries and agencies that participate in GENE's network, providing financial support for network operations, publications, and activities.
2. European Commission Co-funding: Financial support from the European Union through co-funding arrangements, as acknowledged on the website footer.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

GENE is an intergovernmental network that convenes European ministries and agencies responsible for Global Education to facilitate policy learning, peer review, and cooperation. It delivers Peer Reviews of national Global Education policies, regular Roundtables (54 held since 2001), the biennial State of Global Education in Europe publication, Policy Briefings, the Dublin Declaration to 2050 framework, and the Global Education Youth Awards. Services are provided to its membership of nearly 60 ministries and agencies across 25+ European countries.

Product overview

GENE operates as a network organization rather than a software product. Its core offerings include Peer Reviews of Global Education in member countries, regular Roundtable conferences for policy exchange, the State of Global Education (SOGE) biennial publication series, Global Education Youth Awards recognizing quality initiatives, and the Dublin Declaration (GE2050) policy framework adopted in 2022. These services collectively support policy learning, cooperation, and exchange among ministries and agencies with national responsibility for Global Education across Europe.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Peer Reviews Systematic peer review of Global Education policy and practice in member countries, providing observations and recommendations to help national actors improve and increase Global Education provision. Targeted at ministries and agencies that participate in GENE.
• GENE Roundtables Regular convenings (54 held to date, with the 54th in Prague in April 2026) that bring together ministries and agencies from across Europe to exchange, learn, and strengthen cooperation on Global Education policy and practice.
• State of Global Education (SOGE) in Europe Biennial publication reporting on policy, strategy, and funding for Global Education in Europe, based primarily on information submitted by the ministries, agencies and national coordinating bodies that participate in GENE.
• Global Education Youth Awards

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 50 ministries and agencies from 25+ countries now participate in the network, up from 6 countries in 2001.
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• European CommissioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 November 2022The European Commission co-funded the Dublin Congress on Global Education to 2050 and provides ongoing co-funding for GENE's website and activities. GENE works with DG INTPA on Global Education policy and EU initiatives such as Global Gateway and Youth Action Plan.
• ANGEL - Academic Network on Global Education and LearningcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGENE partners with ANGEL for research-policy connections. ANGEL co-organised the Dublin Congress, contributes research perspective to GENE's declaration process, and jointly launched the ANGEL-GENE Research to Policy Webinar Series 2026.
• University of BolognasecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of Bologna partnered with ANGEL and GENE to host the ANGEL Conference 2026 in Bologna, bringing together researchers, policymakers, and practitioners.
• UCL Institute of EducationsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the ANGEL network and co-organiser of ANGEL Conference 2025 in Berlin alongside GENE, German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Engagement Global, and Bamberg University.
• PLATFORMA - European Coalition of Towns and Regions for DevelopmentsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerGENE partnered with PLATFORMA to engage Local and Regional Governments in the Dublin Declaration process and to create links with local and regional Global Education, developing partnerships and mechanisms of mutual interest.
• CONCORD EuropesecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerGENE cooperated with CONCORD Europe to engage civil society organisations in the Dublin Declaration process, involving networks of networks and thematic umbrella networks.
• Global Education Time (GET) Project ConsortiumsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerGENE contributes to the GET project which examines how Global Citizenship Education is reflected in policy and practice across 8 European countries, presenting comparative research findings.
• BeGlobalsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerGENE and BeGlobal jointly invite organisations to participate in research initiatives on 'Leave No One Behind' in Global Education, exploring equitable access and engagement for underrepresented groups.
• HAND - International Civilian Association for Humanitarian and DevelopmentsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerHAND organised the international conference 'Shaping Tomorrow through Global Education' in partnership with GENE, the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe, and CONCORD Europe.
• OECDsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerGENE contributed a chapter to the OECD Development Co-operation Report 2024 on public opinion research, public support, public engagement and the need for global education.
• UNESCOcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGENE works with UNESCO in dialogue at international level, contributing to and referencing international policy frameworks including the 2023 UNESCO Recommendation on Education for Peace, Human Rights and Sustainable Development.
• Bamberg UniversitysecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in co-organising the ANGEL Conference 2025 in Berlin alongside GENE, German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Engagement Global, and UCL Institute of Education.
• Engagement GlobalsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in co-organising the ANGEL Conference 2025 in Berlin alongside GENE, German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Bamberg University, and UCL Institute of Education.
• NISSEM - Narrative, Inquiry and Social Justice in Education MaterialssecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerGENE co-published and co-launched with NISSEM and ANGEL the open-access volume 'Global Education for a Better and More Resilient World' in the NISSEM Global Briefs series.
• EERA - European Educational Research AssociationsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerGENE-EERA partnership producing the Global Education Award and related activities in the European educational research community.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Global Campaign for Education (GCE): Global civil society movement pushing for the right to education and Global Citizenship Education. Operates a parallel advocacy-and-policy-learning model in the same Global Education space, with overlapping member coalitions in Europe.
• PLATFORMA — European Coalition of Towns and Regions for Development: European coalition representing local and regional governments in development policy. GENE is an active partner of PLATFORMA in the Dublin Declaration process, making it a directly comparable sub-national European network on related themes.
• ANGEL (Academic Network on Global Education and Learning): European academic research network on Global Education and Learning. Active partner of GENE (joint ANGEL-GENE Research to Policy Webinar Series 2026, co-organisation of ANGEL Conference 2025/2026), serving the research-policy bridge role GENE depends on.
• North-South Centre of the Council of Europe: Intergovernmental European body promoting global citizenship and intercultural education. Highly comparable to GENE: nearly identical mission on Global Education in Europe, joint conference activity (e.g., 'Shaping Tomorrow through Global Education' with HAND), and overlapping ministerial membership base.
• CONCORD Europe: European confederation of NGOs and national development cooperation platforms. Operates as a similar network-of-networks model engaging European institutions on development policy, with which GENE co-engages civil society in the Dublin Declaration process.
• NORRAG (Network for International Policy Research on Education): International network based in Geneva that links researchers, policymakers, and practitioners on education policy. Highly comparable to GENE in mandate (international policy learning on education) and operating model (a small secretariat convening a multi-stakeholder network).
• DVV International (Institute for International Cooperation of the German Adult Education Association): German-based organisation for adult education and development/global learning worldwide. Operates in the same Global Education / Development Education space with national coordinators across dozens of countries — comparable member-network footprint to GENE.

Broad incumbents

• OECD Directorate for Education and Skills: OECD directorate producing PISA and policy analysis on education systems. GENE contributed a chapter to the OECD Development Co-operation Report 2024 and references PISA 2018 Global Competencies; OECD is a broader, well-resourced incumbent whose outputs shape the same European policy conversation GENE convenes.
• UNESCO Associated Schools Network (ASPnet): Global UNESCO network of thousands of schools, teachers, and institutions working on Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship. Overlaps with GENE's mission at a global, classroom-implementation scale, providing a complementary broader-incumbent counterpart to GENE's ministry-level convening role.

Emerging players

• Eurodesk: European youth information network linking multiplicators across 38 European countries to promote mobility and youth opportunities. Comparable as a small-secretariat, Europe-wide member-network serving youth-adjacent policy learning, though focused on mobility rather than Global Education.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gene_globaled

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Global Education Network Europe (GENE)