Newsletter #63 – JULY 2013

EUCIS-LLL new task force on validation of non-formal and informal learning
EUCIS-LLL held the first meeting of its new task force on the Validation of non-formal and informal learning on 11 July at SOLIDAR. EUCIS-LLL has been advocating for validation as a key tool for lifelong learning for many years. The task force will look at the implementation of the 2012 Council Recommendation, as well as the current revision of the 2009 European Guidelines and the 2010 European Inventory. Participants exchanged views with a European Commission representative that gave an update on the policy background. They debated on their vision of validation and recognition of learning outcomes, more particularly acquired in non-formal and informal settings. During their next meeting, platform experts and practitioners will discuss and adopt the task force action plan.

EUCIS-LLL participates in the EYCA conference “EU Citizenship: Crossing perspectives
EUCIS-LLL participated in the EYCA Conference on “EU Citizenship: Crossing Perspectives” in Zagreb. Representatives from national and European organisations across Europe reflected on EU citizenship and shared their experience and vision of belonging to a European project with a particular focus on Croatia and its neighbouring countries. EUCIS-LLL president David Lopez, presented the work done by EUCIS-LLL during an event organised by the European Civic Forum and GONG. EYCA working groups met the following day. EUCIS-LLL actively participated in the working group meetings where it shared its proposals for the European Year of Citizens. The aim is to come up with an action plan with concrete proposals to be presented in Vilnius at the final conference of the Year on 12-13 December.

Fostering entrepreneurial mindsets: EUCIS-LLL position and compendium of good practices
EUCIS-LLL organised on 18 June a policy debate on “Entrepreneurship skills: Common understanding? Common Expectations?” at the European Parliament, hosted by MEP Heinz K. Becker (EPP). EUCIS-LLL had already worked on this topic in the framework of a workshop held in May during its Annual Conference in Vilnius (report soon available). Participants of both events highlighted the need to better define the concept, approach and scope of entrepreneurship education as a condition for trust and collaboration between actors. EUCIS-LLL particularly stresses the need to have a broad understanding of the entrepreneurship competence as a set of transversal competences not only aimed at setting up a business. As a result of those reflections, EUCIS-LLL just released a position on“Fostering entrepreneurial mindsets”, illustrated by high-quality good practices from our members.

Civic education under threat in Spain!
The Spanish government has proposed in its draft “Education Act for the Improvement of Educational Quality” to suppress Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights in primary, secondary, and baccalaureate programmes. EUCIS-LLL feels that this is a wrong signal sent to Spanish and all other European citizens in a moment of deep economic, social and institutional crisis. This proposal also contradicts Spain’s commitments towards the Council of Europe. EUCIS-LLL supports the call launched by the platform of Spanish NGOs in campaigning towards the Council of Europe against the removal of democratic citizenship and Human rights education from school curriculum in Spain by national authorities, as an attack to the core values that underpin the European community and the European construction process. See our full press release.

/// NEWS FROM MEMBERS AND PARTNERS ///

EUROCLIO Annual Conference on cultural heritage, 31 March – 6 April 2014
The European Association of History Educators (EUROCLIO) opened registrations for its Annual Conference which will take place in the city of Ohrid, Republic of Macedonia between 31 March and 6 April 2014. The association invites you to a professional training course with around 200 history, heritage, citizenship educators. Grants are available if you want to participate. Visit the conference page for the programme & more practical information.

EfVET Annual International Conference on ‘The College that Works!!!’, 23-26 October
The next EfVET Annual International Conference on “The College that Works!!!”, will take place in Athens, Greece from 23-26 October 2013. This Conference deals with the need for Colleges and VET Institutions to be more innovative and provide an opportunity for delegates to learn from each other on related topics and consider different models and approaches, notably to promote the concept of ‘the entrepreneurial College’.  See the Conference registration form and the Hotel accommodation booking.

SOLIDAR activities on recognition of non-formal & informal learning
In the framework of the project “Promoting the Agenda for New Skills and Jobs: Strengthening individual learning pathways by developing skills assessment tools for workers“, SOLIDAR together with its partners DGB-Bildungswerk, AIAS, ABF and FIC, have developed a briefing entitled “Recognition of non-formal and informal competences of workers’ representatives” on arrangement that validates skills, competences and knowledge acquired through learning in non-formal and informal environments. Read the full publication.

EURASHE Seminar on Quality Assurance, 24-25 October
In the framework of EURASHE’s commitment to provide practical support to higher education institutions and other interested stakeholders in the implementation of the priority areas of the Bologna process, EURASHE will organise a Seminar on the Implementation of Internal and External Quality Assurance on 24-25 October 2013 in Bucharest (Romania). Its main objective is to support individuals responsible for the management or coordination of internal quality assurance in institutions. More info will be available in the coming days on EURASHE’s website.

MOVE Congress 2013
The International Sport and Culture Association (ISCA), Union Barcelona of Association of Sport (UBAE), Confederation Europeenne Sport et Santé (CESS) and City of Barcelona will organise the MOVE Congress 2013 – “Changes. Opportunities. Innovations” – from 16 to 19 October 2013 in Barcelona. The Congress will focus for instance on the role of sport for individuals and society or its impact on the economy. See also the Move week, an annual series of events organised all across Europe to raise awareness about sport on 7 – 13 October 2013. The week is organised in the framework of the “NowWeMove campaign (also on Facebook), aiming to bring “100 million more Europeans active in sport and physical activity by 2020”.

/// INSTITUTIONAL NEWS ///

Join the European Alliance for Apprenticeships
The European Alliance for Apprenticeships has been launched on Tuesday 2nd July at the 2013 WorldSkills Competition in Leipzig. The purpose of the Alliance is to fight youth unemployment by improving the quality and supply of apprenticeships across the EU through the identification of the best apprenticeship schemes in the EU and through a broad partnership of key employment and education stakeholders. It also seeks to change attitudes toward apprenticeships and promote VET dual systems. You can get involved in the Alliance at different degrees, by making a pledge (read the EfVET pledge), becoming an Ambassador, or sharing your story.

New Commission communication on European higher education in the world
Globalisation and technological development are radically changing the landscape of higher education. Over the next twenty years the demand for higher education is expected to grow exponentially, from the current 99 million students worldwide to 414 million by 2030. The European Commission thought it was the right momentum to launch a new strategy, ‘European higher education in the world’, aiming mainly at preparing students to become global citizens, enhancing the overall quality of European education by developing opportunities for international collaboration, expand the use of ICTs and Open Education Resources for new delivery modes to widen access, or internationalise curricula. The strategy notably promotes U-Multirank, the new EU higher education ranking system. See also UNESCO’s 2013 report: “Rankings and accountability in higher education: uses and misuses“.

1987-2012: three million Erasmus students
More than three million students have benefitted from the Erasmus programme since the exchange scheme’s launch in 1987. The new Erasmus figures that the European Commission published in July also show that the programme has enabled more than 250 000 Erasmus students to spend part of their higher education studies abroad or to take up a job placement with a foreign company in 2011-2012, an increase of 7.5% compared to 2010-11. Assuming that the average study duration in higher education institutions is 4-5 years, it can be estimated that around 4.5% of all European students received Erasmus grants at some stage during their studies. Check the updated figures and discover more statistics about the Erasmus programme. See also the video of the Google Hangout that EUCIS-LLL and ESN had with Doris Pack on the Erasmus programme in June.

Welcome Croatia!
On 1 July, Croatia became the 28th EU Member state. This is the opportunity to discover more about the Croatian education system: did you know for instance that higher education students do not pay tuition fees in their first year of university (see Commission study) and that Croatia had already reached the Europe 2020 target of 10% early-school leavers with a 4.2% rate in 2012? (see CEDEFOP key findings on VET and lifelong learning) Or that Croatia was already part of the Lifelong Learning Programme and knew the EU’s highest increase of Erasmus out-bound students in 2011-2012 (+62%) (see Commission press release)? Check the Eurypedia database for a complete overview of education and training in Croatia.

Launch of the second edition of the European Social Innovation Competition
The DG Enterprise and Industry of the European Commission will launch the second edition of the European Social Innovation Competition in Milan on 11 October 2013 with the focus on how social innovation provides, directly or indirectly, solutions for jobs. The competition will be open to individuals and organisations and will include a coaching component to help the best ideas become real projects. Details will be presented on the day but you can already register, spread the news and follow us on Twitter (@EUSocialInnov or #diogochallenge).

/// RESEARCH & INNOVATION ///

CEDEFOP research on VET and lifelong learning
The new Cedefop publication “On the way to 2020: national and international data for vocational education and training and lifelong learning policies” provides a statistical overview of VET and lifelong learning in European countries. Supplemented by a short commentary highlighting key points; the overview comprises 31 selected indicators based on international statistics enabling comparisons between countries and EU statistical averages. Take a look at Cedefop’s statistical overview for your country. A detailed explanation of the indicators is also available.

Conference report: “Saving Europe’s ‘Lost Generation’”
The European Policy Summit entitled “Saving Europe’s ‘Lost Generation’”, organised by Friends of Europe and Debating Europe, brought together a varied panel of experts to discuss Europe’s high levels of youth unemployment (average rate of 23% at the end of 2012). To change the actual paradigm and increase the number of youth in the labour market, one of the panellists’ main messages was that there must be a shift in the EU’s educational culture. This could be done mainly by looking beyond formal education and promoting the acquisition of transversal skills. More partnerships are also needed between educational institutions and industry in the form of on-the-job training, apprenticeships, internships which are absolutely essential. Read the full report.

Council of Europe and European Commission publication on learning mobility and non-formal learning
Learning mobility has many advantages for young people, enabling them to acquire intercultural skills, favouring their personal development or enhancing their feeling of European citizenship. It is an essential setting for non-formal learning, as illustrated by this book on “Learning mobility and non-formal learning in European contexts: Policies, approaches and examples” published by the European Commission and the Council of Europe. The publication provides theoretical and practical texts for all stakeholders in the youth field, aiming to contribute to the dialogue and cooperation between relevant players and to discussion on the further development of youth mobility. The book is available online.

/// EU FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES ///

European Policy Network of National Literacy Organisations – EAC/S05/13
Deadline 29 August 2013

Open call for tender – Study on Supporting the Entrepreneurial Potential of Higher Education
Deadline: 30 August 2013

Youth support systems – Partnerships – Sub-action 4.6
Deadline 5 September 2013

Support to Youth Workers’ Mobility – EACEA/15/12
Deadline 10 September 2013

Call for proposals – Two new EIBURS sponsorships under the EIB Knowledge Programme
Deadline 13 September 2013

Implementation of the European strategic objectives in Education and Training (ET 2020) – EACEA/04/2013
Deadline 16 September 2013

Open Call – European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) – COST 2013-3
Deadline 27 September 2013

Youth in Action Programme
permanent calls for proposals 2013

New Call for tenders – Support services to foster Web Talent in Europe by encouraging the use of Massive Open Online Courses focused on web skills
Deadline 16: August 2013

/// PUBLIC CONSULTATIONS ///

Public consultation on health and safety at work
DG Employment has launched an online public consultation on health and safety at work in order to evaluate the European Strategy on Safety and Health at Work 2007-2012 and help to identify current and future challenges and solutions in the occupational safety and health area. Regarding education and training, the consultation also covers questions related to the integration of occupational safety and health in the curricula. The public consultation will run until 26 August.

VALUE AGEING project: online consultation
An online consultation is promoted by the Commission for the VALUE AGEING project (FP7), “Incorporating European Fundamental Values into ICT for Ageing: A vital political, ethical, technological, and industrial challenge”. You can react onICT developments for old people’s living conditions and on corporate social responsibility in ICT for ageing. Deadline on 29 July.

/// AGENDA ///

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