Search this site

As COMANITY reaches its second year of activity, its nine partners gathered in Perugia (Italy) on April 8-9 to discuss in detail the final stages of this ambitious project. The COMANITY project , an Erasmus+ KA3 started in December 2017, aims to create a new role in youth work: the “ Community Animateur ”. Community Animateurs will be recruited among young people from marginalised communities and will be trained to become a crucial point of mediation and integration between youth workers and hard-to-reach young people . COMANITY partners met in Perugia to wrap up the extensive work of the past few months and plan the launch of the “Community Animateur” training programme and pilots . The pilot phase will be conducted in four countries (Greece, Italy, Spain and the UK), where at least 40 trainees will test the three modules of the “Community Animateur” training programme via online and face-to-face activities. After their learning experience, they will have the opportunity to test their newly acquired skills by conducting an “ action research experiment ”, i.e. a personal project aimed to solve a problem in their local community. After the piloting stage, which is planned to end in autumn 2019, the training programme will be available online as a free resource , open to anyone interested in enhancing their skills or developing new ones. It will comprise 3 macro areas for a total of 12 learning modules , according to the following structure: Do you think you have what it takes to be a Community Animateur? Take the self-assessment quiz and learn more about your skills! The Community Animateur training programme might be exactly what you were looking for to make the next step in your personal or professional development path. The training programme will soon be available online , stay tuned to learn how to sign up or join one of the pilots!

The Lifelong Learning Platform had convened an extraordinary General Assembly to gather its members on March 25th. The extraordinary GA was intended for all members to decide on important amendments, both on the Statutes (the founding documents of the organisation) and the Internal Rules (the rules that govern the internal functioning of the LLLPlatform). Members approved all the modifications proposed by the Steering Committee that will now enter into force thanks to notary ratification. This will not only smoothen the internal mechanisms of decision-making, but they will also make the LLLPlatform compliant to the recent changes in Belgian law for aisbl . The GA was also a joyful occasion for member to engage with each other, find and build on synergies, and fill in the LLLP with their policy priorities. The regular LLLP general Assembly will take place on 21 June 2019 in Brussels. Here members will approuve strategic documents, budgetary plans, and proceed to the election of three Steering Committee members.

On 26 March, the Lifelong Learning Platform and ALL DIGITAL gathered European stakeholders to tackle the burning issue of digital skills and media literacy. Striking data lays before our eyes: 43% of European citizens lack digital skills to be able to fully participate in and benefit from the digital society. How do we work together to support them? This was the key question that representatives of EU institutions, civil society organisations, education institutions and practitioners came together to discuss as part of the ALL DIGITAL Week . Looking at the complex picture behind the figure of 43% as an EU average was a recurring theme of the day. Big cleavages are evident between countries (especially on the North-South and West-East divides) as well as within countries between rural and urban areas. Adapting efforts to address this diversity was a message shared by several speakers. Considering digital skills within the broader view of social inclusion was also a pivotal point of the debate. Ilona Kish from Public Libraries 2030 recalled that it is not just a question of digital skills themselves but about “how we live and work together in the digital shift”. Rodrigo Ballester, from the Cabinet of Commissioner Navracsics, stressed that beyond skills mismatches we need to think about inclusion and “digital citizenship”: this includes the promotion of critical thinking and media literacy skills in all sectors of education. He underlined that in many cases young people may perceive themselves as digitally “confident” but are not digitally “competent”, and this strikes an important difference. The Digital Competence Framework can indeed be a starting point, as Yves Punie, from the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, pointed out: it identifies the main components of digital competencies and break them down to deliver the framework of what is needed in European societies. Lara Orlandi, from DG CONNECT, further built on this statement to explain that the concept of media literacy has now entered the common discourse in Europe and is indeed at the centre of institutional concerns. Other panellists like Andras Szucs, from the European Distance and E-learning Network , and Fiona Fanning, Certiport , stressed the need to improve our system of digital learning by starting to promote policy and practice across the whole of Europe and beyond. Young people may perceive themselves as digitally “confident” but are not digitally “competent”, and this strikes an important difference. To this extent, participants also had the chance to learn about a diverse collection of inspiring practices in supporting citizens to acquire digital skills and media literacy, including: LLLP’s project DIGIT on digital footprint for adults; UpSkill Digital UK , a service of digital trainers; the ALL DIGITAL project Smart Women on training women to bring their own businesses online; the Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange , a project that facilitates intercultural learning through online exchanges; and the DLEARN project Elithe on innovative methodologies for STEM teachers. These projects showcased the important work being done by stakeholders on the ground. The internal WG of the LLLPlatform on Digital Learning took place right after the event to reflect upon its outcomes. LLLP members discussed the ways to integrate such inputs into the internal work plan of the WG, and a few pillars were underlined; among these: a renewed focus on accessibility and inclusiveness, mobility learning schemes on digital skills (including KA1 projects), a deeper focus on employment and employers, a horizontal cooperation in EU projects, and stronger links – and actions – with formal education systems. The WG meeting was followed by a Focus Group on the preliminary results of the DIMELI4AC project , of which the LLLPlatform is a partner. The project intends to accompany students in the development of their digital media literacy (DML) and critical thinking skills with the support of their teachers and parents. Participants of the Focus Group were presented with the results of three targeted surveys on DML and offered precious insights that will feed into the next steps of the project. What’s next for media literacy and digital skills? The LLLPlatform will keep on working to ensure they remain as inclusive as possible and that digital tools contribute to closing the gap, rather than widen it. More on the principles that guide our actions here .

The Lifelong Learning Platform (LLLP) is an umbrella organisation that gathers 42 European civil society organisations active in the field of education, training and youth, based all over Europe and beyond. Currently, these networks represent more than 50 000 educational institutions and associations covering all sectors of formal, non-formal and informal learning. Their members reach out to several millions of beneficiaries across Europe. Are you looking for a job in the field of lifelong learning and education at the European level and an opportunity to work in the area of European programme and projects, fundraising and partnerships ? LLLP is recruiting a team player, able to work within a multicultural environment and willing to be flexible but also able to stick to tight deadlines and work under time pressure. A passion for lifelong learning is a big plus. About the role (what we need) You will be part of a multicultural team working for a membership-based organisation and in charge of providing coordination and management services to ensure projects meet the organisation’s needs and donors’ expectations. You will be working closely with members and partners to build their capacity and create project synergies. The Programme Coordinator’s responsibilities include: Planning and coordinating programme and project activities Ensuring the implementation of policies and practices within the programme Explore new funding opportunities and designing new project proposals Maintaining budget and tracking expenditure/transactions Build members project development capacity Requirements A post-secondary degree in the field of European studies, project management, educational sciences, political science or related discipline and/or relevant work or volunteer experience in education and/or advocacy-oriented NGOs; At least 5 years of working experience ideally in similar positions and keen interest to work on European projects, partnerships and fundraising; A sense of initiative and ability to champion projects from conception through to implementation; Proven ability to build training and capacity building activities for a membership-based organisation; An excellent command of the English language (spoken and written); Proven ability to build and manage partnerships; Strong creative, analytical and organisational skills; Very good computer skills and digital literacy; Very good financial literacy; Strong writing skills. The following knowledge and/or skills would be an advantage Knowledge of the European institutions and other target audiences related to education; Knowledge of EU funding programmes (especially Erasmus+, H2020, ESF); Good command of financial management; Knowledge of other European language is an asset; Experience with project and processes tools. Terms and conditions Full-time position: 1-year fixed-term contract with extension possibility Working hours: 38 hours a week Salary: 2400+ (benefits; transport & meal vouchers) + monthly allowance Holidays: 20 legal + 5 extra-legal (first year of employment) and a further 5 after 2 years Starting date: May 13, 2019 Procedures to apply Apply by 7th of April at vacancy@lllplatform.eu with your CV and your cover letter responding to the following question: What would you expect from such a position at LLLP? The test is foreseen the week of 12th of April . Interviews are scheduled for the week starting 22th of April . Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. For more details of the terms of the contract, including financial support, please contact at vacancy@lllplatform.eu .

The Lifelong Learning Platform (LLLP) is an umbrella organisation that gathers 42 European civil society organisations active in the field of education, training and youth, based all over Europe and beyond. Currently, these networks represent more than 50 000 educational institutions and associations covering all sectors of formal, non-formal and informal learning. Their members reach out to several millions of beneficiaries across Europe. Are you a student or young graduate looking for a placement (traineeship) in the field of lifelong learning and education at European level and an opportunity to enter the “world of work” in the area of European project management and policy ? LLLP is recruiting a team player, able to work within a multicultural environment and willing to be flexible but also able to stick to tight deadlines. A passion for lifelong learning is a big plus. Requirements A post-secondary degree in the field of European studies, project management, educational sciences, political science or related discipline and/or relevant work or volunteer experience in education and/or advocacy-oriented NGO; An excellent command of the English language (spoken and written); A keen interest to work on European projects; Very good computer skills and digital literacy; Strong writing skills. The following knowledge and/or skills would be an advantage Knowledge of the European institutions and other target audiences related to education; Knowledge of EU funding programmes (especially Erasmus+); Basic experience of project management is welcomed; Knowledge of another European language is an asset; Experience with communication tools, such as CMSs, Mailchimp, and Social Media is a plus. Terms and conditions Internship for a duration of 6 to 12 months ; The applicant should be eligible for a Contrat d’immersion professionnelle (CIP); The applicant must be eligible to live and work in Belgium; Remuneration depends on age and previous experience, starting from 750€ per month; Monthly local transport costs in Brussels are covered with the possibility of an allowance replacing meal vouchers, in addition to CIP contribution; The successful applicant should ideally start as soon as possible in March 2019. Apply by 8th of March by sending your CV, motivation letter, and portfolio (if applicable) to vacancy@lllplatform.eu . Interviews will be scheduled with selected candidates on the week starting 11th of March. For more details of the terms of the contract, including financial support, please contact at vacancy@lllplatform.eu .

Eager to know what beneficiaries of Erasmus+ think of the programme? The LLLPlatform runs an annual review of the Erasmus+ programme implementation and shares its results with policy-makers to enhance the application process and the content of the programme. This survey is conducted by the LLLPlatform to evaluate how EU networks have experienced the past round of applications of the Erasmus+ programme: what do you think of Erasmus+? Are you satisfied with its new features? What problems did you encounter? What suggestions for improvement would you make? This publication explores the results of the Survey 2018! Results are mostly in line with the major issues of the programme, and there is room for improvement… Read the report with the results

What do young people think of the EU ? How much do they know about its structure and potential? What are their hopes for the future of Europe? These are some of the questions at the basis of the Study “Prejudices in schools. Youngsters and the EU: perceptions, knowledge and expectation” implemented by three partner organisations: the Lifelong Learning Platform, OBESSU and JEF Europe on behalf of the European Economic and Social Committee . The study is taking the form of a survey targeted at school students aged between 14 and 18 in European schools in Brussels and learners in 5 different countries enrolled in different types of schools (general, vocational, technical or artistic schools) in France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Romania. The survey is available here in French, German, Italian, Swedish and Romanian and will be open for responses until the 13th of March . What can you do? You can help disseminate the survey to different schools, which can act as sounding board, or directly contact interested students. The results will be anonymous, in conformity with current GDPR norms, and will not be used in any way to grade or rank schools. The final results will be shared with the schools and local partners will be able to organise presentations of the outcomes. We hope to reach out to at least 1.000 learners in the selected countries in order to produce a comprehensive report which will be sent to the European Economic and Social Committee.

The Civil Society Day, co-organised by the European Commission Directorate General for Education, Culture, Youth and Sports and the Lifelong Learning Platform as a follow up to the Future of Learning Forum, was held on 25 January 2019 in Brussels, Belgium. Participating NGOs engaged in the topic “Future of Learning: next priorities of the education and training framework considering current societal challenges”. We discussed education and training, and what it needs to take up a more prominent role when addressing demographic changes, inclusion and citizenship, technological innovations and the future of work, digitalisation of society, environmental challenges, investment, reforms and governance. Divided in thematic tables, we got to feed our concerns and positions vis-à-vis the challenges that our sector faces today. Participants reflected on main priorities and objectives of education and training post-2020, considering the main societal issues discussed during the Future of Learning Forum and exploring the ways civil society can contribute with regard to the future of learning. What did we bring about? We asked EU institutions to take steering actions towards a few main points: Promote participation in formal, non-formal and informal learning activities – at an equal footing – as a priority across all age groups and measure this participation, including by fostering a enquiry-based approach. Recognise universal access to quality education as a common good which should form the basis for establishing the European Education Area. Adopt a holistic approach to embedding the sustainable development agenda in education and training policies (including but not limited to SDG 4 on education, training and lifelong learning), accompanied by a strong monitoring mechanism and the collection of good practices in a cooperative spirit. Integrate learning “about Europe” as a transversal priority for all education sectors that would facilitate the sharing of common values, which also requires support for the development of ready to use educational resources. Develop a coherent and coordinated approach that links the world of education and the world of work, giving value to the full range of learners’ skills and competences and not only those which immediately correspond to short-term labour market demands. Embed the concept of Community Lifelong Learning Centres as a forward-looking approach towards opening up educational establishments to local communities and a more diverse range of learners. Read our briefing paper on this topic! Promote trainings for teachers and educators about how to deal with diversity. The fruitful meeting produced many more political recommendations that we delivered to representatives of the European Commission. Stay tuned on the Commission’s website for the full list!

The European Commission’s DG EAC and the Lifelong Learning Platform cooperated in the preparation of the Future of Learning Forum and Civil Society Day on 24-25 January. LLLP President Gina Ebner joined Commissioner Navracsics, Romanian Minister for National Education Ecaterina Andronescu, and MEP Petra Kammerevert in the opening keynote speeches of the Forum. Minister Andronescu outlined the Romanian Presidency’s ambitions for the Council recommendation on high-quality Early Childhood Education and Care, in addition to highlighting the central role of teachers in strengthening education systems. MEP Petra Kammerevert made a strong call for investment in education – proposing a national benchmark of 10% of GDP – and called for prompt action to make the European Education Area a reality. LLLP President Ms Ebner emphasised the importance of a learner-centred approach that fosters joy and motivation in learning and self-efficacy, as well as the real need for both political commitment and civil society. Throughout the Forum LLLP members were actively involved in the discussions and as speakers in the parallel sessions. The main objective was to debate and give feedback on the work of the ET2020 Expert Panel who produced reflection papers on 6 societal challenges: demographic challenges; inclusion and citizenship; technological change and the future of work; digitalisation of society; environmental challenges; and investment, reforms and governance. These reflections are aimed at helping DG EAC to draft the new education and training framework after 2020. Overall, the papers are in line with most LLLP positions, although they have been perceived by some as not visionary enough or lacking concrete actions. The Civil Society Day that followed the Forum was a unique opportunity for LLLP, its members and partners to give their input to the Commission on the development of the next framework. Recommendations put forward by participants included making participation in non-formal education a priority for all age groups and measuring that participation; making a clear link with the validation of non-formal and informal learning; investing in spaces of dialogue and co-creation for all learning stakeholders; and engaging civil society more closely in the planning, implementation and evaluation phases of policy-making. LLLP will continue to actively contribute to the ongoing development of the future framework.

The Inclusive Mobility Alliance project has started! On the 27th and 28th of September 2018, more than 20 organisations with expertise in the fields of Youth mobility, Higher Education mobility and Disability have gathered in Brussels to start discussing and defining what it means to organise an Inclusive Mobility (aka a mobility that is fully inclusive and allows everybody to take part in it, regardless of their socio-economic background). Since 2007, the number of students with disabilities taking part in Erasmus+ has been almost stagnating while the number of young people experiencing Erasmus+ exchanges is increasing rapidly. The question of the inclusiveness of one of the flagship EU programmes has been raised much time over the past few years. Despite many efforts made, Erasmus+ is still considered by many as a rather elitist programme. Today we are kicking of the #Inclusive #Mobility Aliance with a 2-day training! Extremely excited to have so many experts in the room and discuss how we can truly make #ErasmusPlus more inclusive! #THISisESN #Inclusion #InclusiveMobility pic.twitter.com/sREUgxfSzE — ESN International (@ESN_Int) September 27, 2018 During a meeting organised at the European Parliament on the 5th of December 2017 and hosted by MEP Damiano Zoffoli (S&D) , the stakeholders present agreed to create an alliance of organisations working on the topic of Inclusive Mobility. https://twitter.com/MobiAbility_Pro/status/1041999906678767617 During the first day, participants had the chance to get to know each other, discover the work of the other organisations as well as some of the good practices already existing on the topic, such as: SIHO and their website full of resources for students with disabilities in Flanders VIEWS International and their concept of Adapted EVS AHEAD and the guidelines for cooperation International Office – Disability Office ESN with the MappED! platform They also defined the concept of Inclusive Mobility and brainstormed on the core elements that make a mobility abroad fully inclusive. During the second day, the partners received Lloyd Huitson, Policy Officer at the European Commission DG EAC , who introduced the EU Commission proposal for the next Erasmus programme 2021-2027, that is currently being discussed at the European Parliament. After a round of questions and answers about its Social Dimension aspects, participants worked in groups to identify what works and what doesn’t work currently in the Erasmus+ programme and came up with realistic solutions on how to improve the future Erasmus programme post-2020 . Second day of exchange at the launch of #inclusive mobility alliance to discuss barriers and good practices to enjoy mobility abroad in #higherEducation and #youthExchange for all. #EramusPlus #disability #autism #autistic #EducationForAll #CRPD pic.twitter.com/FIjc9FJ91j — Autism-Europe (@AutismEurope) September 28, 2018 By the end of the year, the project partners will produce a set of recommendations for policy-makers at all levels (European, National, Regional and Local) on how to make international mobility more inclusive. The Alliance will also be officially created and launched in December 2018 with a long-lasting aim of monitoring EU and national policies as well as advocating for more inclusive mobility programmes. Stay tuned! The Inclusive Mobility Alliance project is co-funded by JINT , the Flemish National Agency for Youth. For more information, please contact dominique.montagnese@esn.org . This article appeared first on ESN’s website

29th EURASHE Annual Conference: Call for contributions is open EURASHE has launched a call for contributions for its 29th Annual Conference ‘Future Students. Future Universities. Future Jobs. Professional Higher Education in the changing world .’ The conference will take place in Budapest (Hungary) on 16-17 May 2019 and will be hosted by the Hungarian Rectors’ Conference (MRK) with the support of the Ministry of Human Capacities of Hungary. EURASHE invite universities of applied sciences’ leaders, the entire community of professional higher education, European businesses, public institutions and European students’ representatives to attend the Annual Conference and share their experience and learn about trends, models and inspiring practices. We welcome to submit two types of contributions: Breakout sessions: Each interactive parallel breakout session would be attended by about 30 participants. The breakout sessions should be organised in an interactive way as workshops to encourage discussions between the participants. The structure can e.g. include an overview, followed by group discussions. We expect to accept about 8 proposals for this year’s conference. The length of the proposal: 90 minutes. Good practice examples: 2-3 brief examples of good practice will be presented together within blocks parallel to breakout sessions. The length of the proposal: 30 minutes. Presenting at EURASHE’s Annual conference allows to reach a wide audience and will give you visibility prior and during the Conference. In addition one reduced fee will be provided per contribution (special conditions will be applied to Students or Students’ representative). Contributions have to be submitted exclusively online on EURASHE website. The deadline for submission is Thursday 31 January, 2019 at 12.00 pm (noon) CET Brussels-time . More information about the Conference and the Call for contributions here .

As part of Civil Society Europe, the Lifelong Learning Platform participated to this reaction vis-à-vis the European Court of Auditors’ report 35/2018 on “ Transparency of EU funds implemented by NGOs: more effort needed “ Civil Society Europe welcomes the European Court of Auditors (ECA) report as a contribution to ensuring further transparency by the European Union on how EU money is spent. This will allow us to better show the added value of our work and stand ready to further improve in the future, at a time where NGOs are facing growing challenges around the world. NGOs are strongly committed to transparency on funding, as well as to ensuring internal and external checks and controls. However, the study has revealed that a clear definition of NGOs is needed at EU level. We note that funding allocated to NGOs represents 1.7% of the EU budget, according to the report. The report is not an audit of the EU funds spend by NGOs, but an assessment of the systems that the Commission has in place to ensure transparency of EU funding, focusing mainly on external actions. The report is also based on an undefined concept of NGOs at EU level. In particular, we welcome recommendations calling the European Commission to standardise and improve accuracy of information published, and we call for this to be made available per category of beneficiaries. Currently EU funding procedures are fragmented within programmes but all beneficiaries, including NGOs, are bound by the same financial regulations. As of today, there is no comprehensive and consistent database system that allows detailed public scrutiny of the destination of EU Funds (601 771 million between 2014 and 2017). Currently only around 20% of the EU funds managed directly by the European Commission are searchable on line through the Financial Transparency System and research by category of beneficiaries can only be done either for not for profit entities or NGOs, the latter representing only 1,88 % of the EU budget plus the European Development Fund between 2014-2017. So-called ‘shared management’ funding – including agriculture and structural investments – is not centrally searchable online. In addition, private or public funding can only by searched for individual companies or entities. In this sense we agree with the European Commission that in this context NGOs should not be singled out among the beneficiaries, however we also believe that transparency should be ensured for all categories of beneficiaries . In addition, the database should contain amounts actually paid and not those committed to ensure consistency with beneficiaries’ accounts and national registers, and allow better scrutiny. The share of funding attributed to NGOs is overstated because of a lack of consistent definitions as we can read in the ECA report. For instance, most of the funding attributed to NGOs within the Smart and Inclusive growth has been allocated to not for profit bodies such as universities or research institutes. We welcome therefore the proposal for common guidelines on NGO definition to be used in grant applications that would allow to better identify NGOs, and therefore also to measure EU contribution to strengthening civil society organisations whose work is an essential part of a healthy, functioning democracy, whether in the EU or externally [1]. We note that the European Commission has made progress in the transparency of allocation of funding in the external area compared to other areas of direct implementation. We welcome these improvements, notably through the development of framework partnership agreements, which also bring further assurance to beneficiaries and match better NGOs own reporting and monitoring systems. We also welcome simplification in the recently adopted financial regulations. Rules are often difficult to understand and even implemented differently by different European Commission officials, which is unhelpful and confusing for beneficiaries, and lead to unnecessary errors. The latest annual ECA reports show that financial rules simplification can lead to a lower percentage of errors. We believe that Transparency can only be effective if accompanied by measures to reduce red tape. We hope that this report will lead to further transparency of information on the use of EU budget by the different categories of beneficiaries and whether managed directly by the EU or through Member States and to identify different beneficiaries. We stand ready to cooperate with the European Commission to ensure implementation of the recommendations of the European Court of Auditors. For further information please find CSE Fact Sheet on NGO funding by the EU [1] See United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Maina Kiai fact Sheet on the ability of civil society to access resources based on international law (published May 2015) http://freeassembly.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Funding-report-factsheet-final.pdf