Penn State, Galway partner on empathy and engaged youth citizenship

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State recently held a seminar titled "Empathy and Engaged Youth Citizenship: What it Means and Why it Matters," presented by international visiting scholars Pat Dolan, professor and UNESCO Chair Emeritus at the University of Galway in Ireland, and Sean Campbell, CEO of Foroige, the largest youth development organization in Ireland.

Mark Brennan, professor and UNESCO Chair on Global Citizenship Education for Sustainable Peace through Youth and Community Engagement at Penn State, hosted the event, with co-sponsorship by the Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Center; the Education, Development and Community Engagement Program in the College of Agricultural Sciences; the Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness; and Penn State Global. The seminar provided a follow-up to the Acting with Empathy event in Dublin earlier this year.

The seminar’s goal was to highlight the relationship between proven models of youth engaged empathy education leading to the enablement of greater prosocial behaviors and its actual implementation across self, family, school, community and society. Dolan and Campbell discussed the essence of activated empathy and kindness by youth for others as an enabler of self-resilience and social support enlistment and overall positive youth development. Campbell also presented on implementation models from youth mentoring to youth leadership curricula that have been developed and tested as proven models in Ireland.  

The speakers stated their focus on the fledgling model to develop a UNESCO Empathy and Engaged Citizenship Observatory currently under design as a future framework for a better world for youth and civic society.

 “The good news is that empathy and compassion is a practice that can be learned at any stage in life and a common denominator for humanity, and it is there for us all,” Dolan said. “It is really all about not just walking in the others shoes and trying ‘to feel what they feel,’ but seeking to understand and connect. So, we would argue that for the good and future of society a social empathy revolution is needed and can start with the education of, with, by and for youth.”

For Dolan, a longtime partner with multiple Penn State programs, this was a homecoming to a campus where he spent time as a Fulbright Scholar in 2021. Given the strong support by Dolan and Brennan at Penn State, the event underlined the close relationship between Penn State and the University of Galway. The two universities have collaborated in various academic and research areas since the 1960s. Interactions have included joint projects in agricultural sciences, rural sociology and nursing — and increasingly in other areas, such as law, engineering, business, libraries and sustainability. A memorandum of understanding was signed in 2024. 

There has been an active engagement of a large number of faculty and the Global Galway and Penn State Global Partnerships units. To further the strategic partnership, the two global offices established a joint steering committee consisting of faculty and global office staff, who serve in an advisory role to help identify strategic collaborative opportunities for the two institutions and capitalize on connections throughout the universities. 

“The steering committee members’ deep knowledge, understanding and connections are critical to the two universities’ success in continuing to build and expand a sustainable and strategic partnership that addresses local needs and global challenges,” said Alexandra Persiko, director of global partnerships at Penn State. “The partnership shows a very promising trajectory.”

Initial focus areas for the committee include youth and community engagement, sustainability and business. Reflecting on the importance of this partnership, Brennan noted: “The partnership between Penn State and Galway continues to grow and expand beyond our wildest dreams. It truly is setting the stage for incredibly transdisciplinary work that cuts across over a dozen colleges, departments and programs at the two universities.  The implications of this for research, teaching, programs and policy impacts are truly massive.”

For additional information, contact Persiko at axp1225@psu.edu.