EAEA work plan 2015

WORK PLAN 2015 With forecast to 2016 GA-23.6.2015-08-01-GE

PREAMBLE

Before we go to the main topics and plans for 2015 (and a forecast for 2016), here is a reminder of EAEA’s main objectives.

INFLUENCING PUBLIC POLICY

EAEA has been successful in establishing itself as a key stakeholder in education and training in Brussels. EAEA is invited to all the key events/working groups/ conferences in the area of adult education and lifelong learning and is regularly asked to contribute and consult.

The main roles of EAEA are: • Policy advocacy for lifelong learning at a European level; • Provision of information and services for our members; • Development of practice through projects, publications and training; • International cooperation with other stakeholders in the field.

There have been a lot of changes in 2014/2015, and EAEA will have to react appropriately in order to continue its work.

The EAEA promotes the social inclusion aspects of the Lisbon Strategy; it promotes adult learning and the widening of access and participation in formal and non-formal adult education for all, particularly for groups currently under-represented. The purposes of learning may be competence development for personal fulfilment and in employment related fields; for social change and active citizenship; for sustainable development and gender mainstreaming; for cultural and intercultural awareness and knowledge.

The European Parliament was elected, and the Committee for Culture and Education now looks very different. EAEA has lost one of its most vocal and influential advocates: Doris Pack is no longer in the committee. There are many new members, and many of them actually belong to anti-European parties and are therefore not interested in a European educational area.

Following the introduction of annual themes of last year, the Executive Board therefore proposes the following themes for 2015 and 2016:

The Juncker Commission is also introducing a number of changes: the Vice-presidents are getting more responsibility and are coordinating areas of work; the unit for adult education and vocational education and training, together with other units of DirectorateGeneral for Education and Culture (DG EAC) were moved to Directorate-General for Employment (DG EMPL).

2015: Development (following the European Year of Development) and Health 2016: Adult education and employment By following our priorities and by preparing the plans below we hope to fulfill our main tasks: to be the voice of (non-formal) adult education at the European level and to provide services for our members.

A. ADVOCACY Over the years, EAEA has established

good contact with DG EAC, especially the unit for adult education. We have also increased contacts with the level of directors at DG EAC and with units from Directorate A, such as Lifelong Learning and Skills and Qualifications. We have established contacts with DG Enlargement and DG Development and will continue to intensify them. Due to the changes in both the Parliament and the Commission, EAEA has to reestablish contacts, find new supporters and convince new decision-makers about the importance of adult education. In the European Parliament, EAEA, together with European Civil Society Platform on Lifelong Learning (EUCIS-LLL), is setting up the Interest Group for Lifelong Learning under the lead of Finnish MEP Sirpa Pietikäinen. This group should help us promote and defend a wider and more holistic understanding of lifelong learning. EAEA will also work with the new European Commission by continuing its work with the unit for adult learning but also by reaching out to the relevant Vice-Presidents, Mr. Katainen and Mr. Timmermans. EAEA will also reach out to other organisations, such as OECD, who might be interesting stakeholders. Both BeLL and PIAAC results have given us new arguments and tools to advocate for adult education. We will therefore put an emphasis on the following topics: • Contact building and maintaining with European institutions and

other associations; • Contact building and maintaining with MEPs that are particularly interested in education and training or lifelong learning, employment, social inclusion and similar fields or that are members of committees in these fields (especially through the Intergroup for Lifelong Learning); • Contact building with other institutions, organisations and persons relevant to policy making; • Develop arguments, evidence and tools for non-formal adult education. EAEA as a membership organisation can provide a discussion platform for exchanges between policy-makers on the one hand and adult education representatives, staff, providers and learners. Therefore, our events that bring together these different groups provide the opportunity to influence policy from the bottom up. B. VISIBILITY The voice of (non-formal) adult education needs to be present at meetings, conferences and working groups. We will therefore continue to give inputs at conferences, to lobby to be included in stakeholder meetings and other working groups and to raise the importance of adult education at a variety of meetings and get-togethers. C. TAKING POSITIONS In order to be recognised as a policy actor and interesting representative of a civil society sector, an organisation

in Brussels needs to take position, present opinions on policies, offer clear perspectives of strategies and produce convincing policy recommendations, which are based on the EAEA members’ experiences. EAEA is also aiming to produce and gather evidence for policy proposals.

EUROPEAN YEAR FOR ADULT EDUCATION – THE POWER AND JOY OF LEARNING

EAEA President Per Paludan Hansen introduced EAEA´s proposal of a European flagship initiative on adult learning at the conference ‘Equipping adults for the 21st century – Joining Forces for Action on Skills and Competences’ in Vilnius.

D. REPRESENTATION The European Commission is running a Working Group on Adult Learning, which will propose and monitor progress in the developments of adult education policies. EAEA has a seat in this group so that the voice of providers and civil society can be taken into account.

“It has been a long time that we had the European Year of Lifelong Learning. Considering the needs underlined by the PIAAC result, we should introduce a flagship that would ask for commitment from all levels: European, national, regional and local”, Mr Paludan Hansen said, introducing thus EAEA´s proposal for action.

Additionally, EAEA regularly receives invites (from the European Commission, but also other bodies like National Agencies, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), etc.) to represent non-formal adult education at conferences and workshops.

EAEA will be campaigning for the European Year for adult learning highlighting “the Power and Joy of Learning”. With the campaign EAEA wishes to raise awareness on the positive benefits of learning for all adults, and to make the European public and decision makers aware of the importance of adult education. EAEA proposes the European Year for 2018.

In order to have a stronger and wider influence, it is necessary to be represented in different networks, fora and platforms: • Representation in EUCIS-LLL (see chapter 11); • Representation in the Social Platform; • Representation in the Council of Europe ; • Observer status in CONCORD, the European NGO Confederation for Relief and Development (to be changed to associate membership).

EAEA has developed an advocacy plan and will concentrate on stakeholders and members in the lobbying in 2015.

COUNTRY REPORTS

EAEA will continue its long-term strategy that was started in 2014 and will do another annual survey where our members give us feedback on important events, challenges and developments concerning adult education in their country. EAEA will then publish a report based on your responses, which will make it possible to deliver an annual civil society report about the state of adult education in Europe. The report will: • Inform colleagues across Europe – but also policy makers at different levels – on what our members think about the main developments in adult education in their countries; • Make it possible to compare the situation of adult education providers across Europe; • Propose ideas and good practices to colleagues and policy-makers across Europe. Additionally, in a few years a more longterm comparison of developments will be possible.

HEALTH, WELL-BEING AND HEALTH LITERACY (INCL. EAEA GRUNDTVIG AWARD)

This topic has three main objectives: 1. to highlight the adult education provision that has a direct connection to health and well-being; 2. to highlight the health benefits of nonformal adult education in general; 3. health literacy. Main results: EAEA Grundtvig Award with a publication of good practices, a policy workshop (preferably at the European Parliament), a policy paper and conference in connection with the General Assembly. Outcomes: The EAEA Grundtvig Award brochure, the conference, the policy paper, the policy workshop, but also: establishing contacts with Commission’s Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) and with (public) health associations. EAEA GRUNDTVIG AWARD In 2015 EAEA is looking for projects that tackle health and well-being through adult education. Recent research has demonstrated the wider benefits of adult learning, including its impact on health, e.g. BeLL project. The EAEA is eager to award two best practice examples on this theme which combine innovation and excellence: one European and one international.

on these issues, find new answers, approaches and ideas. The EAEA Board will present a draft paper, which will be discussed at the EAEA General Assembly, but also further elaborated at the Future Forum 2015 in Salzburg. EAEA will present the final version after the summer.

The broad topic of adult education and health encapsulates projects which have either a direct or indirect impact on an individual’s/a collective’s health. Nominated education projects may address a health issue (mental and/ or physical) specifically or take a more general approach, for example improve well-being. Ultimately, we are seeking nominations for this Award that will link this theme to an innovative education practice, for example:

6. FINANCING ADULT EDUCATION The country reports of 2014 showed very clearly that funding is a key issue of many of our members. EAEA therefore decided to bring together members, stakeholders and experts in a workshop in order to discuss the main challenges and issues. As a consequence, EAEA, together with 8 partners, decided to apply for a Strategic Partnership on this topic. The Board will also decide on a possible policy paper on this topic for later in the year.

• New partnerships and stakeholders; • New forms of financing; • New outreach methods to attract disadvantaged learners; • New venues for learning; • Any other innovative forms of learning that combine adult education, health and well-being.

A MANIFESTO FOR ADULT EDUCATION IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Non-formal adult education faces new challenges in Europe today, from the financial crisis, which has reduced the funds for adult education in many countries, to new challenges such as growing inequalities that marginalise more people than before to high numbers of low-skilled people to young adults without jobs. There are also new possibilities such a social media and open educational resources (OERs). EAEA would like to start a debate to reflect

GENERAL ASSEMBLY

The conference on health and the General Assembly (GA) will take place in Porto on 22 and 23 June. The GA will mainly look at the campaign for the European Year, the manifesto for adult education in the 21st century and the advocacy direction of the EAEA. 2015 is also an election year for the EAEA.

8. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION EAEA will maintain its international work by continuing to follow-up the Belem Framework from CONFINTEA VI. EAEA will also continue its cooperation with the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning in order to promote the implementation of the Belem Framework. 2015 is the European Year of Development, and EAEA will contribute to it. EAEA joined the Civil Society Alliance for the European Year, coordinated by CONCORD. EAEA, who has been an observer in CONCORD, will also apply for associate membership in CONCORD. A. MULTI-STAKEHOLDER WORKSHOP: ADULT EDUCATION IN THE POST-2015 PROCESS Brussels, January 2015 The workshop gathered representatives of civil society organisations, EU institutions and research institutes and took place on 30 January 2015 in Brussels. Professor Timothy Ireland from the University of Paraíba, Brazil, and former UNESCO Education Officer, presented the post-2015 agenda and the role of adult education in it. Francesca Minniti from CONCORD Europe gave an input about the Civil Society Alliance for the European Year of Development 2015, and Donatella Gobbi from the European Commission’s DirectorateGeneral for International Cooperation and Development (DG DEVCO) gave the

workshop participants more information about EU policies on adult learning in development. A second workshop is scheduled for autumn. B. ICAE STRATEGIC WORKSHOP Belgrade, February 2015 Gina Ebner and Uwe Gartenschlaeger attended the Strategic Workshop on the institutional development of ICAE in February. Findings of a membership survey were presented to shape a discussion about changes and strategic priorities of ICAE’s structure, strategic goals and work plan. C. WORLD EDUCATION FORUM (WEF) Incheon, Korea, May 2015 EAEA Board member Uwe Gartenschlaeger attended the WEF in Korea in May, where the global education agenda for the next 15 years was finalized. Within the overarching goal “Ensure equitable and inclusive quality education and lifelong learning for all by 2030” a more holistic understanding of education, including adult education will be approved. D. ICAE GENERAL ASSEMBLY Montreal, June 2015 EAEA will also actively participate in the ICAE World Assembly, which will take place in Montreal in June. Uwe Gartenschlaeger is nominated as the European representative in the EAEA board. Andre Schlaefli of Swiss Federation for Adult Learning (SVEB) will be the candidate for the treasurer.

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E. WORKSHOP AT EUROPEAN DEVELOPMENT DAYS 2015 Brussels, June 2015 EAEA and DVV International in cooperation with CONCORD Europe and the University of Nottingham Trent will organise a workshop on “Global Citizenship as a skill that can be developed via lifelong learning” at the European Development Days 2015. The EDD15 will take place on 3–4 June.

EUROPEAN CIVIL SOCIETY PLATFORM ON LIFELONG LEARNING (EUCIS-LLL)

EAEA has been an active member of EUCIS-LLL from the beginning, and its President, David Lopez, is an EAEA Board member, as is the Treasurer, Gerhard Bisovsky. Therefore the close cooperation between the two associations will continue. It brings together more than 30 members from different lifelong learning sectors. In 2010, EUCIS-LLL was recognized as a unique representation by DG Education and Culture and has received funding since then, nevertheless the financial situation continues to pose problems.

9. TTIP In 2014, EAEA discovered that adult education could be part of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnershipwith (TTIP) with the USA. EAEA therefore continues its advocacy to keep adult education out of TTIP and to inform its members about developments.

EUCIS-LLL provides useful papers, positions and events (e.g. the lifelong learning week at the European Parliament) and represents the lifelong learning sector in a number of bodies.

10. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION Fortunately, the Finnish government through its Ministry of Education and Culture continues to support a staff member of EAEA. This position including the support of the Finnish government has moved to the Finnish organisation The Finnish Lifelong Learning Foundation - KVS in Helsinki in 2012, and Aura Vuorenrinne who is busy as EAEA Communications Officer.

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EAEA YOUNGER STAFF TRAINING

EAEA has now organised four successful trainings for younger staff in adult education. The participants of the trainings have formed a ‘younger staff network’ and continue to exchange ideas, information and activities, and the project AE-Pro has been developed with the help of the network.

EAEA plans to offer another training in the first week of December 2015.

13. PROJECTS ONGOING PROJECTS; EAEA AS A COORDINATOR AE-PRO – EUROPEAN ADULT EDUCATION (YOUNG) PROFESSIONALS LEARNING PLATFORM Many adult education staff do not have formal training in adult education. EAEA knows from members that there is huge need and interest to learn more about European policies, programmes and other countries’ systems and innovations. Therefore AE-Pro project creates an online learning format in order to reach more participants and to make it affordable. An exchange between staff generations, the learning from experts but also peers means a real added value and exploiting existing resources. People can do the whole training (and receive a portfolio), but individual online sessions according to interest and time resources can be accessed, too. Aims: European training for adult education staff with the following components: • Online peer-learning platform with cross-national & intergenerational exchange of expertise and EU contents; • Mobility platform; • Portfolio to complement national certification;

• Mobility charter for hosts; • Network of trainers and experts. Targets: • Adult education staff (especially younger) across Europe – through EAEA and its EAEA younger staff network. We promote the cooperation of adult educators and their innovative potential. They will increase their knowledge, learn from their peers, do a mobility and network. This will have a direct impact on the quality of adult education; • Adult education organisations and providers will profit from each other´s innovations and knowledge as well as receive better information about European developments, through sharing knowledge and experience with others. The project will give the opportunity to create networks and links to other organisations in Europe, which will promote a European area of adult education and increase the professionalization and quality of adult education staff; • Policy-makers will receive better feedback from adult education institutions, based on better knowledge. Outcomes: • Increase the knowledge about adult education in Europe; • Exchange of innovation across Europe; • Quality and professionalization of adult education staff and providers.

The project started to run in April 2015. Over 1,000 participants logged in into the learning platform to discover what it offers. The first online session took place on April 14th and introduced the whole course. This first session witnessed an overwhelming interest in the overall training. Over 140 participants joined the training, most of them being adult education staff members. More than 50 further participants said they would follow it offline. Participants came from 37 countries, mostly European countries but also other countries as Egypt, Paraguay, Russia, Philippines, etc. Almost all countries from the European Union were represented and many participants came from neighboring countries as Belarus, Moldova, Macedonia, Serbia and Armenia. 235 participants have already enrolled for the second session to take place Mid-May 2015.

We have now had 20 years of national and European practice, but it is still very fragmented. Later this year, the European Commission will also publish an updated version of the European inventory on validation and new guidelines. However, the partners believe that EU member states will have to face big challenges (and in some even resistance) while putting in place such systems and thus they should be supported more. A major role could be played by adult education providers and stakeholders, which are often the implementing bodies of the validation systems. By analysing tools and methodologies in different European countries and proposing solutions from the civil society perspective, this project will contribute to reducing the fragmentation on different levels, namely policy and practice. The project should show possible solutions, explore the best practices and strategies for validation for the disadvantaged, contribute to an exchange of tools, procedures and experiences.

Partners: • Kerigma, Portugal • DAEA, Denmark • RIO, Sweden • NIACE, UK • AES, Serbia • KVS, Finland • VHS-Saarland, Germany • ICAE, Uruguay

Objectives: • Contributing to a reduction in the number of low-skilled adults (reskilling and up-skilling); • Facilitating the validation of nonformal and informal learning and its permeability with formal education pathways.

AVA – ACTION PLAN FOR VALIDATION AND NON-FORMAL ADULT EDUCATION In 2012, the European Council approved recommendations on validation. The plan is that member states have validation systems in place by 2018.

The network will: • Draft and promote a survey addressing adult education providers, validation arrangement providers and analyse the collected results; • Organise a jour fixe for presenting

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the results to a wider public (Vienna, Austria – October 2015); Organise an expert seminar for debating the main themes and outcomes of the survey (Oslo, Norway – February 2016), after developing an appropriate methodology for it. Draft an Action Plan providing key messages and actions targeted at both policy makers and adult education organisations; Organise a Policy Debate in Brussels and further disseminate the Action Plan; Produce five articles on relevant issues related to the project’s values and aims.

Partners: • KERIGMA, Portugal; • Verband Österreichischer Volkshochschulen, Austria; • Learn for Life – Dutch Platform for International Adult Learning, the Netherlands; • Asociatia “EUROED”, Romania; • Nordic Network for Adult Learning – NVL, Norway. The AVA project was officially started in September 2014 and had its internal kick-off meeting in November 2014, in Utrecht, the Netherlands. In the first months of the project’s lifespan, the consortium started working on the survey development, which was launched in February 2015. One of the key issues for the impact will be that participants in the project but also the

wider adult education community will be able to develop and learn how things could be done. They will learn from others, gain insight into different tools, develop different approaches, propose possible solutions, develop partnerships between systems and sectors and understand existing European tools better. For the individual learners, this project will mean better validation, more quality and better recognition across systems. For policy-makers we will provide more practice-based evidence for better policy-making. ONGOING PROJECTS; EAEA AS A PARTNER INFONET III Coordinator: Akademie Klausenhof, Germany InfoNet is a Grundtvig network project of adult education journals/media in Europe. The project increases cooperation between adult education journals and offers a newswire for adult education. It is a European network of editors in the field of adult education and lifelong learning with the main objective to build a community for sharing experience, knowledge and material (news, articles, etc.) for editorial work. To achieve this, InfoNet has established a web based information service for the dissemination of news on adult education with European relevance. From the second year, supported by an information bureau in Brussels, a regular information service is operating which works similarly to a news agency.

InfoNet had members in almost all EU countries, including the journal LLinE, which is a trans-European online journal dedicated to the advancement of adult education, lifelong learning, intercultural collaboration and best practice research. Duration: Ends in 2015. ROM-ACT – WIDENING ROMA WOMEN´S ACCESS TO NON-FORMAL AND INFORMAL LEARNING VALIDATION SYSTEMS Coordinator: Romani Association of Women Drom Kotar Mestipen, Spain The aim of ROM-ACT is to widen recognition of the skills and competences that the Roma community has acquired in formal and non-formal activities and to encourage centres for adult education and civil society organizations to support non-academic Roma women in their process of informal and non-formal learning validation.

adult education and civil society organisations to support and accompany non-academic Roma women in their process of informal and non-formal learning validation; • Carry out a lobbying campaign for national governments with the aim to incorporate the contributions of the project in the non-formal and informal learning validation systems and give policy makers concrete recommendations on how to do it.

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Duration: 1.11.2012–30.11.2014 (prolonged to 31.5.2015)

AEMA – ADULT EDUCATION MADE ACCESSIBLE Coordinator: Queraum. kultur- & sozialforschung, Austria Aims: • Contributing to an increased participation rate of people with disabilities in adult education; • Increasing the number of adult education providers, who make a visible commitment to increasing accessibility; • Spreading good practice and comprehensive information.

KNOW YOUR LIFESTYLE – INTRODUCING SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION IN 2ND-CHANCE EDUCATION Coordinator: DVV international, Germany The final aim of the project is to make learners acknowledge the link between local personal consumption and the resulting global impact, and thus give young people the opportunity to look critically at their own consumption and to develop alternative courses of action.

The project will: • Promote access of non-academic Roma women to the national systems of validation of informal and non-formal learning through the support of civil organisations; • Enable the Roma women to make contributions and recommendations in order to improve the impact and the accessibility of non-formal and informal validation systems; • Validate the non-formal and informal learning of 50 non-academic Roma women; • Encourage and help centres for

Results • The development of teaching materials and training opportunities which will provide teachers with the capacity to deal with develop ment education and globalisation; • Organisation of activities embedded with the second

chance course that will involve the students and creation of curriculums; A network in which experts not only in specific aspects of development politics, but also in development education or global learning get together and exchange methodologies and good practice.

Duration: 1.11.2012 – 31.1.2014

The AEMA-Network therefore sets out an ambitious working programme taking into consideration the perspectives of and addressing: • people with disabilities; • adult education providers; • experts on accessibility. Duration: 1.1.2014–31.12.2016

ELINET – EUROPEAN LITERACY POLICY NETWORK Coordinator: University of Cologne, Germany General objective: Cooperation with institutions and organisations working in the field of literacy both at national and EU levels to promote effective literacy policies. Specific objectives: • Organisation of network meetings of all Network Members and Core Members to share knowledge and expertise, to decide on joint campaigns, and to disseminate the Network’s outputs; • Organisation of national and international workshops and seminars focused on particular issues relating to literacy in order to address and commit relevant stakeholders and to support practical change by means of the network’s expertise; • Organisation of a central event in Brussels in autumn 2015 around International Literacy Day (8 September) in order to highlight the importance of literacy and to address important stakeholders and possible sponsors for future support.; • Organisation of, in close cooperation with the European Commission, one final European; • Conference to share results of the network with a wider audience. Duration: 1.2.2014–31.1.2016

EDU-FIN – DEVELOPING PARTICIPATIVE PROCESSES FOR THE GENERATION OF A FINANCIAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM ADDRESSED TO YOUNG ADULTS AT RISK Coordinator: Association of participants Àgora, Spain The project aims at planning and developing a learning programme on financial literacy addressed to youth of disadvantaged groups in society to promote entrepreneurship education to build up active citizenship, employability and new business creation, supporting future learning and career paths for individuals in line with their personal and professional development.

must be found. The project proposes to produce professional-quality short high-definition (HD) videos on adult learning. They will serve as a practical tool both for adult education professionals/teachers and as advocacy tools for adult education advocators. Videos will be produced in five countries for two target groups: for adult educators and for the general public and policy makers.

Results/Impact: • Improved levels of skills of young adults between 18 and 30 in situation of social risk for employability and new business creation; • Increased opportunities for their professional development; • Increased their sense of initiative and entrepreneurship; • More active participation in society.

Results/Impact: This project will produce innovative adult education promotional material for the use of adult educators and adult education advocators. It thus aims at bringing positive and long lasting effects to the adult education professionals to support their work and also bring adult education closer to the general public in an understandable and easy-access form. The videos produced will be integrated into project partners’ existing communications and they will be made available for different advocates of adult education throughout Europe.

Duration: 1.9.2014–31.8.2016

LIVE AND LEARN Coordinator: The Finnish Lifelong Learning Foundation – KVS, Finland The project starts from two observations, or needs: • Participation in adult education must be increased across Europe; • New ways of sharing best practices among adult European educators

PROJECT APPLICATIONS (The contract will depend on the approval by the relevant agencies); WITH EAEA AS AN APPLICATOR ERASMUS+ KA3 IMPLEMENTING OED The project is the follow-up of a Grundtvig network that elaborated guidelines for

trainers/staff in adult education and policy recommendations for policymakers for engaging disadvantaged learners. The partners now want to implement the principles: Outreach, Empowerment, Diversity (OED). The participation in adult education has stagnated or even decreased in some countries while we do know through the PIAAC survey that large numbers of Europeans lack basic skills. And while participation is low, those who do participate are already better educated. There is a real need across Europe to attract especially low-skilled and disadvantaged adults to education. The partners will work in 2 clusters: • Implementing OED on the provider level; • Implementing OED on the policy level. Six partners will work to implement the OED principles (i.e. mainly the methodological guidelines) at the provider level. They will adapt them to the training needs in their countries and regions. Five partners will implement OED on the policy level by informing and training policy-makers on the concepts and implementation of OED. This will be achieved by events on the European/ national/regional levels. All partners will closely monitor their challenges and successes through

impact assessment. As a final product, an instruction manual for implementing OED will be produced that will summarise the learning points, propose concrete solutions on how make OED a reality for providers and policy-makers and how to transfer the OED products to other sectors and countries. We think we will reach at least 500 stakeholders/multipliers directly and up to 1,000 through communication. The long-term strategy is to implement OED across all European countries. There is a real need for comprehensive strategies for engaging new learners and this project aims to work with European, national and regional policy-makers to achieve European and national strategies. ERASMUS+ KA2 FINALE – FINANCING ADULT EDUCATION In most European countries, financing (non-formal) adult education remains problematic. In contrast to the formal system, the sources of financing are fragmented. On the side of public authorities, there is a distribution across different ministries, regional and local authorities and communes. Employers obviously play an important role as do public employment services. In many countries, the learners themselves contribute through fees. There are a number of different mechanisms and tools, which can be targeted at learners directly or at providers. Whilst the cost of many learning offers

remain an obstacle for many Europeans (especially younger or older people or persons with low educational attainments as highlighted by the Adult Education Survey), funding for adult education has been under increased pressure due to the financial crisis, and even a country like Finland is cutting funds for education. This is in contrast with the clear need to increase participation in lifelong learning. The PIAAC results have shown that at least 20% of Europeans lack basic skills, and the benchmark for participation has decreased in the last few years rather than made progress.

• Improve funding of adult education; • Improve efficiency of policies and public expenditure to reconcile the need for sound public finance and funding growth-friendly investments from providers and learners points of views; • Propose innovative solutions that can help to improve efficiency and the quality of public spending in education and training; • Improve the knowledge about funding instruments and how they work and for whom; • Increase our knowledge of why and where to invest and then implement the funding instruments; • Continue the debate across Europe about participation in lifelong learning and especially of groups that currently do not participate and how to finance this participation.

There is an urgent need – and recent survey among EAEA members confirms the importance of this – to find answers for questions such as: why do we need to invest in adult education? What are the indicators for funding? Where is investment needed? Which instruments work? Which funding mechanisms can engage (more) new learners?

The objective is to provide a set of analyses and policy recommendations targeted at policy-makers of all levels (European, national, regional, local, communal) and at providers to be used as advocacy tools. The partnership would like to monitor and analyse adult education policies and funding instruments and make proposals on how to improve them. This knowledge also benefits providers and adult education organisations as they will be able to use the analyses and recommendations in their own work. The partnership believes that this peer learning aspect across Europe will contribute to finding the best solutions for adult education

A working group from the European Commission has been working on the topic. This project is a reaction and follow-up on this work. The consortium believes that there is a need to look into this topic from the point of view of civil society only and to update what has been achieved to make proposals for policy and financing practice that focuses on the providers and learners. Indeed, the partnership believes that there is an urgent need across Europe to:

in Europe by drawing on European best practices to establish key indicators for monitoring and evaluating use of resources. PROJECT APPLICATIONS; WITH EAEA AS A PARTNER ERASMUS+ KA3 LEARNING 3.0 – IMPACT OF MEANINGFUL LEARNING PARTICIPATION – FROM PRACTICE TO POLICY Applicant: EUCIS-LLL National Agency: Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency Aims: The objective of the project is to identify practices of collaborative learning environments with positive results on educational achievement and wellbeing of teachers and learners with the following dimensions: • educators/learners; • educators/educators; • educators/school heads; • learners/institutions; • institutions/communities. This project will identify a range of approaches to improving collaboration, and the evidence of impact on improving learner engagement and achievement in different education sectors. By collecting and analysing substantive evidence on the benefits of collaborative learning, it will allow the responsible authorities to develop new, innovative and effective policies and practices in education and training and will propose

concrete methodologies for a practical implementation of these in the future (advocacy and educators’ packs). Main deliverables: • Report on collaborative learning based on the consultation phase and the literature review; • Guidelines for implementation of “Policy Labs” and supporting webinar; • Advocacy pack (advocacy plan and pack including some policy recommendations); • Educators’ pack (guidelines for educators and school heads with practical examples and recommendations in terms of institutional strategies – including partnerships with communities); • Website/community of practice (social media). Expected results: • Drawing policy recommendations (transferable elements) that can be used in other contexts and sectors; • Widening the range of stakeholders participating in the current discussion about the role of collaborative learning to improve well-being and educational achievement; • Showcasing the value of inclusive design practices for widening takeup of ICTs for learning and inclusion; • Experimenting innovative processes (policy labs) in pilot countries to implement participative strategies in educational institutions by taking the views of actors and making them work across sectors;

• Engaging this wider set of stakeholders in a dialogue that leads to an improved understanding about policy priorities going forward, and making this vision public via, among others, an EU-wide campaign.

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ERASMUS+ KA2 SMART GENERATION – SMARTPHONE POTENTIAL AND EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES FOR YOUNG GENERATION Applicant: Centro culturale Francesco Luigi Ferrari, Italy National Agency: Agenzia Nazionale LLP – Programmi settoriali Comenius, Erasmus, Grundtvig e Visite di Studio – INDIRE Aims: The project aims at creating an innovative educational methodology to facilitate a conscientious use of smartphones, which underlines both its potentials and its risks. The project will also boost a public debate on the role of digital technologies in the construction of social relations of quality among youngsters and between generations.

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The project is based on the media education methodology, which will foster the reflection upon new media by supporting citizenship processes in the knowledge society, promoting learning methods and paths which make media both education tool and content.

communication strategies of smartphones, with a particular attention to different cultural aspects in their use; Elaborate, test and transfer to different European realities the innovative methodology about digital, communication, social and civic skills and competences through the exchange of experiences and good practice; Motivate to the positive use of smartphones by providing youngsters with the tools needed to understand the huge amount of data and multisensory information which pass through smartphones; Support young people who live in Europe to develop a critical approach, digital civic sense as well as key competences for the working, educational and private life. Namely help them to use smartphones in a correct and constructive way; Spread a collaborative learning culture between the learning and private environment though the cooperation between youth organisations and education stakeholders.

ERASMUS+ KA2 VNFIL – TRANSNATIONAL PEER REVIEW FOR QUALITY ASSURANCE IN VALIDATION OF FORMAL AND INFORMAL LEARNING Applicant: Commanditaire Vennootschap (CV), Netherlands National agency: Nationaal Agentschap Erasmus+ Onderwijs &

Expected results: • Investigate the universe of the European youngsters and the

Training – CINOP in the Netherlands Aims: • Extend the current Europeerguid RVC methodology to more European partners in more countries through having partners belonging to public, semi-public, and private organisations; • Establish Peer Review as a complementation of the usual quality assessment systems in validation of non-formal and informal learning; • Promote the professional development of more VNFIL practitioners; • Enhance the quality and visibility of VNFIL provision. Expected results: • State of the art of report of quality systems in VNFIL; • Update of the European Peer Review VNFIL Website; • Update of the European Peer Review VNFIL Leaflet; • Test report; • Evaluation report; • Update of the database of European Peer Review VNFIL peers; • Update of the European Peer Review – VNFIL Toolbox, the European Peer Review VNFIL Manual as well as the VNFIL Peer Review training programme. ERASMUS+ KA2 A TOOLKIT FOR DEVELOPING, IMPLEMENTING AND MONITORING ADULT EDUCATION STRATEGIES Applicant: Ministry of Education and Culture, Cyprus

National Agency: Foundation for the Management of European Lifelong Learning Programmes in Cyprus Expected Outcomes: 1.Mapping of the current scene in relation to local and national strategies, on adult education and their effectiveness. Critical review of the state of the art in adult education; 2.Development of a practical toolkit to facilitate the development, monitoring and assessment of adult education that will include: • Conceptual Framework on effective strategy and policies; • Guidelines and practical tips; • Good examples and cases from the EU; • Online environment to facilitate knowledge exchange; • Monitoring tools and rubrics. Results: • Detailed review of state of the art; • Meetings and focus groups; • Open consultations with key stakeholders; • Strategic visioning workshops; • Trainings and seminars; • Implementations of project outcomes; • An international conference. ERASMUS+ KA2 “LET EUROPE KNOW ABOUT ADULT EDUCATION” UNDER THE ERASMUS+ PROGRAMME Applicant: Katholische Erwachsenenbildung Deutschland – Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft e.V., Germany National Agency: Die Nationale Agen-

tur Bildung für Europa beim Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung (NA beim BIBB) Aims: 1.Enhance adult educator’s competences through better training and understanding of how to: • Coach and train adult education staff in journalistic ways of working; • Write journalistic articles for print and online media; • Report about adult education in mass media; • Increase adult educators’ competences in writing about adult education for a European audience; • Write for readers living in an another geographical, cultural, political and educational environment; • Write articles that are relevant and even necessary for the target groups; • Write articles that are understandable for the target groups.

to initiate more journalistic activities on adult learning; • Awareness raising measures about the high numbers of persons with low literacy levels (through for example simulation games). 3.Improvement of the level of key competences and transversal skills of adult education staff by: • Enhancing ICT uptake in work of the adult education; • Informing about and motivating national, regional and local policy makers to invest in lifelong learning. ERASMUS+ KA2 VALID’ACTION 18 – EU-WIDE ACTION TO DEVELOP VALIDATION BY 2018 Applicant: EUCIS-LLL National Agency: EPOS vzw in Belgium Aims: The project seeks to mainstream validation arrangements in all education and training sub-systems; thus contributing to the setting up of a genuine European area of skills and qualifications. Besides, one of the objectives of the project is to encourage a better recognition of learning outcomes in order to broaden access to lifelong learning and to empower the most disadvantaged groups by making them aware of their potential (i.e. young people neither in employment, education or training (NEETs), low-skilled adults, socio-economically vulnerable people), fostering more equity and inclusion in education. This project will more particularly benefit (young)

2.Awareness raising for and promoting of Adult Education in Europe through: • Developing trainings and tools on how to improve people’s awareness and knowledge on adult learning, which means an increase in the lifelong learning benchmark through journalistic activities; • Reaching and informing a wider European audience about adult education through journalistic means; • Professionalization of adult education staff on journalistic ways of working; • Providing incentives and expertise for the adult education community

adults from under-represented groups. It will contribute to a reduction in the number of low-skilled adults (re-skilling and up-skilling of adults) by encouraging practitioners to play a role of multipliers and “advocates” to encourage EU Member States to speed up the process of setting up validation mechanisms and by participating in the elaboration of these mechanisms. Expected results: • Civil Society Watch on validation; • Learners’ Voice which will provide user-friendly communication and advocacy tools using learners’ voices (videos) to broadly promote validation among target groups and federate actors at national and EU level; • Peer learning forums; • Valid’Action pack which will consist of an advocacy and communication pack aimed at policy-makers and practitioners in a pedagogical approach in order to make them understand what validation is about and its benefits notably based on the experience of other countries; • Online platform; • Final conference. HORIZON 2020 – YOUNG 3-2015 CALL: Lifelong learning for young adults: better policies for growth and inclusion in Europe (deadline 28.5.2015) LIFELONG LEARNING FOR YOUNG ADULTS: BETTER POLICIES FOR GROWTH AND INCLUSION IN EUROPE

Aims: • Analyze the actors, dynamics, mismatches, trends and overlaps in adult education to identify whether there are links between the public policy and private market; • Identify best practices (including programmes and non-programmes) that are demonstrating to improve learning outcomes; particularly focusing on initiatives reaching out to young adults at risk of social exclusion; • Develop an Intelligent Decision Support System (IDSS) (policymaking modelling tool) to simplify the access to information and support research on adult education as well as policy making in the different phases of the policy cycle; • Investigate and contribute to cooperation mechanisms between various agencies doing research and collecting data at international and European levels in order to develop synergies, avoid overlaps and to contribute to the IDSS system; • Identify policy lessons and recommendations. HORIZON 2020 – YOUNG 3-2015 CALL GETTING ENGAGED THROUGH INCLUSIVE LEARNING FOR YOUNG PEOPLE AND DISADVANTAGED GROUPS: BREAKING THROUGH BARRIERS AND BOUNDARIES Applicant: University of Lincoln, UK Aims: This project seeks to reduce the growing number of young people across Europe

fail to reach their potential, are at risk of social exclusion, by creating knowledge and promoting innovative practices through developing models of community-based adult learning that address the needs of such young and disadvantaged adults across Europe. It does this by harnessing the considerable expertise and relationships of UniversityCommunity Partnerships in five EU countries in Europe.

lower educated younger adults to participate in formal and vocational adult education as well, or in other words, how non-vocational adult education contributes on the lifelong learning careers of lower educated and less motivated young adults. Objectives: • To provide an overview of nonformal, non-vocational adult education provision in a number of European countries, by mapping the type, topics and providers of non-formal, non-vocational adult education in different countries; • To enable better visibility of innovative non-vocational learning practices by locating courses that attract especially lower educated and younger adults, who are less motivated to engage themselves in vocational education; • To provide a good understanding of the nature and transferability of these innovative practices by doing a genealogical analysis of the historical, philosophical and societal context of the selected learning practices; • To provide a detailed description of pedagogical models and learning processes within these courses, by doing an ethnographic analyses of the teaching and learning practices in selected courses; • To analyse the effectiveness of these practices, by doing an empirical participant analysis, focusing on the individual attitudes and

Objectives: • Review the potential of inclusive approaches in adult learning across Europe; • Test the replicability of national frameworks to other regions and contexts; • Examine the structural and institutional barriers faced by community providers within their respective adult learning markets; • Develop a European Framework for the dissemination of inclusive approaches with a view to mainstreaming such initiatives in Europe. HORIZON 2020 – YOUNG 3-2015 CALL INNOLEAP – INNOVATIVE NON-VOCATIONAL LEARNING PRACTICES Applicant: University of Eastern Finland Aims: • To provide an overview and analysis of non-formal, non-vocational adult learning provision in a number of European countries; • To analyse how it can motivate

perceived opportunities before and after the participation and on the development of wider benefits, i.e. how the courses supports the development of individual learning careers; • To facilitate the dissemination of best practices from one country, region and target group to another by offering dissemination seminars and materials, based on the results of the genealogical and empirical analysis.

14. FINANCES In 2014, the Executive Agency published a call for operating grants for civil society organisations. The call is for a maximum of 125,000 euros per year and a framework contract of three years. EAEA submitted its bid in December and received a positive response. EAEA continues to be very active in project work. Two project reports were submitted at the beginning of 2015. EAEA still coordinates two projects – AVA and AE-Pro – and is a partner in quite a few others. EAEA continues to have an agreement with EfVET (European Forum for Vocational Education and Training). The EAEA staff will work a percentage of their time for EfVET and EAEA is being paid. Other sources of income – project partnerships, project dissemination packages, EAEA Younger Staff Training –

will continue but in a different format due to the changes in the programme.

15. MEMBERSHIP Raffaela Kihrer continues as Membership and Events Officer and is therefore responsible for the Membership Strategy. The services for members have been further improved to make EAEA more attractive for existing and potential members. MEMBER INVOLVEMENT EAEA is keen to involve its members more in its work. In order to have more discussions with and inputs from its members, EAEA will start organising online discussions with the President and Board Members. The first discussion – which will have the format of a webinar – will take place in September 2015, in which the president will present the adult education manifesto and ask for feedback. If successful, EAEA will start a series of such webinars in order to inform and involve the membership. MEMBERSHIP STRATEGY By further improving the services for members (e.g. by a stronger support of the members with their work, a dedicated project website, a bi-weekly newsletter for members, news for members at the Member Area on the EAEAwebsite, etc.), we hope to make EAEA more attractive for existing and potential members, especially in the newly defined target regions (Southern

and Eastern Europe).

MEMBERSHIP SURVEY An annual membership survey, introduced in 2013, monitors the satisfaction of the EAEA members with EAEA’s work and services and collects input for improvement. The membership surveys show that the satisfaction rate, especially of “very satisfied” members, has increased throughout the last years. According to the EAEA Member Survey 2015, 92% of the respondents stated to be “very satisfied” and “satisfied” in the overall satisfaction rate. 100% of the respondents were “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with EAEA’s provision of up-to-date information on EU policy development about adult education in 2014, and 96% were “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with EAEA’s advocacy work on the European level for non-formal adult education and lifelong learning.

The bi-weekly EAEA Member News have proven successful since its introduction in mid-2014. Since sending out the member newsletter in a new format using a mass email programme since the beginning of 2015, it is now also possible to monitor the opening rates of the newsletter. The EAEA Member News are read by 34% of all the recipients (around 83 persons) in the member mailing list. In addition to the EAEA members, the member newsletter is also sent to the candidate members. The candidate members that sometimes have to wait for many months between their approval as a new member by the EAEA Board and the approval by the EAEA General Assembly, welcome this initiative very much. Of the candidate mailing list, 61% of the recipients open the newsletter, which is a comparatively high number for a regularly sent newsletter.

In comparison to the survey in 2014, the satisfaction with EAEA’s cooperation with EU institutions and international and national NGOs as well as the dissemination of project information and results from the adult education sector increased from around three quarters to over four fifth of the participants in the survey. Concluding from the previous surveys, some services as the project partner search could still be improved. However, services like these are time intensive and their improvement largely depend on the availability of free resources within EAEA.

In addition to a direct mail campaign that informs about the advantages of becoming an EAEA member, the EAEA membership officer now also sends e-mails informing about initiatives as the AE-Pro trainings and the EAEA Grundtvig Award to potential member organisations. By directly experiencing the benefits of a membership, adult education providers and organisations that are not part of the network yet are informed about the work and services that EAEA provides and may be attracted to become new members.

The EAEA members perceive EAEA’s information service and being part

of a network as the most important key selling points of a membership with EAEA. With regard to the level of impact of EAEA’s work, the European level is seen as the most important one, followed by the organisation’s level. EAEA will continue working closely with its members and improving all member services on a continuous basis.

16.

STAFF ISSUES

Currently, the following staff members work for the EAEA: Brussels: • Gina Ebner, Secretary-General (80% with time credit scheme) • Tania Berman, Policy Officer • Valentina Chanina, Office Manager • Francesca Operti, Project Officer • Raffaela Kihrer (25 hrs / week), Membership and Events officer Helsinki: • Aura Vuorenrinne, Communications Officer

17.

MEETINGS OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD

The meetings of the Executive Board are necessary for the decision-making of EAEA. Additionally, the meetings are held in different countries, which enable the Executive Board to meet with policy makers and (potential) member organisations in order to learn more

about the situation, challenges and needs of adult education organisations in the respective countries. In 2015, meetings are held in Brussels, Helsinki, and Porto (the autumn meetings will be confirmed after the elections).

FORECAST TO 2016 EAEA will continue (and continue to improve) many of its strategies: advocacy, information and communication, membership, etc. If the launch of the campaign for the European Year is successful, we will also continue this campaign. The same applies for the Interest Group on Lifeling Learning in the European Parliament. As the theme for 2016 we propose adult education and employment, which should help us discuss life and employment skills, the cooperation, links and overlaps with vocational training and the contribution that adult education makes to employability.

The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsi足ble for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.