On January 23-24, CODESKILLS4ROBOTICS partners flew to the north of Sweden to discuss the work of the past six months and discuss the next steps ahead. CODESKILLS4ROBOTICS is an Erasmus+ KA2 project which aims to promote the development of STEM skills among students aged 9-12 through the channel of educational robotics (in particular through the LEGO Boost set). In the second half of 2019, CODESKILLS4ROBOTICS partners have focused on finalising one of the core project results: a comprehensive Educational Back Pack which supports the introduction of educational robotics in the classroom through the LEGO Boost set . As foreseen in the previously developed Competence Framework , the Back Pack guides students and teachers in exploring basic and advanced robotics functionalities with the help of REA, a custom build which allows students to quickly move from building to coding. Vernie from the LEGO Boost set The Back Pack is already available in PDF version but will also be accessible on the project e-learning platform , where students and teachers will be able to go through the material, assess their understanding of the contents and earn 6 different badges . The Back Pack is accompanied by a collection of 4 creative scenarios which allows students to test their competences by tackling different (and easily customisable) challenges related to space , music , history and the environment .

For two years, the Lifelong Learning platform cooperated with 8 organisations (university, research centers, municipality, social cooperative, NGOs) from across the EU to develop a new inclusive programme for youth workers and young people, the COMANITY programme . As the European project is coming to its end and because it was such a great and successful programme, we want to give it a legacy. That’s why we are launching this call for interest and participation.    What is it?   The COMANITY programme is a unique blended programme for youth workers and volunteers working with disadvantaged young people (NEETS, at-risk behaviours, substance misuse, offenders, mental health difficulties, socio-economic barriers and others), and aims to enhance their competences in empowering young people in their community.   See the project’s Brochure here for an overview of the project. The COMANITY programme includes: a competence framework, which defines the skills that community animateurs must develop to fulfil at best their role, a training programme to learn about those competences, a self-assessment tool to assess these competences, an online knowledge space, the “ COMANITY HUB ” and participatory action-research methodologies to implement and evaluate the programme.   What makes COMANITY different? The programme is innovative at European level because it promotes a “ community approach ” to working with disadvantaged youth, by better understanding and connecting to the young person’s lifeworld. It engages young people directly in the activity in their own community using a participatory action-research approach. To whom? The call addresses youth organisations mostly (professionals, youth workers, and volunteers) but it is also open to a wider range of stakeholders from social services, youth services, public authorities, other NGOs to companies with social mission. How do you express your interest? >>> Fill the following Google Form here and we will get back to you in a few weeks. What do you commit to?   It’s up to you! Based on your expression of interest, we will send you in few weeks the Toolkit “Ten steps to develop a COMANITY programme” and you are free to use it if you find it interesting.

On November 13th, LLLP with the support of COMANITY project partners organised an EU Round Table on the very timely topic of ‘ Skills for the Future of Youth work ‘ in Brussels ( agenda ). It was the COMANITY project’s final conference . The event was therefore also a celebration of two years of fruitful collaborative work between the nine organisations that composed the partnership. Over 60 participants from across the EU attended and actively contributed to the discussions.   See the photos of the event here Joe Cullen, COMANITY project coordinator and founder of the COMANITY idea, presented the project results ( PPT presentation ): a competence framework for youth workers, a training programme and the successful implementation of the pilots in four EU countries (UK, Greece, Spain and Italy). The added value of the ‘community animateur’ in comparison with a youth worker is the capacity to enhance the sense of community belonging in young people and engaging them actively in their community.    The first panel of the Round Table, ‘From Research to Policy’, gathered policy-makers from the European Commission, the EU Council of Europe – Youth partnerships, a Member of the European Parliament, as well as a civil society representative from the European Youth Forum. They agreed that the availability of funding and support to youth workers is very unbalanced between EU countries and generally insufficient. Research, such as the ‘action-research’ performed in COMANITY has long been proven useful and successful, including to inform policy-makers on policy design. It was also said that youth is listened to and taken into consideration by policy-makers at EU level, but to which extent are those suggestions and recommendations adopted and implemented? This needs to be monitored.   In a session called ‘ The Voice of Youth ‘, 8 youth workers from Greece, UK, Italy and Spain who participated in the COMANITY programme, went on the stage to share their heartwarming experience with the audience. Fields of experiences from the COMANITY programme pilot implementation were very diverse and ranged from young people with at-risk behaviours, others dealing with former drug addictions, mental health issues, or disabilities. See the presentation from Spain ( PPT ). In the interactive session called ‘The stakeholders’ perspective ‘, participants were invited to split into four groups, each of which tasked to discuss a specific theme on social inclusion of marginalised young people. The four themes discussed were ‘engagement in the community’, ‘community work and young people’, ‘vulnerable groups and social inclusion’ and ‘education’.   Engagement in the community For marginalised and vulnerable young people to become engaged as volunteers, activists and Animators in their local communities, they need to be given trust, love and respect. The formulation of – and subscription to – ‘Group Values’ is a paramount factor in the success of initiatives like COMANITY. Community Animators – and youth workers in general – need to understand what these group values are before trying to engage with young people. Early intervention is key, even starting from primary education levels. At policy level, the nature of community engagement – and the role of the Community Animateur – means that youth policy cannot be fragmented. ‘ A holistic approach to youth work is critical ‘ Community work and young people The second group talked about the tension between a professional development building on education standards and the inherent flexibility of youth work. Indeed, sometimes, training and competence framework can be seen as imposing formalisation. It was also suggested that local authorities could be instrumental in supporting initiatives like COMANITY – on the one hand by providing access to the COMANITY training programme for young people with few or no qualifications – and on the other by acting as certification and accreditation bodies to recognise their engagement. Vulnerable groups and social inclusion One of the major problems highlighted by this group was that evidence suggests that policy-makers and other key stakeholders in the youth and social inclusion fields are not sufficiently aware of the dynamics that drive marginalisation and social exclusion. The situation of young people – particularly those who are ‘on the margins’ – is complex and challenging. Policy-making tends to be preoccupied with easy-to-categorise ‘target groups’ – like NEETs, young immigrants and educational drop-outs. The reality is that these target groups are blurred – and excluded and marginalised young people are faced with multiple, and mutually-reinforcing issues (like poverty, limited opportunities, health issues). There is therefore a need for policy-making to become more aware of these dynamics, more reflective and more evidence-based.   Education The key issue highlighted by this group was the ‘meaning’ of education – and a key question was ‘what should be the connection between formal and non-formal learning in the youth and community environment?’ It was argued that there is a pressing need in general to bring down the barriers between ‘society’ and the formalised world of educational systems and practices. A radical idea proposed was to open up formal education and take students out of the school and into civil society. Although active citizenship is to some extent on the formal educational curriculum, most students, it was argued, have no idea of what active citizenship means in practice and what are the key issues and problems that need to be addressed through active citizenship.   Closing words and Reception in Music Finally, the youth Attaché of the Bulgarian Permanent Representation, Yasen Gyurov, closed the conference by saying encouraging words on the Council conclusions that were just approved by the Permanent Representations of the EU. He recommended that COMANITY results should get into the ears of national policy-makers as they are committed to improving quality and professionalisation of youth work in the EU. COMANITY partners will make sure to follow-up! Last but not least, members of the Strofi band from Greece, invited by MEP Arvanitis and KETHEA, partner in COMANITY, play rock covers for the participants at the reception.

December 3, Brussels – The OECD PISA 2018 and of the EU results were launched on the 3 December in Brussels. The Lifelong Learning Platform participated in the launching event which confirmed our biggest concern: pupils’ wellbeing is a major challenge. While PISA focuses on fundamental competencies such as reading, mathematics, and sciences it also looks at the general satisfaction of pupils with school experience. Building on a detailed analysis, the report shows that the number of underachieving students in the EU has increased from 2015 to 2018. This prompts the reader to understand that EU countries are not doing enough to “equipping citizens with the knowledge and skills”. The reason behind such an increase differs from country to country and thus the mechanisms to deal with them need to be adapted to the specific challenges while also, and most importantly, adopting a holistic approach to learner well-being and development. The report shows a big difference between the EU Member States in relation to their funding of education and student achievement. Even though it is not possible to establish a direct linear relationship between spending and educational achievements, one can observe, from the PISA report, that countries that spend more in education most of the time achieve better results of their students . The Lifelong Learning Platform strongly believes that education is a public good and a human right and, as such, should be at the forefront of every national policy with a clear investment strategy. This is a vital step to help students achieve their full potential, both as individuals and as part of a complex society. The report also shows that students’ socioeconomic status continues to affect their performance. In fact, the proportion of underachievers (in reading in particular and education in general) in most countries is much larger in the bottom quarter of the Economic, Social and Cultural Status of Students (ESCS) index compared to pupils in the top quarter of ESCS: up to more than 40 percentage points in Romania and Bulgaria. Socioeconomic status also strongly affects pupils’ educational expectations. In the many EU Member States, more than 80% of pupils from advantaged families think they will complete tertiary education, while fewer than 50% of disadvantaged pupils do. This is because the latter do not usually get the help they need and as such lose their hunger and determination for school. Their chances of future employment thus decrease and they are more inclined to rely on social welfare later in life. This is a worrying sign, especially because of its recurrence: the EU Member States are not acting upon it. The proportion of underachievers is even worse for students from a migrant background . The situation is usually worse for pupils born abroad (their underachievement rate exceeds 50% in Greece, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden) than for native-born pupils with parents born abroad. The main cause is the difference in language, because language barriers play a negative role in the reading performance of pupils with a migrant background, to a greater extent than for mathematics or science. Another discrepancy in students’ performance – and especially reading – is based on their gender. Even though there is no big difference in achievement between boys and girls, girls outperform boys in reading skills in all EU countries. The EU average is 26.3% for boys and 16.9% for girls. These differences arise from the social and cultural context, pupils’ non-cognitive abilities (such as motivation and self-esteem), and gender stereotypes that translate into parents’, teachers’ and pupils’ gender-oriented expectations. Our school systems need to implement changes so as to make them as welcoming as possible for all and make sure that every pupil is valued for their skills, abilities and unique characteristics, regardless of gender. Students should not fit pre-crafted containers, but their education should, on the contrary, be tailored towards their needs and aptitudes. Another important issue discussed in the PISA report is the wellbeing of pupils in school. There are many factors that determine the wellbeing of students in school but bullying (including cyberbullying) and violence undermine both pupils’ well-being and their performance at school. More than one in five pupils reported being bullied at least a few times a month. EU countries should work more on making schools as friendly and inclusive spaces as possible, guided by strategic leadership and in close collaboration with parents, social services and other stakeholders in the wider community. After all, as the saying goes, it “takes a whole village to raise a child”. LLLP believes that investing in early childhood education would be of utmost help in order to alleviate the above-mentioned problems. High-quality Early Childhood Education boosts cognitive, character and social skills. It also has wider and long-term social benefits: it increases the likelihood of healthier lifestyles, lowers unemployment and reduces overall social costs of poverty and inequality. It can also ease inequality by enabling mothers to get back to work and support the household’s budget with a second income. All in all, the Lifelong Learning Platform calls for a rethinking of the “performance-based” approach to education and urges policymakers to make cautious use of PISA results. The performance of education systems themselves seems to be determined by a single survey representing 80 percent of the world’s economy (and not citizens) and assessing 15-year-olds in mathematics, science, and reading – only three subjects, more linked to economic outcomes of education. PISA results are often used selectively to justify policy-making, as they in fact do not claim to explain the causes and effects of phenomena in education. M. Sadler, one of the most influential comparativists of education warned already in 1900 that educational policies cannot be treated as “pick a flower from one bush and leaves from another, and then expect if we plant it at home we shall have a living plant.” Hence, we need to carefully consider education within its cultural context and local circumstances, looking at the differences between curricula, teaching and learning practices, teacher training and professional development, and practices of cooperation among the various actors and services that impact the lives and overall well-being of learners. This is the key to helping them achieve their full potential and deal with the challenges of 21st-century life. For more information about the results find here a few useful links: Our member’s view on PISA – OBESSU (Organising Bureau of European School Student Union) : link to the reaction . You can watch the web-streaming during which our Director, Brikena Xhomaqi raise the issue of PISA limitations and lack of focus on pupil’s wellbeing. Contact us for more information at policy@lllplatform.eu .

LLLP and partners launched a survey on the needs for a Community of Practice in the field of Validation for Prior Learning – VPL and Validation of Non-Formal and Informal Learning – VNFIL. Please find the survey here: https://bit.ly/2PAv9Kg

The fourth Global Report on Adult Learning and Education (GRALE) was launched on 5 December in Brussels at a meeting of the Interest Group on Lifelong Learning. The event, hosted by the Permanent Representation of Lower Saxony to the EU, took place in the framework of the Lifelong Learning Week 2019. Focus on adult learning to develop integrated, holistic solutions to global challenges The need for better recognition as well as financing of the education sector was at the centre of the high-level panel debate. While there is a wide acknowledgement that adult education is pivotal for creating inclusive societies, tools and instruments put forward by countries in Europe and other parts of the world are often insufficient to ensure large participation in lifelong learning. Panellists, coming both from civil society organisations, governmental and intergovernmental institutions, agreed on the need to decisively step up participation in learning and education. A special focus was brought on to adults. “Adult education and learning must be at the centre of efforts to achieve sustainable societies. All actors need to recognise its key role in the development of integrated, holistic solutions to the problems we face,” said David Atchoarena , Director of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL), during his opening speech. Sustainability plays a key role in adult education His Excellency Mahougnon Kakpo , Minister of Ministry of Secondary, Technical and Vocational Education and Training of Benin, underlined that all education needs to start with adults in order to achieve the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. “Equality is a global issue. Adult education provides a system for creating it,” he said. “Sustainability plays a key role in the context of adult education. We need adult learning to implement the SDGs. As a society, our individual actors and consumers need to be aware of sustainability issues if we want to meet the goals by 2030,” Gina Ebner , Secretary General of the European Association for the Education of Adults, stressed in the discussion. “At the same time, we also need more sustainability of actual adult education policies.” A new mindset to see education as a lifelong cycle “We should change the culture and mindset that surrounds learning as an adult and see education as a lifelong cycle,” said Tatjana Babrauskiene , Member of the European Economic and Social Committee. She stressed that a holistic approach is needed not only for the way we teach but also for policy development and implementation. There was a general agreement that “we must stop this culture that ‘the end of formal education means the end of our learning process,” as underlined by Manuela Geleng , Director for Skills in DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion of the European Commission. A paradigm shift starts with increased investment in adult education “There is a need for a paradigm shift in education policies that has to start with increased investment in adult education. A considerable number of countries is using less than 0.5 per cent of their education budgets for adult education. This is not enough to reach our target to get at least 15 per cent of adults into lifelong learning.” During the policy debate, it was anticipated that the European Commission will put adult learning high on the political agenda in the next years. Everyone needs to have the right and the possibility to access learning Adult participation in lifelong learning remains a key issue in almost all countries reviewed in the GRALE report. One-third of countries reported no change in participation rates, and some even reported a regression over the past years. Marginalised groups, including migrants, people with disabilities as well as older people, are particularly ill-represented in adult learning due to different barriers to participation. Mr Atchoarena expressed concern that “most policy attention is on basic skills and employment education.” He called for more attention to issues related to citizenship, especially as democracy is in crisis in many parts of the world. “Participation in adult education plays a central role in being an active citizen and strengthening democratic systems. We must revisit the ways in which we use adult education policies to respond to emerging issues and problems, not only for the economy but for society as a whole,” he said. The GRALE report urges policy-makers to work on and implement strategies for the participation in adult learning. “If things continue as they are — and without a significant change in political outlook there are good chances they will — the benefits of adult learning will continue to coalesce around the better-off and most advantaged in society, reinforcing and even intensifying existing inequalities, rather than helping the least advantaged individuals and communities.” Bringing all stakeholders together and offering guidance is central Lucie Susova , SOLIDAR Foundation, and Sylvia Liuti , FORMA.Azione, represented the voice of civil society in the panel. Ms Susova emphasised the importance of bringing all stakeholders together, including social services, legal services, as well as civil society, in order to support learners as they move between service providers. Ms Liuti said that “adults need to be empowered to ask for education support and provision without fear of stigma.” Participation of adults in lifelong learning is higher in countries and regions, where these support mechanisms exist. H.E. Kakpo said: “Lifelong learning and adult education should be leading global development. In a world with rapid technological changes, learning helps our citizens to cope with these changes, and be full citizens.” “We must not take democracy, values and participation for granted. And lifelong learning has a key role to play in keeping track as they develop, evolve and change,” concluded Brikena Xhomaqi , Director of the Lifelong Learning Platform.

The fourth Global Report on Adult Learning and Education (GRALE) was launched on 5 December in Brussels at a meeting of the Interest Group on Lifelong Learning. The event, hosted by the Permanent Representation of Lower Saxony to the EU, took place in the framework of the Lifelong Learning Week 2019. Focus on adult learning to develop integrated, holistic solutions to global challenges The need for better recognition as well as financing of the education sector was at the centre of the high-level panel debate. While there is a wide acknowledgement that adult education is pivotal for creating inclusive societies, tools and instruments put forward by countries in Europe and other parts of the world are often insufficient to ensure large participation in lifelong learning. Panellists, coming both from civil society organisations, governmental and intergovernmental institutions, agreed on the need to decisively step up participation in learning and education. A special focus was brought on to adults. “Adult education and learning must be at the centre of efforts to achieve sustainable societies. All actors need to recognise its key role in the development of integrated, holistic solutions to the problems we face,” said David Atchoarena, Director of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL), during his opening speech. Sustainability plays a key role in adult education His Excellency Mahougnon Kakpo, Minister of Ministry of Secondary, Technical and Vocational Education and Training of Benin, underlined that all education needs to start with adults in order to achieve the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. “Equality is a global issue. Adult education provides a system for creating it,” he said. “Sustainability plays a key role in the context of adult education. We need adult learning to implement the SDGs. As a society, our individual actors and consumers need to be aware of sustainability issues if we want to meet the goals by 2030,” Gina Ebner, Secretary General of the European Association for the Education of Adults, stressed in the discussion. “At the same time, we also need more sustainability of actual adult education policies.” A new mindset to see education as a lifelong cycle “We should change the culture and mindset that surrounds learning as an adult and see education as a lifelong cycle,” said Tatjana Babrauskiene, Member of the European Economic and Social Committee. She stressed that a holistic approach is needed not only for the way we teach but also for policy development and implementation. There was a general agreement that “we must stop this culture that ‘the end of formal education means the end of our learning process,” as underlined byManuela Geleng, Director for Skills in DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion of the European Commission. A paradigm shift starts with increased investment in adult education “There is a need for a paradigm shift in education policies that has to start with increased investment in adult education. A considerable number of countries is using less than 0.5 per cent of their education budgets for adult education. This is not enough to reach our target to get at least 15 per cent of adults into lifelong learning.” During the policy debate, it was anticipated that the European Commission will put adult learning high on the political agenda in the next years. Everyone needs to have the right and the possibility to access learning Adult participation in lifelong learning remains a key issue in almost all countries reviewed in the GRALE report. One-third of countries reported no change in participation rates, and some even reported a regression over the past years. Marginalised groups, including migrants, people with disabilities as well as older people, are particularly ill-represented in adult learning due to different barriers to participation. Mr Atchoarena expressed concern that “most policy attention is on basic skills and employment education.” He called for more attention to issues related to citizenship, especially as democracy is in crisis in many parts of the world. “Participation in adult education plays a central role in being an active citizen and strengthening democratic systems. We must revisit the ways in which we use adult education policies to respond to emerging issues and problems, not only for the economy but for society as a whole,” he said. The GRALE report urges policy-makers to work on and implement strategies for the participation in adult learning. “If things continue as they are — and without a significant change in political outlook there are good chances they will — the benefits of adult learning will continue to coalesce around the better-off and most advantaged in society, reinforcing and even intensifying existing inequalities, rather than helping the least advantaged individuals and communities.” Bringing all stakeholders together and offering guidance is central Lucie Susova, SOLIDAR Foundation, and Sylvia Liuti, FORMA.Azione, represented the voice of civil society in the panel. Ms Susova emphasised the importance of bringing all stakeholders together, including social services, legal services, as well as civil society, in order to support learners as they move between service providers. Ms Liuti said that “adults need to be empowered to ask for education support and provision without fear of stigma.” Participation of adults in lifelong learning is higher in countries and regions, where these support mechanisms exist. H.E. Kakpo said: “Lifelong learning and adult education should be leading global development. In a world with rapid technological changes, learning helps our citizens to cope with these changes, and be full citizens.” “We must not take democracy, values and participation for granted. And lifelong learning has a key role to play in keeping track as they develop, evolve and change,” concluded Brikena Xhomaqi, Director of the Lifelong Learning Platform.

On November 13th, LLLP with the support of COMANITY project partners organised a EU Round Table on the very timely topic of ‘ Skills for the Future of Youth work ‘ in Brussels ( agenda ). It was the COMANITY project’s final conference . The event was therefore also a celebration of two years of fruitful collaborative work between the nine organisations that composed the partnership. Over 60 participants from across the EU attended and actively contributed to the discussions.   See the photos of the event here Joe Cullen, COMANITY project coordinator and founder of the COMANITY idea, presented the project results ( PPT presentation ). The project addressed the need to create a bridge between youth at the margins and youth organisations, by launching a new profile, the community animateur , who is able to better understand the needs of youth coming from the same background and to engage them in the communities they belong to.The added value of the community animateur in comparison with a youth worker is the capacity to enhance the sense of community belonging in young people and engaging them actively in their community. Check out the COMANITY project results here The first panel ‘From Research to Policy’ of the Round Table gathered policy-makers from the European Commission, the EU Council of Europe – Youth partnerships, a Member of the European Parliament, as well as a civil society representative from the European Youth Forum. They agreed that the availability of funding and support to youth workers is very unbalanced between EU countries and generally insufficient. Research, such as the ‘action-research’ performed in COMANITY has long been proved successful and useful, including to inform policy-makers on policy design. It was also said that youth is listened to and taken into consideration by policy-makers at EU level, but to which extent are those suggestions and recommendations adopted and implemented? This needs to be monitored.   In a session called ‘ The Voice of Youth ‘, 8 youth workers from Greece, UK, Italy and Spain who participated in the COMANITY programme, went on the stage to share their heartwarming experience with the audience. Fields of experiences from the COMANITY programme pilot implementation were very diverse and ranged from young people with at-risk behaviours, others dealing with former drug addictions, mental health issues, or disabilities. See the presentation from Spain ( PPT ). In the interactive session called ‘The stakeholders’ perspective ‘, participants were invited to split into four groups, each of which tasked to discuss a specific theme on social inclusion of marginalised young people. The four themes discussed were ‘engagement in the community’, ‘community work and young people’, ‘vulnerable groups and social inclusion’ and ‘education’.   Engagement in the community For marginalised and vulnerable young people to become engaged as volunteers, activists and Animators in their local communities, they need to be given trust, love and respect. The formulation of – and subscription to – ‘Group Values’ is a paramount factor in the success of initiatives like COMANITY. Community Animators – and youth workers in general – need to understand what these group values are before trying to engage with young people. Early intervention is key, even starting from primary education levels. At policy level, the nature of community engagement – and the role of the Community Animateur – means that youth policy cannot be fragmented. ‘ A holistic approach to youth work is critical ‘ Community work and young people The second group talked about the tension between a professional development building on education standards and the inherent flexibility of youth work. Indeed, sometimes, training and competence framework can be seen as imposing formalisation. It was suggested that local authorities could be instrumental in supporting initiatives like COMANITY – on the one hand by providing access to the COMANITY training programme for young people with few or no qualifications – and on the other by acting as certification and accreditation bodies to recognise their engagement. Vulnerable groups and social inclusion One of the major problems highlighted by this group was that evidence suggests that policy-makers and other key stakeholders in the youth and social inclusion fields are not sufficiently aware of the dynamics that drive marginalisation and social exclusion. The situation of young people – particularly those who are ‘on the margins’ – is complex and challenging. Policy-making tends to be preoccupied with easy-to-categorise ‘target groups’ – like NEETs, young immigrants and educational drop-outs. The reality is that these target groups are blurred – and excluded and marginalised young people are faced with multiple, and mutually-reinforcing issues (like poverty, limited opportunities, health issues). There is therefore a need for policy-making to become more aware of these dynamics, more reflective and more evidence-based.   Education The key issue highlighted by this group was the ‘meaning’ of education – and a key question posed was ‘what should be the connection between formal and non-formal learning in the  youth and community environment. It was argued that there is a pressing need in general to bring down the barriers between ‘society’ and the formalised world of educational systems and practices. A radical idea proposed was to open up formal education and take students out of the school and into civil society. Although active citizenship is to some extent on the formal educational curriculum, most students, it was argued, have no idea of what active citizenship means in practice and what are the key issues and problems that need to be addressed through active citizenship.   Closing words and Reception Finally, the youth Attaché of the Bulgarian Permanent Representation, Yasen Gyurov, closed the conference by saying encouraging words on the Council conclusions that were just approved by the Permanent Representations of the EU. He recommended that COMANITY results should get into the ears of national policy-makers as they are committed to improving quality and professionalisation of youth work in the EU. COMANITY partners will make sure to follow-up! Last but not least, members of the Strofi band from Greece, invited by MEP Arvanitis and KETHEA, partner in COMANITY, play rock covers for the participants at the reception.

On the 24th of October 2019 , the Lifelong Learning Platform together with the European Digital Learning network (Dlearn) and with the support of the DIGIT project partners , organised a European conference in Brussels to address the “ role for education in teaching safe and responsible behaviour online ”. Over 80 participants joined the event, representing civil society (⅓ of attendees), educational institutions (one third), policy makers (10%), companies (10%) and citizens (10%). They were presented with high quality presentations orchestrated by Mia Forbes Pirie, the event’s talented Master of Ceremony. All participants also enjoyed structured discussions during the workshops. Speakers represented a variety of organisations and institutions from across the European Union, the European Commission, community and adult education centers, universities, civil society organisations, knowledge centers, schools and consumer organisations.   See the event programme here The main topic of the conference was digital footprint , i.e. “ the trail of data you create while using the internet ”. While the concept is not yet fully well-known or understood, there is a lot of pre-existing awareness and interest in what it covers (i.e. storing, use and sharing of data). Citizens, generally, only start to care about digital footprint for personal reasons, because they are aware there are some existing risks associated with sharing data, actively or passively, on the web and through the use of mobile devices. Those risks can be related to safety, reputation, rights, intellectual property, identify theft, screen addiction or online political participation etc. While the conference talks addressed those risks, it also looked at solutions and things that we can do individually, at work or in the family context, to mitigate them.   Find the photos of the event here In the morning, the aim was to introduce these issues to the participants in a European context. Digital footprint is indeed a common European challenge (if not global) and a few initiatives are already launched at EU level with the aim to tackle the challenge. Among the most known initiatives is the General Data Regulation Protection (GDPR) and among the most promising is the recent Digital Education Action plan . At national level, most common approaches are through consumer protection and awareness raising campaigns. However, there is still insufficient education and training opportunities offered to learners, in particular adults, on that topic. Dlearn’s President, Gianluca Coppola, also a partner in the DIGIT project, then presented the results of – probably the largest in the EU, having collected almost 20,000 entries – survey on digital footprint . The results showed that 80% of respondents do not read the privacy policy text in full before agreeing to new subscriptions, while the same number try to be more mindful of what they publish online. 50% would like their data to remain private and not used for any purpose, while 70% acknowledge that they are not in full control of their digital identity. More results of the Dlearn’s survey can be found here    This was followed by a presentation of the DIGIT project by the coordinator, Katarzyna Pydzińska Azevedo from the company InNCREASE. DIGIT’s ambition was to “ boost adults competences on digital footprint ”, and partners can tell that after 2 years of implementation, it was a success. DIGIT provided a guide for educators as well as useful training materials to use in adult education classes. The training programme was well received by those who piloted it, both educators (over 50 tested the programme) and adult learners (more than 250 were trained!), and partners hope that those resources will further be used in the future. The Lifelong Learning Platform Director, Brikena Xhomaqi, then made the case for more policy actions at EU level to educate citizens on responsible online behaviours .   More results from the DIGIT project here   During the afternoon, some key related topics were approached: ethics and the management of data, digital citizenship and how to engage citizens in producing their own awareness campaign, the use of game-based learning to teach about responsible online identity and the issue of intellectual property rights and data. This session helped in feeding the policy recommendations produced at the end of the project’s duration (October 2019). Do you want to learn about more practices on digital footprint?   Join the Linkedin Group ! Speaker presentations Keynote: From identity and footprints to reputation and ethics – Liliana Carrillo, Serial entrepreneur and researcher Findings of the survey on digital footprint – Gianluca Coppola, President, European Digital Learning Network (DLearn) Highlights of DIGIT (“Digital Identity”) project by Katarzyna Pydzińska Azevedo, Project Coordinator Recommendations for policy makers by Brikena Xhomaqi, Director, Lifelong Learning Platform Workshops Cyber volunteers for digital citizenship! By Angel Sola Lopez, Cibervoluntarios (ES) Ethical implications of data management by Brendan Tierney and Damian Gordon, Technological University Dublin (IE) Game-Based Learning co-creation for Responsible Online Identity by Ilias Batzogiannis, Platon School of Katerini (GR) Intellectual property and identity: it’s about digital rights! By Gerhard Seiler, 21st Century Competence Centre (DE) Live-streaming videos (2 hours in total) Keynote and Highlights from the DIGIT project: https://youtu.be/KNGIcVRSwWQ Policy panel and “Walking lunch” pitches: https://youtu.be/q9xh7EJaWpM An after-movie will be produced soon on the conference.

On November 7-8, IN-QUAL partners met once again to wrap up the work done over the summer and plan the next steps. IN-QUAL project aims to support entrepreneurship education providers in the implementation of quality assurance systems and to promote a EU-wide culture of quality inspired by the EQAVET standards. Since the last meeting in June 2019, IN-QUAL partners have been hard at work to finalize the first result of the project: a three-part toolkit to support VET providers of entrepreneurship education in assessing and revising their quality assurance provisions . The package includes: EU Baseline Report : an analysis of the status quo of quality assurance in entrepreneurship education across Europe with a focus on Belgium, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands and Portugal. The Report also includes insights from interviews conducted with VET providers and a collection of best practices and case studies. Check out the EU Baseline Report ! Common Reference Framework : a structured collection of resources meant to support Quality Managers to understand, plan, execute and monitor the quality assurance strategy of their organisation. Available soon! Guidelines : an accessible, hands-on guide that offers Quality Managers quick directions to revise and improve specific aspects of their quality assurance strategy. Available soon! All of this will be reflected in an online training programme to be developed in the upcoming months: Quality Managers who log into the platform will receive a personalised recommendation on what modules of the training would best suit their needs (based on their level of experience and their availability in terms of time and resources). Each module can be completed online at one’s own pace and will offer Quality Managers easily implementable solutions to improve their quality assurance strategy. After a productive meeting in the beautiful city of Rome, IN-QUAL partners are eager to move on to the next steps of the project and share their results.

On October 18th, during the closing remarks of the European VVocational Skills Week, the Lifelong Learning Platform releases one of its greatest efforts: the 2019 position paper on 21st century learning environments . Learning can happen anytime, anywhere, and the spaces where this learning occurs are incredibly and increasingly diverse. Education systems are undergoing a paradigm shift in the struggle to meet the needs of learners in a world that is rapidly changing from a technological, demographic, societal and environmental perspective. The rich diversity of learning environments, whether within the formal education system or beyond in the local community, workplace or civil society, is more valuable than ever to meet these rapidly evolving needs. Learning takes place across a combination of these environments, and this prompts the LLLPlatform to address the above-mentioned changes in a comprehensive and decisive position paper that we hope will inform decision-making in the coming years. Read the position paper here

BRUSSELS, 30 September 2019 – On 25 September, ahead of the second European Education Summit, the European Parliament’s Lifelong Learning Interest Group met to discuss Skills for Life, Skills for the Future with Members of the European Parliament Julie Ward and Sirpa Pietikäinen, representatives of the European Commission, Finnish Presidency of the Council and stakeholders from all sectors of education, training and beyond. The meeting focused on how to better implement the concept of life skills, which enable people to fully participate in society as self-sufficient individuals, by bringing various domains and stakeholders together, including the different configurations of the EU institutions.   In the course of the discussions speakers and participants dwelled on four key areas:   Recognising the diversity of learning   “Learning can happen in so many different places and we have to continue to demonstrate that,” stressed Ms Ward. The audience heard testimonies from different sectors of learning, all crucial in their own right for the development of skills required by individuals across different life contexts, including adult education, higher education, VET, non-formal education as well as the less obvious field of sports. Bart Verschueren, Coordinator of EU Sport Link and representative of the International Sport and Culture Association (ISCA), emphasised the idea of physical literacy explaining: “sports help to include people in society and promote well-being. It is an essential part of lifelong learning.” Investing in European cooperation   Ms Pietikäinen made a strong plea to Member States to see the value of European cooperation and pooling of resources when it comes to skills policies: “We hope that we can encourage the Member States to see that lifelong learning is a European issue.” She added that it is a macroeconomic issue and so mechanisms such as the European Semester have a role to play. Margarida Segard, Vice-President of the European Association of Institutes for Vocational Training (EVBB), recommended further connecting the European and national levels in order to truly foster innovation.   Mainstreaming skills and policy synergies   Johanna Koponen, representative of the Finnish Presidency, emphasised its interest to promoting continuous learning by taking synergies between sectors further, notably through the first-ever joint Education and Economic and Financial Affairs Council meeting on 8 November. Roman Horvath from DG GROW stressed the skills needs from the perspective of industry, explaining that both technical and soft skills are required. However, this needs to be reflected within the institutions through more robust cooperation, recalled Lucie Susova, Vice-President of the Lifelong Learning Platform: “I hope that the (new Commission) President will mainstream skills issues holistically instead of having silos between DGs where they find it difficult to cooperate.” Strengthening cooperation between different sectors of education, formal and non-formal, was likewise highlighted by several speakers including Fabrice Gonet, Interim Secretary-General of the European Federation for Intercultural Learning (EFIL) and Gina Ebner, Secretary-General of the European Association for the Education of Adults (EAEA). Learning also needs to happen in a more multidisciplinary way, taking account of psychology, neuroscience and through a more integrated research agenda, commented Mirela Mazalu, Secretary-General of the European University College Association (EucA).   Promoting skills not only for the workforce The idea that education and lifelong learning are not only for the acquisition of labour market skills was evoked throughout the debate. Mónika Képe-Holmberg from DG EAC said this is clear in the cooperation between Member States, where the ET2020 framework deals with issues such as inclusion, inequalities and innovation in education. Ms Ebner explained EAEA’s Life Skills for Europe project which offers a holistic approach: “In our project, we developed a framework that identifies skills that every person needs in their personal and professional life. Education providers can adapt it to their own needs, starting from the learner’s needs.” Francesca Caena from the Joint Research Centre (JRC) also stressed the different facets of the Life Competence (LifeComp) framework, currently under development, which conceives learners as agents of change, integrating cross-cutting skills such as critical thinking, intercultural understanding and offering “the advantage of straddling employment, education and lifelong learning”.   The Lifelong Learning Platform and the European Association for the Education of Adults look forward to continuing constructive dialogue with the new European Commission and Parliament to embed a holistic approach to skills policies in the years to come.   Initiated in 2015 by the Lifelong Learning Platform and the European Association for the Education of Adults (EAEA), and chaired by MEP Sirpa Pietikäinen (Finland, EPP), the Interest Group on Lifelong Learning brings together civil society representatives and MEPs to discuss key issues connected to lifelong learning in Europe. Click here to access the pictures of the event!