NEWSLETTER #14 – FEBRUARY 2010
EUCIS-LLL CONFERENCE ON THE SOCIAL DIMENSION OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING, 14 APRIL 2010
The European Civil Society Platform on Lifelong Learning (EUCIS-LLL) is organising its Lifelong Learning Conference on the social dimension of education and training on April 14th 2010, in Barcelona. This event will gather actors coming from the various sectors and levels of education and training.
Participants will be invited to participate in one of the following workshops:
– Active ageing and intergenerational solidarity, innovative partnerships for inclusive societies
– Social innovation in LLL: new ways to provide new skills for new societies
– Fighting social exclusion and poverty: investing in LLL, the key to economic recovery?
– Mobility for all: removing the barriers, creating opportunities
The results of these workshops will then be presented and discussed with EU representatives. Does it correspond to EU priorities? Participants will also be invited to a European Fair where they will be able to present their own organisations and find new partners. This conference is open to all. You will find the programme and the registration form on our website.
EUCIS-LLL CONFERENCE ON THE SOCIAL DIMENSION OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING, 14 APRIL 2010
The European Civil Society Platform on Lifelong Learning (EUCIS-LLL) is organising its Lifelong Learning Conference on the social dimension of education and training on April 14th 2010, in Barcelona. This event will gather actors coming from the various sectors and levels of education and training.
Participants will be invited to participate in one of the following workshops:
– Active ageing and intergenerational solidarity, innovative partnerships for inclusive societies
– Social innovation in LLL: new ways to provide new skills for new societies
– Fighting social exclusion and poverty: investing in LLL, the key to economic recovery?
– Mobility for all: removing the barriers, creating opportunities
The results of these workshops will then be presented and discussed with EU representatives. Does it correspond to EU priorities? Participants will also be invited to a European Fair where they will be able to present their own organisations and find new partners. This conference is open to all. You will find the programme and the registration form on our website.
EUCIS-LLL POSITION ON THE FUTURE OF THE LIFELONG LEARNING PROGRAMME
The European Commission has launched a public consultation on the review of the Financial Regulation. In this context, the programmes will also be evaluated. The members of EUCIS-LLL are essentially working with the Lifelong Learning Programme (LLP) and have thus decided to share their experiences on this particular programme. Some of its members will also contribute directly to these debates notably on the sub-programmes that concern more specifically their sector.
EUCIS-LLL members find the LLP extremely important and underline that they have had very positive impacts on their work, their organizations and their countries. Most are happy with the LLP current structure. They nevertheless outline that it is very difficult for small or medium organizations (training centres, associations, etc.) to access EU programmes and the programmes do not sufficiently take into account the specificities of civil society organisations. In this position paper, they present these difficulties and make some concrete proposals to improve the future programmes.
You can download EUCIS-LLL position paper on our website.
EUCIS-LLL PARTICIPATES IN THE COMMISSION’S EXPERT GROUP ON EUROPEAN ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP
EUCIS-LLL participated in the European Commission’s expert group on European active citizenship on January 12th2010. This group was set up by the Citizenship unit of the DG EAC a few years ago with the aim to collect stakeholder’s point of view on the Europe for Citizens Programme as well as on related issues such as the European elections or the Transparency initiative.
This unit is going to move to DG Communication under the responsibility of Marc Jorna, its Director. This transfer reflects changes within the Commission Barroso II. President Barroso’s political guidelines for the next Commission highlight that reinforcing EU citizenship and participation as one of the five key challenges confronting Europe today. He thus created a new portfolio on “Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship” under the Commission-designate Viviane Reding.
If most of the stakeholders welcomed this highlight, some worried that citizenship would be under DG Communication. Indeed, they reminded that promoting active citizenship should not be limited to “communicating Europe” nor to civic rights only. The fact that the unit is part of a DG named “communication” appeared problematic symbolically and some stakeholders invited the Commission to change the DG’s name. They also expressed their will to continue a structured dialogue with the new DG in the frame of this expert group. They also hoped that Viviane Reding will consider European active citizenship as crucial alongside the very important dossiers of Justice and Fundamental Rights.
EUCIS-LLL organised a public hearing on “LLL, a key to achieve European active citizenship” in September 2009. You can find the 10 key proposals that emerged from this debate on our website.
COMMISSION BARROSO II – EU2020 STRATEGY : UPDATE ON INSTITUTIONAL PROCESSES
The new Commission must gain approval from the European Parliament before it takes office for a term of office running until 31 October 2014. Each Commissioner-designate was invited to a public hearing with the parliamentary committee(s) responsible for the portfolio concerned. One of the candidates, the Bulgarian Rumiana Jeleva, was forced to withdraw and was replaced by her compatriot Kristalina Georgieva. Her hearing with MEPs took place on 3 February. These changes push back the approval vote on the whole Commission for 9 February.
On the basis of the vote of consent, the Commission shall be appointed by the European Council. Then it can start working. It will do so on the basis of the political guidelines for the next Commission set out by President Barroso in September last. He highlighted the need for EU leadership, shaping globalisation on the basis of its values and interests. He emphasized five key challenges facing Europe: restarting economic growth today and ensuring long-term sustainability and competitiveness for the future, fighting unemployment and reinforcing our social cohesion, turning the challenge of a sustainable Europe to our competitive advantage, ensuring the security of Europeans and reinforcing EU citizenship and participation.
Priorities for tackling these challenges will be set in a ten year framework to deliver a vision for the EU in 2020 (“EU2020”), reinvigorating the inclusive social market economy that is the hallmark of the European way of life. The allocation of portfolios has been structured to deliver this ambitious agenda. More information can be found on the European Commission’s website and on the European Parliament’s website.
EUCIS-LLL PARTICIPATES IN DG EAC CONFERENCE “NEW SKILLS FOR NEW JOBS”, 4 FEBRUARY 2010
“New Skills for New Jobs” is an initiative launched by the European Commission in December 2008 to better anticipate, upgrade and match skills needs by building stronger bridges between the world of education and training and the world of work. A group of independent experts was established in March 2009 to advice the Commission on how to advance the New Skills for New Jobs agenda.
This conference highlighted the key recommendations of the expert group report. EUCIS-LLL welcomes this report that in balanced and adopted a lifelong learning approach. Michel Feutrie, General Secretary of EUCIS-LLL, took part in the concluding panel…
This comes at the beginning of the mandate of the new Commission while at the same time the European Union is preparing EU 2020, the follow-up to the EU Strategy for Growth and Jobs.
More on DG Employment website.
EUCIS-LLL IS LOOKING FOR ITS COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER…
EUCIS-LLL is currently looking for its Communications officer to implement and develop its communications strategy. He/she will be responsible for the improvement and the development of the various communication tools of the platform as well as of the organisation public events and seminars. Applications are to be sent before 28th February. Download the job advert on our website.
With this new position, EUCIS-LLL wishes to stenghten knowledge exchange between its members and also its impact on policy-making at national and European levels. A small team will start working in Brussels in April 2010. We are looking forward new partnerships and cooperation with actors concerned by educative issues.
AGENDA
– 14 April : LLL Conference on the social dimension of education and training, Barcelona
– 15 April: EUCIS-LLL General Assembly, Barcelona
– 22 March: Civil Society Day, European Economic and Social Committee, Brussels
– 7-8-9 May: European Civic Days 2010 “Towards social European citizenship”
Other events are published on our website.
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