In this position paper, the Lifelong Learning Platform (LLLP) investigates the importance of key competences development which learners need to adapt to any future societal challenge. The aim of the Position Paper was to consider what learners require to boost their resilience considering the ever-changing world, but also the impact of recent crises such as COVID-19, Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, the climate crisis and the rampant digitalisation of societies. The Paper draws terminologically from the 2018 Council Recommendation on Key Competences for Lifelong Learning and on the Joint Research Centres’ various competence frameworks. The aim is to focus on the fact that learners do not need only skills, but also knowledge and attitudes if they are to thrive in a sustainable way, while also to promote those transversal competences that very frequently are neglected due to the difficulties of measuring their development. The Paper provides a series of recommendations for system-level, provider-level and learner-level changes that can usher a new approach to competence development. The main elements refer to the need for a whole-of-government approach that also includes all education and training stakeholders in the decision making and implementation processes of policies, but also to acknowledging the diversity of learning providers and the competences that learners require to be active participants in their learning journey. Read the full paper here.

The 2025 General Assembly will take place on 1-2 July 2025, in Atelier 29 , in Brussels. Members of LLLP will convene to discuss some key strategic development in the LLLPlatform, including its advocacy strategy and the potential revision of membership criteria. In this extended, two-day format, members will engage in a policy debate with high-level officials at EU and international level on the future of lifelong learning (1 July). On the second day (2 July), members will also elect three representatives of the Steering Committee, as three other finish their mandate. The General Assembly is a milestone in an association life: save the dates if you are a member, or stay tuned to learn about the outcomes!

Foundational skills in literacy, numeracy, and problem-solving are not just educational benchmarks; they are critical tools for life, enabling individuals to thrive, adapt, and participate fully in society. Yet today, Europe faces an alarming crisis of basic competences. Without urgent action, the lack of competences will deepen societal inequalities, weaken labour market resilience, and leave citizens vulnerable to misinformation and digital exclusion. For decades, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has conducted two key, worldwide studies to evaluate competences. The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) measures the academic results of 15-year-old learners in mathematics, reading and science through standardised tests. The most recent results were published over five volumes, starting in December 2023, with the latest one launched in November 2024 (focused on learners' learning strategies and attitudes for life). The Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) measures the level of literacy, numeracy, and adaptive problem-solving skills that adults aged 16-65 have. The latest batch of results was released on 10 December 2024 and will be followed by additional volumes analysing the results. The Lifelong Learning Platform welcomes both studies despite being worried, but not surprised, of the results. The LLLPlatform has for long advocated for such studies to look at the broader picture, namely the wider benefits of learning, and extend the focus from basic skills to issues related to the comprehensive competence frameworks. Read the full statement here

The European Parliament Intergroup on the Future of Education and Skills for a Competitive Europe has been officially established! Europe is in transition towards green and digital societies which require competences fit for the future. This monumental shift requires people equipped with the right tools to thrive, and, for this, we have established an active Intergroup! It is time for MEPs across Committees to be empowered to break silos and work holistically on education and skills development! The rigorous work of the Intergroup’s Co-Chairs – European Parliament Vice-President Victor Negrescu (S&D), MEP Eleonora Meleti (EPP), MEP Nela Riehl (Greens/EFA), and MEP Brigitte van den Berg (Renew) – ensured the political support for the official establishment of the Intergroup on the “Future of Education and Skills for a Competitive Europe”! This ambitious initiative aims to improve the quality, equity, and inclusiveness of education and training systems across Europe in a holistic approach. It will tackle pressing challenges such as the growing scarcity of education professionals and trainers, upskilling and reskilling for the twin transitions, the declining basic competences of learners and skills shortages in various sectors. Close to 100 MEPs have declared their support for the creation of this Intergroup. In addition, the Intergroup has received significant support from education and training stakeholders, alongside organisations committed to advancing lifelong learning in key areas vital to the EU's priorities. The European Federation of Education Employers (EFEE), the Lifelong Learning Platform - European Civil Society for Education (LLLP), and the Schuman Associates Skills Coalition , are supported by over 180 organisations representing civil society active in education and training, industry, and diverse societal stakeholders across EU, national, regional, and local levels. Together, they aim to collaborate closely with their respective coalitions and the European Parliament to advance the Intergroup’s mission and vision. With Europe working toward its 2030 social targets and navigating profound societal and economic shifts, the need for a strategic focus on education, skills, and training, of different levels of qualifications, has never been more urgent. The Intergroup will play a pivotal role in cultivating a resilient and adaptable society, ensuring that Europeans are well-prepared for active participation in their communities and equipped with the skills needed to thrive in a rapidly changing global environment. This initiative underscores the European Parliament’s unwavering commitment to advancing lifelong learning, prioritising the development of people’s competences. The Intergroup will contribute to a more inclusive, innovative, resilient, competitive, and forward-looking Europe, prepared to lead in a rapidly changing world.

Crowning a year-long effort, LLLP just published its annual position paper, titled "21st-century challenges for the educator profession: a call for system change". This paper focuses on educators, who too often are considered a ‘profession of last resort'. Based on our Lifelong Learning Glossary, we understand educators as all those who professionally guide and support learners in their learning process: teachers and instructors in formal vocational education and training, as well as trainers, coaches, and other professionals in non-formal settings and coaches supporting learning in the workplace. The outpour of support for educators during COVID-19 came late since they were not prepared and supported to deal with the pandemic. Moreover, the lessons learned during those unprecedented times were forgotten, as reforms for re-valuing the profession were not provided in the aftermath of the pandemic. The shortages of educators occurring in Europe were disregarded almost completely in the 2023 European Semester cycle, and timidly appeared in the 2024 cycle. The Education and Training Monitor did spotlight shortages already in 2019, but repeated this in 2023. Across this period, the vocational crisis continued to deepen with an inability to attract young educators and retain those experienced. The challenges identified in 2019 touched upon the demographic makeup of the educator profession, with over 30% of teachers nearing the retirement age, and with even higher numbers in the Baltic countries, Italy, Greece or Hungary. Subject-specific shortages were also highlighted as well as the gendered nature of the education profession with a majority of professionals in lower levels of learning being women while a majority of professionals in higher levels of learning or in leadership positions being men. Read the full paper here

Named after Soviet physicist and political dissident Andrei Sakharov, the 'Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought' is the EU’s highest human rights award. For almost 40 years, it has been consistenly given out to recognise individuals and organisations that distinguished themselves in the fight for human rights and, in particulary, in the fight for the freedom of expression. In a heartfelt ceremony in Strasbourg on 17 December, EP President Roberta Metsola awarded the Sakharov Prize to Venezuela’s Edmundo González Urrutia and María Corina Machado. María Corina Machado was elected opposition candidate for the Venezuelan presidency in the 2023 highly-contested elections, before being disqualified by the government-controlled National Electoral Council. Her daughter represented her in Strasbourg. Edmundo González Urrutia stepped in subsequently as Machado's successor and main opposition leader and opposed President Nicolás Maduro’s declared victory. After Venezualan justice issued an arrest warrant against him, he was forced to flee the country in September 2024. President Metsola commended their fight for democracy and freedom in her awarding speech and said: "In their quest for justice, democracy and the rule of law, Edmundo González Urrutia and María Corina Machado are fearlessly upholding values that millions of Venezuelans and the European Parliament hold so dear. This award is not just a recognition but also a reminder that the fight for freedom is never in vain. The future of Venezuela belongs to its people and the European Parliament stands proudly with them." The Lifelong Learning Platform was lucky enough to be selected among a pool of stakeholders to attend the ceremony, thanks to the support of the European Parliament.

On 19 June, the European Commission published its European Semester Country Specific Recommendations (CSRs) and Country Reports (CRs), known as the ‘ Spring Package ’. The Semester is the EU mechanism used to ensure coordination across economic and social policies amongst Member States, with the CSRs representing the corrective course prescribed by the Commission to ensure Member States meet its annual economic and social priorities. The 2024 Semester guides Member States’ investment and reforming of education and training, and, different from its past editions, it contains a Social Convergence Framework. This mechanism aims at identifying gaps across EU Member States in different areas of the European Pillar of Social Rights as well as making the European Semester more focused on social policy, offsetting the previous concern that economic concerns always trump social concerns in the European Semester process. Addressing skills shortages: for the benefit of industry or the benefit of the learner? The underlying theme of this edition of CSRs is competitiveness . Across all Member States, the preamble to the CSRs reflects on labour and skills shortages which are impacting the well-functioning of key industries while limiting the capacity of the EU Member States to be competitive. Across multiple Member States, employer surveys are used to highlight how they are not finding adequately skilled workers to fill in their quota. This translates to recommendations linked to skilled shortages in almost all EU Member States that received education and training recommendations. Read our full reaction here

Thanks to a standing partnership with EuroClio, the House of European History held a training workshop on 13-14 May, where LLLP representatives got to attend to grasp the basics of communicating about our shared history. Beside a plethora of learning materials, the workshop focused on the role of teachers in building a common identity, especially through non-formal and informal learning methodologies.   From a dental clinic to the House of European History: How to tell the story/stories of Europe A grand visual display of the Fables de la Fontaine was meant to calm the children that were waiting for a dental appointment at the Eastman building during the 1930s. Nowadays, the former dental clinic serves as the House of European History , an initiative from the European Parliament that opened its doors to the public in 2017. The House of European History aims to create an experience for the visitor about the complexity of European history taking into account three important aspects: memory, multiperspectivity and integration . The process of selection of what’s included in the permanent exhibition responds to those three aspects intertwined with what is relevant from the history of Europe in the present, how certain episodes from the history of different European countries have shaped what is happening today. The tour through the six floors of the house is a learning and storytelling experience on its own: from personal objects like diaries, coats and a mustard saucer to photographs, political posters and videos. The relationship between the personal and the social dimension is key to understanding how war, genocide, nationalism, etc. shaped different moments in time.   Why do we need to learn about the EU? How does the meaning of the EU change across generations?   These might seem trivial questions, but teachers and students have proven to be core actors of the European integration process. Throughout history, educating its citizens about the historic milestones that made the EU has been one of the most compelling tasks of the European Union. Today, the House of European History is delivering a huge learning offer, in Brussels and beyond, focusing on the permanent exhibition, EU integration, the learning material available for teachers on the HEH YouTube channel, the virtual tour, online teacher’s workshops and the future Digital toolbox.   What’s next?   New findings will be used to prepare the content of new educational material based on the needs and expectations of the teachers. For example, the editors will have the possibility to test a specific workshop on democracy and the history of European integration in light of the upcoming European elections.   Most resources are (or will be) available on the website of the House of European History.

How can we promote EU cooperation in education, training and lifelong learning in national contexts? How can we plant the seed for the creation of a national lifelong learning platform in order to build bridges between sectors? The Lifelong Learning Platform is delighted to present its 2022 version of this pilot activity, the Lifelong Learning Lab – National Training for Education Stakeholders . With this format, LLLP seeks to keep the momentum of EU cooperation to assess EU citizens’ capacity to participate in policy-making, suggest solutions and break silos in the education sectors . Further to this, and following the policy recommendation in its Feasibility study , LLLP would also like to explore the possibilities for national lifelong learning platforms. The goals will be pursued through a new two-day event during which LLLP will take participants through a wide range of topics, spacing from EU cooperation in education and training, to EU decision-making processes, and from civil society engagement to national contexts. In 2022, and under the patronage of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union, LLLP will bring this laboratory to Nice, France where we will be discussing “Lifelong learning entitlements for the future of Europe” . Save the date for May 30-31 2022 , where education stakeholders from European and French contexts will come together to stir the new generation of cooperation in education and training.

The 14th edition of the LLLWeek took place in Brussels on 18-22 November 2024. Hosted by MEP Sabrina Repp (GER, S&D), it bore deep reflections on LLLP's theme of the year , "21st-century challenges for the teaching profession; a call for systemic change". During the LLLWeek, LLLP and our members organised 23 different events, including the European Lifelong Learning Stakeholders' Forum - an informal consultation on the current Erasmus+ programme - as well as five networking receptions. Events tackled all aspects of the chosen topic: from teachers in formal education structures and their working conditions to their training and professional development opportunities, from youth workers and non-formal educators to parents, and from learning mobility to AI implications for the profession. At the opening recetion, LLLP presented the draft recommendations of its forthcoming position paper: the call for a recognition of the different educators professions was unanimous, as well as a critical take on the efforts to make the profession more attractive. Stay tuned, we will publish the whole paper shortly! Some figures of the LLLWeek 2024: 23 different events and workshops More than 1000 registered participants More than 20 LLLP members actively involved in the organisation of events 6 Members of the European Parliament, 7 different representatives of Member States as well as countless officials of the European Commission were active during the LLLWeek For the first time ever, LLLP opened up the organisation of events to civil society partners: a gratifying experience that we will certainly continue next year!

Today, LLLP had the pleasure to co-host with the SOLIDAR Foundation an event on inclusion and how staff in educational and training provides, NGOs, CSOs and decision and policy-makers can come together to build (more) inclusive education and training systems! The event, integrated during the LLWeek , emerged from the Inclusion BOX (iBOX) project - a two-year project with LLLP members: Learning for Well-being Foundation , CÉMEA France , ALL Digital and eucen . 🎁 iBOX project: 2 years of capacity-building The Inclusion BOX (iBOX) project is reaching the end and all the capacity-building activities were organised in the different formats: online synchronously, in-person training and self-paced materials. These moments, along the development of the key guiding documents with practical guidelines and best practices on inclusion in the education and training systems, taught LLLP and the partners a great deal of lessons for future initiatives. Learning for Well-being Foundation presented its approached on access and participation, CÉMEA France the need to consider diversity in every step and ALL Digital discussed the use of digital tools to promote inclusion. eucen introduced the Inclusion and Diversity Charter to participants, referring to the three main steps defined to create more inclusive organisations, workplaces and learning environments. 👀 Launch of a brand new position paper The SOLIDAR Foundation presented the new Position Paper on Inclusive Education to the participants, Intersecting Pathways: Inclusive Education for Active Citizenship , o fficially launched today. The paper explores the topic of inclusive education as a fundamental part of a democratic society and includes case studies as valuable examples, illustrating successful implementations of inclusive education strategies. The paper argues for 6 key recommendations: 1) Learners must be put at the centre, 2) A whole community approach, 3) Diverse teaching and training bodies, 4) Diversity as an asset to society, 5) Inclusive education must be recognised in all types of education and 5) Inclusive education as a political priority. ⚡ Roundtable discussion with policy-makers and Civil Society representatives Marcos Ros Sempere , Member of the European Parliament from the Socialists & Democrats, Annalisa Cannoni from the European Commission, Jessica Fiorelli , researcher from the Hasselt University and Loredana Dicsi , representing the European Disability Forum gathered to discuss inclusion, intersectionality and the role of education in promoting diversity and active citizenship. MEP Marcos Ros reinforced the need to continue to the work on promoting inclusion and its key links to regional development and Annalisa Cannoni, working at the D irectorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, presented the Pathways to School Success initiative which promotes better educational outcomesand well-being at school. Loredana Dicsi strengthened key messages: implementation should follow policy and resources are important to ensure these inclusive policies are implemented. Peo ple with disabilities should be included in the conversation and given a voices. Jessica Fiorelli presented the main results from her research on inclusion within science and technology organisations brought the point of view of inclusion in organisations and the workplace. 🗣 Participants' voices The event had two moments for discussion and to hear your thoughts on the three key areas: access and participation in learning processes, strategies for diversity and inclusion, and digital inclusion related to digital transition and blended work methods. Designed within the framework of the iBox capacity-building programme , participants joined three interactive LABS . Participants e xplored how dynamic access and meaningful participation can transform learning, moving beyond attendance to influence and empowerment, engaged in an interactive moment on understanding different perspectives or took the digitally excluded challenge to discover all of us can be digitally excluded in different moments or settings. In the afternoon, participants also engaged in a worldcafé as an opportunity to discuss with other participants about policy support towards an inclusive education and training sector (translating policies into practices), online resources for accessible and inclusive learning environments and the current training needs (and inspiring practices) for educators and education and training sector managers. 🌟 Good practices During the day, the participants could explore the best practices i ncluded in the iBox Compendium of Inspiring Practices and hear directly from some of the promoting organisations. Posters of practices were spread around the venue as an opportunity to discuss the enables and the lessons learn from each practice, and how to ensure their transferability to other environments. Participants were also encouraged to share their good practice during the informal moment. Thank you to all the participants for your participation and valuable contributions! It was a day of sharing best practices, experiences and proposing next steps. Let's keep the conversation alive and continue driving change! 💪 Interested in these topics and want to go deeper? Register by clicking the button below to take the self-paced courses on the three topics! Project Number: 101090952 – Inclusion Box (iBox) ERASMUS-EDU-2022-PCOOP-ENGO Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

The Global Education Meeting (GEM) was held in Fortaleza, Brazil, and addressed the most pressing issues of global education - i.e. inclusion, equity and sustainable financing. While education systems are as different as they come, common challenges reveal patterns that are best tackled together. Progress or stagnation? The event was also an occasion to present UNESCO’s 2024/25 Global Education Monitoring Report , which underscored some of the most important challenges of our times.  First off, it is remarkable to realise that just over 110 million children and young people have entered school, which marks the highest number of students enrolled in history. At the same time, the report also unveiled striking inequalities that put Sustainable Development Goal 4 severely off track: 251 million children and young people are still out of school in the world, a mere 1% reduction in almost a decade of global efforts, with alarming disparities evident across nations. There is a tenfold difference between the richest and the poorest countries in the world: in the former, only 3% of school-aged people remain out of school, while the number rises to 33% in the poorest countries; this staggering figure is led by Sub-Saharan Africa, which leads as the world region with most out-of-school pupils. . The Global Education Meeting emphasised the critical lack of financial resources allocated to education, exacerbated by the burdens of debt servicing. Low-income countries spend a meagre $55 per learner per year—drastically lower than the $8,543 spent by high-income counterparts. Now what? The Fortaleza Declaration During the event, 50 ministers of education signed and proclaimed a declaration, now dubbed Fortaleza Declaration , as a robust roadmap for addressing these challenges. It emphasises the necessity for innovative educational strategies that prioritise equity and inclusion, calling for renewed focus on financing education to ensure no child is left behind. Investment remains the most crucial issue to ensure we can meet SDG 4 “If SDG 4 is our destination, the Fortaleza Declaration is our compass,” said UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education, Stefania Giannini. “It’s a call for urgent action, innovative financing, and a collective will to ensure that quality education is a human right and a public good for everyone.” The outcomes of the 2024 GEM will serve as crucial inputs for multilateral discussions, shedding light on the transformative power of education for a peaceful, equitable and sustainable future. The conference saw a high number of ministerial representatives together with academia, researchers and social partners; civil society representation was thinner than ideal, but its representatives will continue to closely follow all processes that aim to ensure inclusion and equity in education, everywhere in the world.