The EVBB EU Policy Camp 2025, held at the VET House in Brussels, from the 29th of September to the 2nd of October showed how the open school philosophy is radically transforming VET across Europe. Bringing together educators, policymakers, and VET experts, the three-day event focused not only on policy, but also on practical, community-driven innovation to promote inclusion and sustainability. The central message was clear: VET institutions must become open ecosystems integrated within their communities. VET as a Local Learning Ecosystem The event focused on reimagining VET as a local learning ecosystem that connects education with sustainability, inclusion, and community development. It explored how VET institutions can act as community hubs, living laboratories, and makerspaces—centres of innovation that strengthen social cohesion and promote hands-on learning for sustainable futures. It also highlighted initiatives that make VET more inclusive and aligned with Europe’s future skills needs, empowering marginalised youth, linking curricula with the Sustainable Development Goals, and integrating sports education to foster lifelong learning and dual career pathways. Finally, the discussions emphasized the need for a united European strategy for VET, enhancing cooperation among networks, aligning with EU priorities, and equipping educators with tools to connect competence frameworks with community-driven, inclusive, and innovative learning models. Exploring Innovation in Education: Study Visits to European Schoolnet and Technobel The study visits during the EVBB Policy Camp in Brussels offered participants a hands-on look at how education and training are evolving in the digital era. At European Schoolnet, participants explored the Future Classroom Lab, an experimental space where technology, pedagogy, and learning environments merge to enhance engagement and innovation. Discussions with experts provided insights into how digital transformation is reshaping education across Europe. The visit to Technobel, a Belgian training centre for digital skills, showcased practical, experience-based learning through coding labs, virtual reality, and maker spaces—demonstrating how modern VET institutions prepare learners for today’s digital economy. Both visits underlined how innovative, well-designed learning environments can bridge education and technology, inspiring new models for schools and training centres across Europe. The Policy Camp concluded that open schooling is a key European pathway for turning VET institutions into inclusive, connected, and sustainable local learning ecosystems. Learn more: https://evbb.eu/news/open-schooling-in-vet-highlights-from-the-evbb-eu-policy-camp-2025/

Welcome to iBOX! A project coordinated by LLLP which wants to contribute to building more inclusive NGOs and CSOs. The project aims at ensuring more inclusive organisations, more inclusive education approaches and actions, through a capacity building process to better face and respond to current and future societal challenges. iBOX consists of an interdisciplinary, bottom-up process, involving key stakeholders in the design of innovative training resources collected in an online platform with the goal of supporting the digital transition, access and participation in learning processes and inclusion and diversity strategies in the sector. These are key issues the consortium will work on to foster inclusive and innovative management methods and pedagogical approaches among educational staff and managers. What and why? The project will provide a solution for education and training providers, NGOs and CSOs to address their needs in terms of new capacities to meet new and continuing challenges, to remain and become more inclusive and diverse, while embracing the principles of a new, more digital way of working. Therefore, iBOX wants to: Increase the quality of the work, activities and practices of the educators and staff in educational establishments/ CSOs involved and; Build their capacity to work transnationally and cross-sectorally on common needs and priorities in education and training, such as the inclusion and enhancement of diversity at all levels and in all aspects of their work. Core themes There are three core areas within the project: access and participation in learning processes , supporting learning providers to promote active participation and civic engagement through learning. inclusion and diversity strategies , supporting learning providers to improve their current practices and become/remain inclusive and diverse. digital transition and blended work methods , supporting learning providers to adapt to the digital transition For who? Primary target groups: Adult educators and staff . Within these target groups, different organisations with specific profiles are included. For each organisation involved directly or indirectly, the proposal reaches different profiles (officers, educators, managers, etc.). Second target groups: Education and training providers and network of providers’ organisations . This includes providers of formal, non-formal and informal education at national/regional/local levels. Main outputs Guiding documents 1. A Compendium of inspiring practices on the three core themes, collecting practices and guidelines identified on social inclusion in CSOs and NGOs. 2. An Inclusion and Diversity Charter , a document which includes the most important steps that CSOs and NGOs should take to ensure inclusion in their organisations. Capacity-building activities 3. Online training courses on access and participation in learning processes, inclusion and diversity and digital transition and blended work methods. The first phase of online capacity-building took place in May and June. The second round of sessions were held between September and November . 4. In-person training course on access and participation in learning processes, inclusion and diversity and digital transition and blended work methods, during the LLLP Days 2024 , in 17 and 18 June 2024. The training was a great success, with participants coming from different EU countries and educational and training providers, NGOs and CSOs. Read more about the 2 very insightful days ! 5. An online platform that hosts self-paced courses, the elaborated OER, the collected inspirational practices, the Charter and all resources included in the training programmes. This platform is free of charge and guarantees the continuation and sustainability of the project, ensuring the courses remain online after the project comes to an end. You just need to register on the platform to enrol in the iBOX self-paced training courses following these simple steps. 6. A final conference, Agora: Building inclusive education and training systems took place on 19 November 2024! Over 80 representatives from civil society organisations, educators, learners, and decision and policymakers convened to discuss inclusion and advocate for continued efforts to build more inclusive education and training systems. Read this article at this link for a comprehensive overview of the event: https://lnkd.in/dCRanSV6 Partners Coordinated by LLLP, the project counts with the expertise of ALL DIGITAL AISBL , Learning for Well-being Foundation , Cémea France and eucen - European university continuing education network . Contact and updates If you're interested in iBOX, make sure to follow us on X ( @iBox_Project ) or follow LLLP's social media channels. For specific inquiries, contact projects@lllplatform.eu or veronica.arduino@lllplatform.eu . 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.

Researchers, civil society representatives and policy makers mixing their expertise together to improve policy and practice in education and training. It sounds like a logical and straightforward recipe with clear benefits for learners and society as a whole. But is it really that simple? It might not appear so as a whole list of challenges starts to pile up when putting the ingredients together. However, taking the first step towards crossing these professional boundaries can also open up a whole new list of opportunities. We have all heard about the importance of working together to achieve our common goals in education and training. However, realising the mantra of ‘the whole is a lot more than the sum of its parts’ means that we have to go outside our professional comfort zones. The BRiDGE consortium boldly stepped outside this zone in 2023, with a desire to support the EU’s aim to bridge the gap between research and policy.   The lessons learned from this experience were condensed into a practical guide to the challenges but also the opportunities of inter-professional collaboration on better education and training policies that are informed by research and practice. To ‘guide’ the professionals crossing borders, five domains of inter-professional work were proposed combining the researcher and policymaking competence frameworks constructed by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission: Engaging citizens, Communication, Generating and working with evidence, Collaboration and (Working Within) Policymaking processes.   Generating spaces for inter-professional and cross-sectoral collaboration   With the common goal of bridging the gap between research, practice and policy to improve education policies in mind, the topic of Global Citizenship Education was jointly tackled in a series of events and collected in two working papers connecting practical experiences from the ground, theoretical perspectives and the different policy directions through which the topic has been addressed across Europe. Challenges in this area were discussed by the different stakeholder communities such as how to navigate the different interpretations of GCE, the various approaches to the topic (i.e. from education or international cooperation), and other common struggles such as generating and sharing evidence, dealing with the unstable funding sources, navigating a layered policy landscape or connecting formal and non-formal learning. Representatives with different professional (i.e. researcher or CSO representative) and sectorial (i.e. formal or non-formal learning) backgrounds had the chance to improve their understanding of each other, shedding light into potential ways for mutual support and better collaboration in the future.   The peer learning that took place by discussing and looking for solutions to various challenges together was not only analysed through the lenses of each stakeholder community but was also reflected upon through systems thinking . This approach showed the potential of inter-professional collaboration for creating change and how change processes are enabled, constrained, and negotiated across multiple contexts. This analysis was key to propose possible avenues for collaborations amongst the different communities brought together by the project, building bridges among them.   Is inter-professional collaboration the way forward for bridging research, practice and policy? While taking the crucial ‘boundary-crossing’ first step towards inter-professional collaboration holds enormous potential, it will be key to pay attention not only to interdependencies but also to the structural differences and contextual specificities within education and training systems. As societies are facing increased political turmoil and constraint in resources, crossing borders may feel more challenging than ever but the BRiDGE experience shows that overcoming differences and uniting under overarching common goals can chart a new way forward towards an intertwined research, practice and policy landscape in education and training. Where can you learn more about the experiences of the BRiDGE consortium?   The working papers on GCE and a previous one on International mobility as well as the Guide will be presented and discussed in a hybrid format hosted by the Lithuanian Parliament on September 19 from 10:00 to 14:30 EEST (09:00 to 13:30 CEST) . Register in this link and explore the publications on the project’s website !

The ImpactBOX project (2025-2028) aims to address the EU's political commitment to a cross-cutting priority across all education and training sectors and levels, focusing on capacity-building with a multi-level approach - starting from EU to local level. Its goal: to improve inclusive , digital , and sustainable strategies and practices in education and training organisations - considered as multipliers - to create transformative change by challenging current inequalities and environmental challenges.  The consortium involves 5 full partners and 6 Affiliated Entities, ensuring impact from international to the local level through their extensive network of members and partners in several EU and non-EU countries. The primary target group of the project are the adult educators and staff working in the education and training sector. From EU to local level, the project focuses on four main areas : Access and participation : supporting providers in breaking barriers and promoting active participation and civic engagement, focusing on vulnerable target groups. Inclusion and diversity : supporting providers implementing inclusion and diversity strategies in each organisation’s culture, practices and outputs. Addressing digital transition through digital skills for inclusion: engaging education providers in adapting to the digital transition by enhancing their digital skills and fostering inclusive practices and digital well-being. To raise awareness of bias and intersectional discrimination—particularly related to gender, ethnicity, and racial origin—exacerbated by AI. And to empower CSOs and educational providers to safeguard fundamental rights in the digital age. Environmental sustainability for inclusion : engaging providers to consider environmentally sustainable methods to strengthen inclusion with a focus on gender equality, social justice, inclusivity, to make the Just Transition truly equitable. ImpactBOX is structured around four key steps: Gathering resources and materials from the four core areas of the project: access and participation , inclusion and diversity , digital skills for inclusion and environmental sustainability . All resources and materials will be included in a free-of-charge upskilling e-learning platform . Capacity-building including a transnational in-person training on the project's 4 core themes, as well as adapted local trainings based on the needs of the local organisation involved. Impact and sustainability , including an impact assessment tool, validated by stakeholders and peer reviewed by education and training providers, CSOs and NGOs, to support them in their own assessment and impact measurement. Communication, policy dialogue and stakeholder engagement , focusing on policy and decision-makers, including the development of policy recommendations using a bottom-up approach. The pedagogical approaches implemented will all make educational staff and managers of CSOs more aware and willing to practise inclusive approaches, also at the internal level. Consortium : LLLP - Lifelong Learning Platform EUCEN - European University Continuing Education Network. Learning for Well-being Foundation ALL DIGITAL LIA - Asociacija Langas i Ateiti, Lithuania MEC - Media Education Center, Serbia CEMEA - Centres D'Entrainement Aux Methodes D'Education Active , France SOLIDAR Foundation CFPS - Udruge Centar Za Mirovne Studije, Croatia Fundacion CIVES - Fundacion Educativa y Asistencial CIVES, Spain Global Impact Institute , Czech Republic

EucA is dedicated to fostering inclusion in education by creating opportunities for students from diverse backgrounds and socioeconomic contexts, but its commitment is most evident in its projects promoting active citizenship. A prime and new example of this is “VOICES From Migration”, an initiative co-funded by the EU and organized in partnership with Perrotis College (Greece) and the Municipality of Rosarno (Italy). This international project, structured across three events, equips university students with the tools and knowledge to gain a deeper understanding of Europe’s migration history - all the way from the 1970s to today’s most pressing and essential stories. Through hands-on workshops, lectures, and role-play activities, the “VOICES” young protagonists step into the role of journalists and storytellers. Their journey culminates in interviewing people from migrant backgrounds, collecting personal testimonies, and transforming these voices into concrete policy recommendations aimed at building a more inclusive future . Read all the stories: https://my-european-history.ep.eu/myhouse/user/3217/stories https://www.euchangemakers.com/blog/tags/voices-from-migrations Follow VOICES From Migrations on social media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/euchangemakers/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/euchangemakers/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@eucapics_ More information at: https://www.euchangemakers.com/voices Download the stories and policy recommendations

EFIL members are promoting inclusive education by supporting schools with inclusionary best practices for internationalisation of schools and enabling schools with pupils from a low socio-economic standard to leverage the Erasmus+ programme for the benefit of their students and school community. By cooperating with an expert non-profit mobility organisation, schools and their pupils facing several disadvantages can gain easier access to Erasmus+ to build their capacity for internationalisation, either by joining a Consortium, receiving training or getting support with specific tasks. See what AFS Belgium (French-speaking community) is doing with their Consortium here and read the testimonies of their participants here . Our recently released paper explains how EFIL members - AFS organisations in Europe- act as Consortium leader and supporting organisations in the framework of the Erasmus+.

The Bertha von Suttner Private University in Austria will be organizing a two-day international conference on their campus in St. Pölten, located 30 minutes outside Vienna, in fall 2026. The conference on November 13 and 14 will particularly consider the role of higher education and research in and for social mentoring, as well as the possibilities that related programs offer for community engagement and social inclusion, among other topics. The conference will serve as a platform to: discuss the results from research and development projects; learn about social mentoring models and developments in the field; exchange with stakeholders from practice and policy and the wider community; and expand the research network on social mentoring in Europe. Prior to the conference, there will be an international, transdisciplinary blended learning course titled "Mentoring for Social Inclusion: Introductory Course," offered as a stand-alone blended learning program (microcredential, 5 or 6 ECTS credits, TBD). The in-person week will take place from Monday, November 9, to Saturday, November 14, 2026. The first four days will be dedicated to intensive group interaction. Days five and six will comprise the conference. As a Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) the course invites: students and staff from Erasmus+ partner universities, as well as independent applicants, including practitioners. The conference and course are co-organized by the Erasmus+ Cooperation Partnership for Higher Education Development, "Mentoring for Social Inclusion in Europe: Sharing Knowledge and Building Capacity," Ment4EU for short ( socialmentoring.org ). The course program is based on the Ment4EU curriculum that we developed and that the NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences in Leeuwarden successfully piloted in February 2025.

Imagine a future where the rivers whisper no more, where the sea grass beds have turned to dust and where generations forget the feel of water on their skin. That future is not a fiction: it is arriving, silently, yet extremely quickly. The ancient Posidonia oceanica , a plant older than any city we have built as humans, is dying across the Mediterranean. Torn apart by reckless anchors, mass and careless tourism, neglect from authorities, and ignorance. A whole underwater forest, oxygenating our seas, sheltering life, slowing climate change, being destroyed in silence. This is where Wateracy comes in. It has started off with worry and grief, yes. But also with action, that gives us, and especially the young people from across Europe involved in this initiative, a lot of hope. Wateracy is an Erasmus+ project uniting young people from the margins of Europe - Romania, France, Italy, Portugal, Belgium, Poland - and bringing them into the centre of one of the most pressing issues of our time: water justice . And leading the charge? Harry Otter, our unlikely hero and mascot, reminding us that learning does not need to be dry. Harry carries a message that water belongs to everyone. It lives in stories, smells, laughter, protest and memory. And yes, it absolutely belongs in education. In June, just before the summer holidays, young Wateracy Ambassadors came together in Arad in Romania, for an immersive, emotional and sensory launch of the project. They walked rivers with podcasts in their ears. They built with LEGO, painted watersheds with coffee, smelled chlorine and algae, and re-learned water not through facts, but through feeling . They discovered that water flows through our identities, our families, our futures. And that it is being lost. Now, these young ambassadors are taking the lead. Across Europe, they are launching inclusive, participatory research: gathering stories, mapping water access and preparing Wateracy Assemblies to bring together communities, scientists, older generations, activists and politicians. The aim? To listen . And then, to act . But here’s the thing: education is not only what happens in schools. It is also what happens in democracy. In speaking up. In demanding better. That’s why, as part of Wateracy, we are making a final, urgent call for you to sign Volonteurope's Petition for Water Justice and Resilience . In fact, it is not just a petition, but above all else, a learning act, an inclusive civic ritual and a moment where we teach each other what matters. You can sign it here . Because if we lose our water wisdom, we will lose more than ecosystems: stories, languages, rituals, rights, will all be lost. We will lose inclusion itself. Stay in touch and explore the full Wateracy journey in our interactive Story Map

On 26-28 May 2025, the Lifelong Learning Platform joined fellow partners of the STRIDE project in Krakow for the Transnational Project Meeting (TPM) hosted by Jagiellonian University. This gathering marked another important step in our shared journey to make education systems across Europe more inclusive, equitable, and evidence-informed. The STRIDE project STRIDE, funded by the Horizon Europe Programme and coordinated by OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University, is a research-based initiative that seeks to work towards educational equality. Through analyses of education reforms in national and regional systems, of existing large-scale educational assessment and longitudinal data on the causal link between educational and other social policies and inequalities in educational achievements , the project aims to uncover how reforms can reduce disparities in learning outcomes and promote fairness in education systems. The TPM provided a valuable opportunity for partners to exchange insights, review progress, and co-create ideas for tools that could support for example policymakers in designing more inclusive education strategies. LLLP’s Role: Turning Research into Action As the voice of lifelong learning in Europe, LLLP plays a key role in ensuring that STRIDE’s findings don’t stay on paper. During the meeting, we led a session focused on outreach and impact—exploring how to translate complex research into clear messages for policy makers, educators, and civil society. Our goal is to bridge the gap between research and practice, making sure that the knowledge generated by STRIDE reaches a bigger audience. Looking Forward The coming months will be crucial as new research and other outputs from the project are on the horizon, and LLLP will continue to support the dissemination and the creation of the policy briefs. We’re proud to be part of a project that aligns so closely with our mission: to champion inclusive, lifelong learning opportunities for all. Stay tuned for more updates as we work together to shape a fairer future for education. Read more about the TPM on the STRIDE website: https://stride-research.eu/stride-consortium-meeting-krakow/

Youth for Exchange and Understanding is implementing innovative projects and capacity building events for young people from all around Europe and beyond based on the principles of non-formal education, experiential and self-directed learning. Non-formal education (NFE) refers to all activities that set education as an aim, help young people develop a range of soft skills, such as communication, organisation, and leadership and encourage them to follow lifelong learning . Setting non-formal education as a pillar, YEU International is coordinating 2 international projects, WE ARE HER (Ensuring Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment through International Projects) and PENDYW (Promoting Equality and Non-Discrimination in Youth Work) which aim to foster inclusive practices , equip young people and youth workers with the tools to advocate for equality and promote active participation among them. WE ARE HER and PENDYW projects are co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union . WE ARE HER (Ensuring Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment through International Projects) The WE ARE HER project (Ensuring Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment through International Projects) aims, in line with the EU policies to contribute to the empowerment of women, girls and young people to “ fully use their rights and increase their participation in political, economic and cultural life ” by addressing the structural causes of gender inequality as well as gender-based discrimination in different and diverse regions of the world. Our partners come from Albania, Egypt, Greece, Lebanon, Türkiye and Belgium . All of these partners have the following main objectives: Enhancing awareness and educating youth in regards to the current status Gender-Imbalance in Decision-Making and Politics in their local communities; Provide young people with specific digital skills and tools in order to take concrete action as actors of change in their local communities; Initiate the development of the participants’ contribution to the WE ARE HER Social Media Campaign and utilize its outreach through brainstorming; To test, put in practice and add to the youth workers’ (ambassadors) educational capacities within youth work and non-formal learning . This project seeks to increase young people’s skills in different topics related to gender equality through Youth Exchanges . In these activities, participants are invited to experience an international exchange with people from different countries and to share their ideas about the topics. These activities represent an incredible opportunity for many of these young people to understand other cultures and points of view. The We Are Her International Conference will take place the 29th of October 2025 in the Nelson Mandela Room of Sleep Well youth Hostel in Brussels, Belgium and will bring together around 30 young participants from all around Europe and the MENA region. This conference will represent the finalization of this project that lasted 2 years.  PENDYW (Promoting Equality and Non-Discrimination in Youth Work) The PENDYW project (Promoting Equality and Non-Discrimination in Youth Work) is committed to fostering equality and combating discrimination in youth work across Europe. Vulnerable groups such as ethnic and religious minorities, LGBTI+ individuals, youth with disabilities, and young refugees are the primary focus of this initiative. The project brings together six partners from across Europe, including Belgium, France, North Macedonia, Portugal, and Germany. By enhancing the capacities of the youth work sector, PENDYW seeks to empower young leaders while equipping youth workers with the tools to promote inclusion, equality, and non-discrimination . The project gathers and shares best practices, tools, and approaches from across Europe, aiming to build a more resilient youth sector that encourages social inclusion and active participation in decision making processes. Through its focus on research, capacity-building, and empowerment activities , PENDYW fosters collaboration between youth organizations and key stakeholders, including schools, law enforcement, and media. Additionally, the project emphasizes cross-border cooperation, with the goal of creating sustainable, long-term improvements in youth work that ensure marginalized young people can fully access their rights and actively participate in society. The PENDYW International Conference will take place on October 17th, 2025 , in the Nelson Mandela Room of Sleep Well Hostel in Brussels, Belgium and will bring together around 50 young participants from all over Europe, serving as a culmination of the project’s activities and learning .

Last week the ‘ Encouraging youth participation in Europe ’ events took place in Brussels and gathered young multipliers, national and European youth and Civil Society organisations representatives, experts and policymakers to reflect on challenges and facilitators of youth engagement and to take concrete action towards the 2024 EU elections and beyond. Following a few welcoming words from Caridad Alarcón Sanchéz, Vice-President of Lifelong Learning Platform , Ms Katrīna Leitāne, Member of the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) Group and President of the Youth Group of the European Economic and Social Committee , where the event took place, gave the opening remarks to kick-off the policy conference on the importance of voting and youth engagement and the role of CSOs in policy making. The first panel focused on the outputs from the project ‘Co-operation Youth vote: Enabling future active European citizens’ , presented by the project partners. The coordinators of the project, JEF Europe , introduced the project and its main objectives and activities, followed by a intervention from OBESSU (Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions) on the published report on the attitudes, challenges and views of youth on the vote for the European Parliament elections 2024. The report showed lack of trust in the system, poor representation and gaps in terms of rights were shown as some of the most common challenges for abstainers on a survey that reached around 2000 Europeans aged 14 to 25 (34% first-time voters). Young Educators presented the project Voting Toolbox , including activities to promote youth engagement as well as materials and resources. JEF sections of Italy, Latvia and Bulgaria explained to the audience the impact on and perspective from young people active on national and local level, both in-person and using video messages. Is the topic of youth participation addressed enough at a national and/or EU level? The panel discussion on youth voting and active participation counted on MEP João Albuquerque, Ondřej Bárta from the Pool of European Youth Researchers of the CoE, Gaia Ramon Reis (Board Member from OBESSU) and Mara Grimminger, President of JEF Belgium to share experiences and points of view from different perspectives: policy making, research and two youth perspectives. The discussion, moderated by Chiara Piccolo , Head of European Affairs at the Learning for Well-being Foundation , touched upon crucial issues on youth participation: importance of education; distinction between participation and meaningful participation and co-participatory scenarios where young people’s input is properly considered and used for policy at all levels. Other topics included extending the voting age to 16, which is a reality in only a few Member States, and is happening for the first time this year in Belgium for the European elections, where 16 and 17-year-olds will be allowed to vote, adding 270,000 young people in Belgium to the voting pool. The EU Youth Test , the impact assessment tool which ensures that young people are considered on new EU policy, was considered an important resource, but panellists consider there is still a long way to go to consider youth participation is satisfactorily addressed at EU level. The panellists also stressed the priority to empower young people to vote and help them get informed, but also to actively participate in local NGOs and at political local or regional levels . The second day started at the European Parliaments’ Info Hub with the welcoming words from Marta Concepción Mederos, Vice-President of Lifelong Learning Platform , followed by the presentation ‘Democracy in action - Introduction to three communication flagship initiatives of the European Parliament’, including the together.eu website, Youth Hub and the European Elections website . To offer a space for young people to talk with Members of the Parliament , 5 MEPs were present to join reactions to challenges and views of youth engagement. MEP Alex Agius Saliba , MEP Sara Cerdas , MEP João Albuquerque , MEP Rasmus Andresen and MEP Damian Boeselager reflected on how can first-time voters' participation in the elections be boosted and on the systemic barriers young people face in their constituencies . MEP Damian Boeselager and MEP João Albuquerque explored the themes of and issues with the Conference on the Future of Europe and the European Years (European Year of Youth in 2022 and current European Years of Skills) and what processes can be put in place to concretely include a youth perspective at EU and national levels beyond simulation exercises. MEP Rasmus Andresen underlined the role of funding if young people are really to be involved in policy making and how this is put at risk when funds such as Erasmus+, CERV and ESC face cuts due to fiscal measures. MEP Alex Agius Saliba stressed the importance of the digital space and its implications on present and future generations and the EU recent advances such as the Digital Services Act. MEP Sara Cerdas delved into mental health and how youth voices and experience have to be considered in such an impactful topic for EU citizens, including young people. A Q&A between MEPs and youth and civil society organisations representatives followed the panel discussion. Overall, there was consensus on supporting more democratic/citizenship education across the EU at all levels and from all sectors of education and training. Alliance for Youth Vote kick-off meeting With over 90 participants, the Alliance for Youth Vote started their work to develop a common action plan for the European Parliament elections 2024 and beyond. This informal alliance will work together with policy makers, local, national and European youth and civil society organisations to encourage youth participation in democratic processes as well as join other existing initiatives promoting the strengthening of European civic education. Participants exchanged practices and experiences on campaigns, events, educational resources and on how to engage young people who don’t have the right to vote and/or come from disadvantaged backgrounds. The Alliance will continue its work, and has planned its next meeting already March 25th ! If you’re a representative of a national or European Youth or Civil Society Organisation and are interested in the Alliance, please register here to receive updates and join us in the next meetings! LLLP would like to thank all the participants and speakers for these two productive days and all their input and reflections on youth participation and involvement. LLLP organised the Policy Conference in partnership with the Civil Society Organisations' Group of the European Economic Social Committee and the Alliance for Youth Vote kick-off meeting was co-organised with the European Parliament. Thank you to the entire teams who made both events possible! This final conference resulted from a two-year project, Enabling future active European citizens (COYV) , coordinated by JEF Europe , which provided young leaders and national and European youth and Civil Society organisations representatives, a space for training in the preparation of the 2024 European Parliament election campaigns.

On 2 July, the Lifelong Learning Platform celebrated its annual General Assembly in Brussels. During the General Assembly, LLLP welcomed two new members: the European Basic Skills Network (EBSN) and the International Yehudi Menuhin Foundatio n (IYMF) . Get to know more about their work below! European Basic Skills Network (EBSN) The European Basic Skills Network (EBSN) is a European non-profit association dedicated to promoting effective policy development and cooperation in the field of adult basic skills. Founded in 2010, EBSN brings together ministries of education, regional authorities, universities and research institutes, NGOs, and major education providers from across Europe. Its mission is to ensure that all adults in Europe acquire the essential skills—literacy, numeracy, digital competence, and transversal skills —needed for lifelong learning, employability, and social inclusion. In the 2025–2027 period, EBSN will focus on supporting the implementation of the European Commission’s Action Plan on Basic Skills and contributing to the Union of Skills initiative. Through policy advocacy, peer learning, and professional development programmes (like the EBSN Capacity Building Series and Professional Development Series for Basic Skills Teachers), the network will empower members to drive inclusive, evidence-based reforms. EBSN also supports EU Member States in addressing the challenges highlighted in the OECD’s PIAAC results by helping to raise awareness, build strategic capacity among national and regional stakeholders, and strengthen the professional development ecosystem for educators, trainers, and guidance staff by establishing Microcredentials. In parallel, the network seeks to engage with Pact for Skills partnerships to co-create inclusive upskilling pathways that address the foundational skills needs of employees, ensuring their active participation in the digital and green (twin) transition. In response to growing innovation in adult education, EBSN is also facilitating cross-border knowledge sharing on how digital technologies can enhance basic skills teaching and learning, and on how data and learning analytics can be better utilised in policy planning. As a new member of the LLLP community, EBSN looks forward to contributing to shared European efforts to advance equity, inclusion, and lifelong learning for all. International Yehudi Menuhin Foundation (IYMF) Established in 1991 by Yehudi Menuhin and their Executive Vice Président and co-founder Marianne Poncelet the International Yehudi Menuhin Foundation (IYMF) is registered as a non-profit association by royal decree. As one of the greatest violinist and humanist of the twentieth century, Yehudi Menuhin always believed that arts and creativity must have a central place in any process of personal and/or societal development. In 1993 Werner Schmitt (IYMF Vice-President), Marianne Poncelet and Yehudi Menuhin created the MUS-E programme . Since 1993, MUSE-E associations have developed operations in 13 countries involving 61000 children and up to 500 schools. Over the years, we’ve crafted a wealth experience in implementing the use of creating arts in traditional primary schools working particularly with children from disadvantaged backgrounds.