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European
Civil Society Platform on Lifelong Learning - EUCIS-LLL
Newsletter
#37-MAY 2012
/// NEWS FROM THE PLATFORM ///
EUCIS-LLL
looks forward to welcome you to its Annual Conference in Leuven on May 14th
Registrations are now closed for EUCIS-LLL is organising its Annual Conference
on “Social Innovation for Active
Inclusion: Lifelong Learning Contribution for a Better Tomorrow” on 14 May 2012 in Leuven, Belgium.
The programme of the workshops is available on our website and
several excellent projects have been selected, whether on participation,
migrant learners, intergenerational learning or youth employment. Those are
essential stakes in the framework of the European Year 2012 or the Europe 2020
Strategy and we look forward to lead an in depth reflection on those crucial
debates. See you in Leuven!
/// NEWS FROM MEMBERS AND PARTNERS ///
“Together in Lichtenstein”: a
successful gathering from all over Europe for EPA
EUCIS-LLL attended the European Parents’ Association (EPA) General
Assembly and Annual Conference on April 27th and 28th in Vaduz,
Lichtenstein which theme was “Together”. The event successfully brought a
hundred EPA delegates and partners around the table to discuss the future of
the Association, tackle the challenges of parents’ participation in the
education of their children and exchange good practices through numerous
workshops in different languages. The participants had also the occasion to
meet with the Minister of Education and Prince Alois and Princess Sophie of
Lichtenstein.
Join
the Move Week with ISCA!
ISCA will launch
its Move
Week from 1st October to 7th October 2012, the European Week of Sport and
Physical Activity. The goal is to promote a wider participation in sport and
physical activity across Europe with the contribution of sport organisations
and clubs, local authorities and communities and institutions, through
community events.
21st
EfVET Annual Conference towards ET2020
The European Forum of Technical and Vocational Education and Training is
organising in Palma de Mallorca (Spain) its 21st
Annual Conference on the following theme “Towards ET2020. Positive action to
enhance VET within a Lifelong Learning Agenda” on 24-27 October 2012. Keynote
speeches will be addressed for instance on the next funding programme 2014-2020
and different workshops and round tables will be organised. Early bird
registrations before July 30th.
New
Education Training Manual for trade unionists is out
The manual
"Social Europe!? Components for the political education of European trade
unionists" available in English,
German
and French,
has been edited by SOLIDAR jointly with the Europäische Akademie der Arbeit
(EAdA) and the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) to train trade union
officials and workers on topics like politics, economics and society in the
European context. The publication is linked to the project
Network of European Trade Union Academies - Better Information and Training of
Trade Unionists.
Ride
for your rights with Campus Europae and ESN!
The
"Ride for your rights! It's time to (ex)change your life" movement is
a bicycle tour to support student mobility, organised for the first time last
year by the Student Council of Campus Europae in close cooperation with the
Erasmus Students' Network (ESN). In 2011, over a hundred people from 18
different countries biked from Serbia to Russia for less obstacles to student
mobility but also to promote active citizenship and European values (see the Manifesto). 2012 is even of greater
importance with the celebration of 25 years of Erasmus programmes and the
preparation of the upcoming "Erasmus for all" programme. With seven
different roads in 2012, this edition promises to be as successful as the first
one. You can still sign up for the tours until 11th May on the
Ride for your Rights! website.
The
Youth Forum’s structured dialogue on the right track
The European steering committee has met on April 17th with the Youth Forum to
assess the progress made by the Youth Conference organised by the Danish
presidency. The Youth Forum has also developed recommendations to improve the
next cycles of dialogue. The Structured Dialogue with young people is an
instrument for the European institutions to take into account the young
people’s opinion in the decision-making. See the dedicated YFJ
website and EUCIS-LLL
advocacy for the same kind of structured dialogue in education &
training in response to the ET2020 Joint Progress Report.
The
Social Platform addressed the European Ministers on youth, education and
employment
The Social Platform representatives attended the Informal meeting of Ministers
for Employment and Social Affairs in Denmark on April 24th and delivered some key
messages about the sustainable inclusion of youth in education, society and
employment and the effective implementation of the Youth
Guarantee (see also the Parliament’s resolution
on that topic). This concretely means an inclusive and quality education and
training system and the achievement of the employment target of the EU2020
Strategy (75% of youth employed).
A
seminar on prior learning recognition to be held in Finland
The complex issue of recognition of Prior Learning in Higher Education in
work-based situations and cooperation on that topic between higher education
and companies will be tackled during a seminar organised in Turku, Finland on
May 24th and 25th and funded by the European Social Fund. Find more information
on the website
of the Nordic Network for Adult Learners.
/// INSTITUTIONAL NEWS ///
The
Council to discuss “Erasmus for all” next week
The Education, Youth, Culture and Sport formation of the Council of the
European Union will gather on May 10th and 11th and specifically focus
on education, training and youth on the 11th. The main issue debated will be
the next funding programme “Erasmus for all” with the adoption of a partial
general approach on the proposal made by the Commission. The formation is also
expected to adopt conclusions on the transition from education to work for a
future benchmark on the topic, and on young people’s potential.
The
EP’s CULT Committee discussed cyber security and recognition of volunteering
last week
The European
Parliament’s CULT Committee met on April 25th and 26th and
considered among other issues draft reports for the protection of children in
the digital world and for Education, Training and their role within Europe
2020. April 26th was dedicated to the voting time, notably on the recognition
and valorisation of volunteering across the EU.
The
EP’s Employment and Social Affairs Committee votes a resolution to tackle youth
unemployment
The European Parliament’s Employment and Social Affairs Committee voted on
April 24th a resolution drafted by Mrs Pervenche Berès (S&D) on measures to
fight youth unemployment. Among them is the “European Youth Guarantee to ensure
that young unemployed people are not without jobs for more than four months.
This idea had already been proposed in a 2010
resolution to propose solutions to the youth unemployed such as an
internship or further training if not a job. This measure is recommended next
to a Quality Charter on Traineeships. See the press
release on the EP website.
“We
mean business”: the Commission highlights the LLP as a solution to youth
unemployment
With the “We mean
business” campaign launched in April, the Commission aims at raising awareness
on the benefits for companies of hosting an intern that is taking part in the
Leonardo or Erasmus programme. 130 000 remunerated work placements will be
funded through the Lifelong Learning Programme in 2012. Whether you are looking
for a trainee or a traineeship, check out the dedicated website for more information.
A Marketplace open for
the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing
A platform for cooperation to develop ideas
and projects in the framework of the European Innovation Partnership on Active
and Healthy Ageing has been opened for stakeholders who can find partners,
existing initiatives, discussions or events. Care organisations, coalitions and
representatives of local, regional or national authorities can even apply
to become a Reference site if they prove to be willing to implement a
substantial number of the EIP’s specific actions.
The
cohesion policy seen by the EESC: a civil society angle
The European Economic and Social Committee has held its 480th plenary session
on 25-26 April 2012. The topics debated concerned primarily the cohesion policy
with five opinions adopted on the Commission’s cohesion policy package; the
EESC approves for instance the idea of a thematic concentration (for members,
see EUCIS-LLL infonote on the European Social Fund and
cohesion funds 2014-2020) and advocates for a greater involvement of social
partners in the European Grouping Territorial Cooperation. See all opinions
debated on the EESC website.
Mobility
and funding for higher education discussed in the last Bologna Process
Conference
The Ministers from
the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) gathered last week in Bucharest to
discuss the future developments of the area based on a joint report supervised by the Bologna follow-up
group. The future funding and the quality of higher education were among the
crucial stakes debated, as well as strengthened mobility across the area
according to the Europe 2020 target (20% of graduates having spent some time
abroad). The E4 group (ENQA, ESU, EUA and EURASHE) attended the conference to
make the voice of civil society heard. Check out the conference documents and
the civil society organisations’ statements of the conference website.
An
opinion of energy education adopted at the EESC last week
The European Economic and Social Committee adopted on April 25-26 in plenary
session an exploratory opinion on Energy Education. The EESC
thinks indeed that this type of education, focused on combating climate change
and restoring harmony between man and nature, plays a strategic role in
achieving the Europe 2020 target of a 20% reduction in energy consumption by
2020 and the Commission’s 2050 road map towards a low-carbon economy.
/// RESEARCH AND INNOVATION ///
An
insight of vocational education and training in Denmark
CEDEFOP just issued a new publication
giving an overview of the state of play in the field of vocational
education and training in Denmark, as the country is actually president of the
Council of the European Union. Read also the latest statistical
highlight of CEDEFOP on progress in adult learning, their briefing
note on Europe’s skill challenge related to their skills
forecast and their report
on equity and education and training flowing up the 2010 European Year.
Results
of the seminar on EU tools for quality vocational qualifications are out!
A report
presenting the results of a seminar
organised by the EQAVET Secretariat in Germany on the implementation of EQAVET,
EQF and ECVET tools and their influence on the paradigm change towards learning
outcomes is now available on the CEDEFOP website. This seminar, aimed at
national stakeholders for an in depth reflection on the development of high
quality VET qualifications, also highlighted the need for a coordination
between those tools.
Read
the last eLearning Papers on Cyber Security and Education
The 28th
eLearning papers tackle the problem of online education and cyber security
and how schools should foster critical digital literacy to enable the children
to make a safe Internet use. In this digital era where they can access to
online contents with great facility thanks to computers, tablets and mobiles,
it is important that they learn how to protect themselves and the information
they display on the web.
Submit
you project for the MEDEA awards!
The competition is now open for the MEDEA
Awards 2012. Those awards encourage innovation and good practice in the use
of all kinds of media in education and promote excellence in the production and
pedagogical design of media-rich learning resources. The general aim is to
create an educational environment that reflects the media-rich world in which
learners now live. Projects will be judged according to their pedagogical,
aesthetical and technical quality, use of media and usability and can be
submitted until September 17th 2012.
/// FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES ///
Involving employees in the life of
their workers’ organisations
The call “Information and training measures for workers’ organisations” aims at
developing employee involvement in their company’s workers’ organisations
activities and to raise awareness on the European policy-making in this field.
Social partners can apply here before 7 May 2012.
New
horizons for Youth in Action: “Youth in the world” call for proposals
The call “Youth in the world” is aimed at all projects that
promote cooperation between the youth sector organisations in Youth in Action
Programme Countries and organisations in Partner Countries other than
neighbours of the European Union. Deadline is 15 May 2012.
Erasmus
for young entrepreneurs: a tool to develop entrepreneurship skills for young
people
The call “Erasmus for young entrepreneurs” has been elaborated to send new
entrepreneurs abroad to integrate enterprises and learn and network with their
experienced peers across the EU and other countries participating in the
Competitiveness and Innovation Programme. The deadline is 31 May 2012.
Developing
Knowledge Alliances for an Innovation Union
This call for proposals is aimed at developing Knowledge
Alliances that are part of the Innovation Union flagship initiative of the
Europe 2020 strategy. The Alliances are partnerships between education
institutions and business to develop new curricula addressing innovation skills
gaps. After the successful pilot project launched in 2011, the Commission
decided to reiterate the call for projects that will contribute to the preparations
for the implementation of the upcoming Erasmus for all programme.
Edulink
II for ACP higher education institutions capacity-building
This call for proposals is aimed at fostering management and academic and
regional integration in the field of higher education through institutional
networking, in the framework of the ACP-EU cooperation. Find out more on EuropeAid
website and answer the call before 30th July 2012.
A
European partnership in sports: testing networks and good practices
This call for proposals is launched in the framework of the recently
adopted 2012 Annual Work Programme on grants and contracts for the
Preparatory Action “European Partnership on Sports” and for the Pilot Project
“Knowledge Partnerships”. Transnational projects set up by public bodies and
non-profit organisations will be eligible to identify and test suitable
networks and good practices in the field of sport. Those projects could among
other goals promote physical activity supporting active ageing or find
effective ways to promote sport at the municipal level. You can answer
the call until July 31st.
/// PUBLIC CONSULTATIONS ///
Public
consultation on a Quality Framework for Traineeships: get on board!
DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion of the European Commission launched
a public consultation on a Quality Framework for Traineeships to be answered
before July 11th. The opinions collected aim at building a framework to ease
the transition from education to work. See the reference documents and the
online questionnaire of the DG website.
///
AGENDA ///
May 2012
15: General Assembly, Leuven, Belgium
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