In its third edition, the LLLAB was organised in Girona, anticipating the Spanish Presidency to the Council of the EU and was hosted by the Municipality and University of Girona. This year the LLLAB revolved around the topic of “Key competences for the future of Europe” under LLLP’s Annual Theme “Key competences for all: a lifelong learning approach to skills” within the European Year of Skills. Read the full report here.

In 2022 the Lifelong Learning Platform (LLLP) focused on “Investment in education and training: a public good for all” as the annual theme, as well as engaging with different stakeholders through advocacy work, events and strengthening partnerships with members to ensure that education and training stay a public good for all. Take a look at what happened in 2022 here.

In this position paper, the Lifelong Learning Platform (LLLP) investigates the importance of funding in education and training, its sources and its impact on access to learning and on the quality of the learning provided. Securing education as a human right implies a responsibility of states to fund a system in which all learners are welcomed, supported and aided to develop holistically and fully.

The LLLWeek 2022 marked the return of this iconic event in a physical format. Addressing the topic of “Investment in Education and Training: A public good for all”, the 12th edition of the LLLWeek took place on 28 November to 2 December with MEP Milan Zver as the host. In total, 23 events and workshops were organised by LLLP and its members during the LLLWeek (including 4 webinars, 2 working group meetings, and 1 Steering Committee meeting) with over 800 participants registered, 7 Members of the European Parliament, as well as 18 representatives of the European Commission. Download the report.

With the support of European and international experts, LLLP presents a new publication: the LLLGlossary. The aim of the document is to provide a common understanding of various terms that are often used interchangeably in the literature and some definitions that vary depending on the sources concerned and/or context of the learning environment. These terms are used differently by different education and training providers and with the emergence of the lifelong learning concept some terms can be often misused. Read the LLLGlossary here.

The vocabulary deployed within the world of investment and funding in education and training is often difficult to disentangle. Terms tend to overlap and can seem identical. As part of our campaign on public investment in education and training we have gathered the key terms circulating in policy papers, academic articles and general discussions on the topic and mapped them out in what we are calling the ABCs of Funding and Investment in Education.

In 2022, the second edition of the LLLab took place in Nice, France under the patronage of the French Presidency to the Council of the EU and hosted by the City of Nice at the University Cote d’Azur. The Lifelong Learning Lab (LLLab) is a new initiative by the Lifelong Learning Platform which aims at bringing together different stakeholders in the field of education and training from across Europe and beyond to discuss and learn from one another how to further cooperation in education in the EUThis report gives an overview of the main points of discussion that took place at the event.

2021 has marked the second year of COVID-19 pandemic for the world, but lifelong learning goes on! In our yearly publication, we look back at the activities, achievements and emotions of this past year. How are education and training systems in Europe recovering from the pandemic? What policy measures have been put in place, and how has LLLP tried to influence them? What scenarios for cooperation within and outside the network? We explore these and many more questions in our new publication, summing up a very dense year for both policy and learners.

While the value of quality education and training is strongly acknowledged across EU Member States, it remains the case that public expenditure has failed to recover to pre-financial crisis levels at the EU level. It has, in most cases, decreased steadily and then stagnated at low levels in recent years. This paper tracks the extent to which public expenditure on education and training has changed over time and puts forth the case for a marked increase in levels of public expenditure as a necessary policy tool for addressing the economic and social fallout of Covid-19.

Education is a lifelong empowerment process, which should help citizens in their intra and interpersonal understanding, achieving personal development and becoming emphatic individuals. The UNESCO has possibly summarised it best as “learning to be” – to enable individuals to develop to their fullest potential psycho-socially, effectively as well as physically, for an all-round “complete person.” This and much more in the full report of the meeting held on

The second meeting of the Lifelong Learning Interest Group tried to answer the following questions. How to effectively foster active citizenship and encourage participation in democratic processes through education? How should we transform our educational system to ensure “schools” become democratic institutions? How to tackle radicalisation? What are the ways to strengthen teacher? trainer competences in teaching and assessing civic and social competences? What is the role of non-formal (adult) education and partnerships with civil society?

EAEA and the Lifelong Learning Platform have initiated an Interest Group on Lifelong Learning together with Members of the European Parliament. Hosted by MEP Sirpa Pietikäinen (Finland, EPP), the group brings together civil society representatives and MEPs to discuss various key issues connected to lifelong learning. The first meeting took place in Brussels on 16th of April 2015.