Search this site

As of January 1st, we entered the six months of Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Given the extraordinary times we are living in, the priorities of the Presidency will inevitably focus on resilience and recovery, but education and training are said to be playing a major role. The Portuguese Presidency will work on the following general priorities : To promote Europe’s recovery, leveraged by the climate and digital transitions To implement the Social Pillar of the European Union as a key element for ensuring a fair and inclusive climate and digital transition To strengthen Europe’s strategic autonomy keeping it open to the world These priorities will be pursued along five lines of action: Resilient Europe: Promote Europe’s recovery, cohesion and values Green Europe: Promoting the EU as a leader in climate action Digital Europe: Accelerate digital transformation in the service of citizens and enterprises Social Europe: Promote and strengthen the European social model Global Europe: Promote Europe’s openness to the world Along these lines of action, the Portuguese Presidency is said to have set the following headings, among others, for its actions in education and training : A New European Strategic Framework for Cooperation in Education and Training for 2030 European University Initiative and Higher Education transformation agenda Equity, inclusion and educational success for all in education and training More detailed information is available on the Portuguese Presidency’s website .

BRUSSELS, January 2021 – Lifelong Learning Platform – European Civil Society for Education reaction to the European Commission Communication on Resetting education and training for the digital age On 30 September 2020, the European Commission launched the Digital Education Action Plan 2021-2027 as part of the Education Package. The updated Digital Education Action Plan includes lessons learnt from the Covid-19 crisis as well as from the Open Public Consultation, to which Lifelong Learning Platform participated. It sets out a long-term vision including two strategic priorities with fourteen actions to achieve them: fostering the development of a high performing digital education ecosystem and enhancing digital skills and competences for the digital transformation. The Lifelong Learning Platform (LLLP) welcomes the longer duration of the Action Plan as it allows for a greater impact and the possibility of scaling up, as well as the broadening of its scope to learning in all forms , as it now also covers non-formal and informal education, going towards a more holistic view of education.   In 2017, LLLP released its annual position paper on “ Reimagining Education in the Digital Age ”, a comprehensive opinion of education and training stakeholders on majors issues and opportunities the digital transformation brings to the field. Three years later, many of the recommendations still apply and are today even more important to deal with, in the context of a global pandemic. Key issues remain to be addressed particularly for the inclusion aspect of digital education, such as tackling the digital divide or the lack of basic skills; ensuring safety and wellbeing in face of challenges posed by the digital world; the need for longitudinal and unbiased research, and finally investment in teachers and educators, particularly in their professional development. The aforementioned remain key areas the Union needs to work on so as to ensure everybody is prepared and nobody is left behind in the digital transformation. >>> Read the full reaction here <<<

Partners of the FIELDS project (in which LLLP is a partner) launched a survey on the future skills and work in the agriculture sector. “HAVE YOUR SAY” by completing the survey and then to share the link with other stakeholders across industry, including Agricultural Advisors, Agri-Food Companies, Co-operatives, Education Providers (Higher Education & VET Providers), Farmers, Foresters, Forest Industries, Policy Makers and Students or any others this may be relevant to, across the broader value chain. Your views will help us to further develop training curricula in the context of the ERASMUS+ Sector Skills Alliance project “FIELDS” which is hoped will eventually be used in training institutions in different European countries. You may, in the future, have some benefits from participating in this study as its aim is to ultimately help workers in the Agri-food and Forestry sectors to be better trained for current and future market and social demands. Direct Link for the Survey can also here found here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FIELDS_Surveys_Final Deadline to answer the survey: 30/12/2020

The year 2020 has been a year like no other in recent decades. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused widespread disruption to societies around the world, at the same time as the human-induced climate crisis continues to cause devastating effects through extreme weather events around the world. This is also a year of transition on many fronts as it marks the beginning of what the United Nations has called the “Decade of Action” for Achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and an important moment for the European Union (EU) as its institutions, policies and programmes have just undergone or will soon undergo renewal. It also marks the year of the European twin transitions: green and digital mainstreamed throughout European strategies. For education and training in Europe it’s also the year of an ambitious agenda for Achieving the European Education Area by 2025. All these developments serve as an important backdrop for reflections on the future of education in Europe and beyond. «If still more education is to save us, it would have to be education of a different kind: an education that takes us into the depth of things» E.F. Schumacher Read the full paper here

The Lifelong Learning Platform – European civil society network for education – welcomes the 2020 Education and Training Monitor, launched by Commissioner Gabriel on 12 November 2020 at the DigiEduHack conference. Expectedly, this year’s edition focuses on digital education and digital competence, also addressing the impacts of the Covid-19 crisis on education and training.   The focus of the introductory chapter is on the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on education and training, namely distance learning, for which the Commission expresses concerns surrounding the uneven access, quality and wellbeing . The report elaborates on how the pandemic has shown us the importance of stepping up the readiness of digital education, preparing teachers and supporting pupils who contrary to popular belief are not digitally native. It also highlights that Member States which adapted better to the crisis, managed to do so because of investments in comprehensive digital education policies covering a broad range of aspects, from devices and infrastructure to skills development and pedagogical content.   Read the full reaction here

BRUSSELS, 9 December 2020. A high-level panel debate during the meeting of the Lifelong Learning Interest Group on 1 December launched a discussion on key issues related to the European Education Area. The discussion took place virtually during the Lifelong Learning Week 2020 and brought together more than 60 key stakeholders in the education, learning and training sector. A call for more Europe in education In her opening speech, MEP Sirpa Pietikäinen (EPP, Finland) addressed one of the central problems concerning education policy at European level: “We need more Europe in education,” referring to the fact that although Europe is working on a common education area, in the field of education the Member States still have exclusive legislative powers. Furthermore, she addressed the financing of educational measures: “If more financial resources are not made available, we will not be able to offer adequate jobs for the skills available in the future”. She underlined that lifelong learning is constitutive for Europe’s future and that this also requires greater appreciation and better training of teaching staff. “European cooperation can enrich the inclusiveness and digitalisation of education,” said Janine Costa, Education Attachée of the Portuguese Permanent Representation , underlining the EU added-value. A European Education Area for all generations Ms Costa mentioned a central issue: “The European Education Area lacks a holistic approach to education that takes into account all areas of lifelong learning.” In order to overcome this, all relevant stakeholders, including academics, should work together at national and EU level to build a future-proof strategy. Ms Costa said that the next steps towards a common education area will be undertaken during the Portuguese Council Presidency; however, that the success of any initiative relies on the collaboration between the Member States, the European institutions as well as representatives and stakeholders at the national level. MEP Radka Maxová (Renew Europe, Czech Republic) highlighted the limited recognition of the needs of senior citizens no longer active in the labour market. “Education and lifelong learning are equally important for older learners and seniors. We must take this into account in European policy”. As the EU’s population ages, education systems should adapt to these changing circumstances and support the promotion of active and healthy ageing. “Digital literacy and competences of all generations, including older learners, are just some of the aspects we need to address in the future,” said Ms Maxová. Policy coherence is a critical point Over the next few years, two main strategies will guide EU policies in the field of education and training, namely the European Education Area mainly focusing on the formal education sector and the Skills Agenda which is centred around adult learning and skills acquisition. Carlo Scatoli, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion of the Commission , addressed the issue of policy coherence: “It is necessary that initiatives are coherent with other initiatives, but also in themselves. This includes building bridges between the Skills Agenda, the European Education Area and other strategies, such as the SME strategy” he said. At the same time, he expressed his confidence that these challenges can be met through global level cooperation, citing the successful work on recognition of international qualifications. In Mr Scatoli’s view, the European path to digitisation could trigger better coherence in education policy, aiming to increase the digital literacy of the population. “This will require major efforts by Member States, various European bodies and all other stakeholders. Civil society will play a key role in this process”, he said. Need for equity of learning provision “Our society must learn lessons from the current crisis and improve learning opportunities for all”, said Tatjana Babrauskiene, representative of the European Economic and Social Committee and the European Trade Union Committee for Education . “Work on upskilling and reskilling is particularly important for vulnerable groups such as women and girls. But at the same time, it is also a necessity for the workforce, especially when we think of active citizenship. Soft skills must be further promoted as they bring benefits to both society and the workforce,” said Ms Babrauskiene who also called for better opportunities for the further training of teachers at all levels of education. “I want to underline the role of social and citizenship skills that are needed by all citizens. This is a pre-condition for the development of a European Education Area”. Oonagh Aitken, Volonteurope and Lifelong Learning Platform Steering Committee Member , affirmed that European education must not be revolutionary but evolutionary. “We need more synergies between policies. Five years is an ambitious timeframe for the objectives of the European Education Area, so the targets must also be ambitious,” she said, emphasising civil society’s role in implementing the European Education Area, but also in the negotiations on the design of education strategies. Ms Aitken added that better financing is needed, citing that “Erasmus+ needs significant investment to become truly inclusive,” and that we need equity of learning provision”. Cooperation and collaboration between all stakeholders key to inclusive education Several interventions by civil society stakeholders following the panel confirmed the need for more synergies between European policies in the field of education, and for teacher training accompanied by adequate funding. Agnieszka Szplit, Association for Teacher Education in Europe , said that “we need to focus on teacher autonomy” and noted that communities for practitioners and the exchange of good practice from teachers’ experience are as valuable as research into teaching methods. The issue of promoting mental health through education was taken up by EMDR Europe , with reference to the human dimension in EU policies on education and lifelong learning. Alice Modena, Euroclio , also stressed that currently education policies focus on STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, and maths) rather than on humanities, and that teacher training must give more space to diversity aspects such as gender, religion and philosophy so as to promote social skills and support inclusive education. Arja Krauchenberg, European Parents’ Association and Lifelong Learning Platform President , said that the pandemic has shown that parents need to be empowered to support their children’s education and development. Uwe Gartenschlaeger, moderator of the debate and President of the European Association for the Education of Adults , noted in his conclusions that “the meeting shows that cooperation and collaboration between actors in the field of education and lifelong learning is a key issue when considering how to achieve a European Area of Education”.

BRUSSELS, 9 December 2020. A high-level panel debate during the meeting of the Lifelong Learning Interest Groupon 1 December launched a discussion on key issues related to the European Education Area. The discussion took place virtually during the Lifelong Learning Week 2020and brought together more than 60 key stakeholders in the education, learning and training sector. A call for more Europe in education In her opening speech,MEP Sirpa Pietikäinen (EPP, Finland)addressed one of the central problems concerning education policy at European level: “We need more Europe in education,” referring to the fact that although Europe is working on a common education area, in the field of education the Member States still have exclusive legislative powers. Furthermore, she addressed the financing of educational measures: “If more financial resources are not made available, we will not be able to offer adequate jobs for the skills available in the future”. She underlined that lifelong learning is constitutive for Europe’s future and that this also requires greater appreciation and better training of teaching staff. “European cooperation can enrich the inclusiveness and digitalisation of education,” said Janine Costa, Education Attachée of the Portuguese Permanent Representation, underlining the EU added-value. A European Education Area for all generations Ms Costa mentioned a central issue: “The European Education Area lacks a holistic approach to education that takes into account all areas of lifelong learning.” In order to overcome this, all relevant stakeholders, including academics, should work together at national and EU level to build a future-proof strategy. Ms Costa said that the next steps towards a common education area will be undertaken during the Portuguese Council Presidency; however, that the success of any initiative relies on the collaboration between the Member States, the European institutions as well as representatives and stakeholders at the national level. MEP Radka Maxová (Renew Europe, Czech Republic)highlighted the limited recognition of the needs of senior citizens no longer active in the labour market. “Education and lifelong learning are equally important for older learners and seniors. We must take this into account in European policy”. As the EU’s population ages, education systems should adapt to these changing circumstances and support the promotion of active and healthy ageing. “Digital literacy and competences of all generations, including older learners, are just some of the aspects we need to address in the future,” said Ms Maxová. Policy coherence is a critical point Over the next few years, two main strategies will guide EU policies in the field of education and training, namely the European Education Area mainly focusing on the formal education sector and the Skills Agenda which is centred around adult learning and skills acquisition. Carlo Scatoli, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion of the Commission, addressed the issue of policy coherence: “It is necessary that initiatives are coherent with other initiatives, but also in themselves. This includes building bridges between the Skills Agenda, the European Education Area and other strategies, such as the SME strategy” he said. At the same time, he expressed his confidence that these challenges can be met through global level cooperation, citing the successful work on recognition of international qualifications. In Mr Scatoli’s view, the European path to digitisation could trigger better coherence in education policy, aiming to increase the digital literacy of the population. “This will require major efforts by Member States, various European bodies and all other stakeholders. Civil society will play a key role in this process”, he said. Need for equity of learning provision “Our society must learn lessons from the current crisis and improve learning opportunities for all”, saidTatjana Babrauskiene, representative of the European Economic and Social Committee and the European Trade Union Committee for Education. “Work on upskilling and reskilling is particularly important for vulnerable groups such as women and girls. But at the same time, it is also a necessity for the workforce, especially when we think of active citizenship. Soft skills must be further promoted as they bring benefits to both society and the workforce,” said Ms Babrauskiene who also called for better opportunities for the further training of teachers at all levels of education. “I want to underline the role of social and citizenship skills that are needed by all citizens. This is a pre-condition for the development of a European Education Area”. Oonagh Aitken, Volonteurope and Lifelong Learning Platform Steering Committee Member, affirmed that European education must not be revolutionary but evolutionary. “We need more synergies between policies. Five years is an ambitious timeframe for the objectives of the European Education Area, so the targets must also be ambitious,” she said, emphasising civil society’s role in implementing the European Education Area, but also in the negotiations on the design of education strategies. Ms Aitken added that better financing is needed, citing that “Erasmus+ needs significant investment to become truly inclusive,” and that we need equity of learning provision”. Cooperation and collaboration between all stakeholders key to inclusive education Several interventions by civil society stakeholders following the panel confirmed the need for more synergies between European policies in the field of education, and for teacher training accompanied by adequate funding. Agnieszka Szplit, Association for Teacher Education in Europe, said that “we need to focus on teacher autonomy” and noted that communities for practitioners and the exchange of good practice from teachers’ experience are as valuable as research into teaching methods. The issue of promoting mental health through education was taken up by EMDR Europe, with reference to the human dimension in EU policies on education and lifelong learning. Alice Modena, Euroclio, also stressed that currently education policies focus on STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, and maths) rather than on humanities, and that teacher training must give more space to diversity aspects such as gender, religion and philosophy so as to promote social skills and support inclusive education. Arja Krauchenberg, European Parents’ Association and Lifelong Learning Platform President, said that the pandemic has shown that parents need to be empowered to support their children’s education and development. Uwe Gartenschlaeger, moderator of the debate and President of the European Association for the Education of Adults, noted in his conclusions that “the meeting shows that cooperation and collaboration between actors in the field of education and lifelong learning is a key issue when considering how to achieve a European Area of Education”.

With the Lifelong Learning Awards LLLP takes a stand to celebrate creative and inclusive practices in education and training. The aim of the Lifelong Learning Award is to give visibility to innovative practices taking place all over Europe in order to attract public attention on lifelong learning as well as to inspire new practices and policies. Because of this, the Lifelong Learning Platform selects each year its annual specific priorities and sets its advocacy strategy on it. The LLLAwards are one of the tools that we use to mainstream our actions. This year’s edition will focus on LLLPlatform’s theme of 2020, “Lieflong Learning for Sustainable Societies”. Because of the large topic, categories and applications were very broad and encompassed lots of cross-sectoral issues. For such an exceptional topic, we are glad toannounce an outstanding Jury! Meet the members of the Jury who will award the winning practices on November 30th! We received over 120 applications, globally representing 32 countries, but we could only select 3 winners, for the 3 categories. And the winners are… Best practice in ‘Learning that empowers – The future of learning’: MigratED by We-World GVC The MigratED project aims at disseminating good educational practices on intercultural dialogue, migration and human rights, by training teachers, educators and younger generations on these topics and on the use of digital and multimedia tools. Best practice in ‘Learning that matters – The future of skills’: Voluntary Youth Work Recognition for Employability By Social and Youth Workers and its European partners This long-term Erasmus+ project is developed by Social and Youth Workers and its European partners and aims to increase recognition of voluntary youth work in society and among youth field employers, to acknowledge and validate youth volunteering in local, regional and national level, develop volunteers’ competences and link them to the labor market through validation of the skills and knowledge gained as a part of non-formal learning. Best practice in ‘Learning that lasts – Sustainable learning’: Todos na Rede (Natura 2000) by KEEP Association Winner of the ICNF Award 2019 – A Natural Idea, the project “Todos na Rede (Natura 2000)” introduced the Natura 2000 Network of Mainland Portugal (SPA – Special Protection Areas and SIC – Sites of Community Importance) to the school community and the general population, through games (interactive and memory), electronic books, exhibitions and photography contests.

On September 30th, the European Commission unveiled its plans for three long-awaited strategic proposals: the Digital Education Action Plan (2021-2027) , the European Research Area , and the European Education Area to be achieved by 2025 . The communications outline a number of actions for the next five years. The Lifelong Learning Platform welcomes the new wide-ranging vision for European education and training as an acknowledgement of the key role it plays to Europe’s social and sustainable future. We also welcome the historic moment where linking research and education is becoming a reality. The announced Education Package is not new to many, the European Education Area was first announced in the meeting of EU leaders at the Gothenburg Social Summit in November 2017 as a step forward for EU-level cooperation in the field of education and training that would contribute to a greater social Europe. Following the Social Summit, a set of measures were launched in the Communication in May 2018 “ Building a stronger Europe: the role of youth, education and culture policies ” in reaction to which LLLP put forward a number of recommendations. In this reaction , LLLP puts forward a number of recommendations to support further development of the European Education Area and highlights a number of aspects that require further effort for achieving its holistic vision.

The Lifelong Learning Platform and Job Bridge project partners are happy to invite you to the project’s final event that will fit into 10th REVEAL conference “ How to Avoid a Learning Lockdown Online? ” taking place on the 10th and 11th December 2020 .   LLLP was a partner in the Job Bridge project , which aims to fill the gap in the assessment and validation of competences acquired in volunteering by developing a user-centred approach for the validation of non-formal and informal learning and supporting both volunteers and facilitators of volunteers in that process.   The project intended to bridge the informal, non-formal and formal learning sectors by integrating social, personal and organisational competences in a system, the Level 5 methodology, which can be equally used and useful for the employability and personal development of individuals as well as improving the service provision of volunteer-based organisations.   During the event the winners of the Job Bridge Awards will be announced. 3 winners will be presenting their innovative and creative initiatives in validation in the volunteering sector. The REVEAL conference will address the challenges and opportunities for activities in all sectors brought about by accelerated digitalisation. The conference will bring together professionals from formal and informal education, businesses, chambers, NGOs, National Agencies, volunteers and students from all over Europe to focus on new approaches to embed creative, innovative and digitally supported learning approaches in various educational contexts. The 10th REVEAL conference is organised as a 2-day online event and will consist of keynotes, interactive collaboration formats and appropriate opportunities for informal meetings, exchange and social moments. The conference comes with a virtual exhibition, meeting and networking spaces for students, volunteers and enterprises and development workshops for ERASMUS projects in the new funding period.

As part of the GamifyEU project, YEU will present this new campaign called EUCTIONARY! What is it? It’s a series of videos that will explain in an easygoing way, basic concepts related to the European Union and its institutions. We know that it seems quite complicated to make a distinction between the roles and functions of the different institutions. This is why we decided to make this campaign, to bring these concepts closer to the young people. Continue reading

The Lifelong Learning Platform and InScool project partners are happy to invite you to InScool final advocacy event. Date: 18 November 2020 – 3pm-6pm CET (online) This advocacy event is marking the closure of the Erasmus+ funded Inclusive Schools – InScool project with the aim to highlight best practices identified in the course of the two-year project to a large audience of education stakeholders from the viewpoint of policy and practice. Due to Covid restrictions worldwide the event will take place online.   InScool final advocacy event will bring together policy makers and educational practitioners in a 3-hour online conference that will consist of a panel of experts, interactions with the audience and break-out sessions with representatives of project stakeholders (teachers, education consultants, school leaders, experts, academics, policy-makers etc). Guests and participants will share their experience in the field; from everyday stories of inclusion in the classroom to good practices for improving school inclusion strategies. *Registrations are compulsory. In the course of the event, we will aim to raise meaningful discussion and interactions around the challenges of inclusion and achievements of everyday educational practitioners who will communicate key messages to the policy makers attending the event. The outcomes of the discussion will also feed a set of recommendations intended to policy makers on national and EU level.   The event is co-organised by the Lifelong Learning Platform and InScool project partners. For more information, please contact projects [AT] lllplatform.eu