policy-making
Country reports on the Action Plan on Adult Learning
The Action Plan on Adult Learning "It is always a good time to learn" (2008-2010) provided for the first time a set of common priorities to be encouraged in the adult learning sector, introduced the sector to the Open Method of Coordination and thus initiated intensified European cooperation between its diverse actors.
Those country report have been carried out, on behalf of the European Commission, by GHK in cooperation with Research voor Beleid. on the basis of country-experts' analysis of existing national literature and the Confintea IV-report and were used as background reports in the Final Conference on Adult Learning Action Plan in Budapest, 7-9 March 2011.
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Making integration a win-win situation
The European Commission proposed a new package of measures to facilitate migrant's integration through language learning, easier access to employment, education and training, plus efforts to fight discrimination.
Migrants to the EU bring with them not only diversity, but also the potential to make a valuable contribution to economic growth and stability.EU citizens and migrants alike agree that integration requires language skills, employment, respect for the local culture and an unambiguous legal status.
As Europe's population ages and birth rates remain low, migrants can help sustain the EU economy and finance national welfare systems. But not unless they are fully integrated into their host countries.
A new package of measures 
proposed by the Commission would facilitate integration through language learning, easier access to employment, education and training, plus efforts to fight discrimination.
Integration policies are the responsibility of national governments. But the EU can offer support and incentives - through funding, policy coordination and facilitating the exchange of best practices. The new measures would encourage action at local level, including cooperation between local authorities, employers, migrant organisations, service providers and local residents.
Each EU country, region or city would choose the measures most appropriate for its circumstances, and EU-wide indicators would monitor the results.
Progress should not be difficult, given the results from a recent Eurobarometer survey on migrant integration, which show that both EU citizens and migrants largely agree on the factors that help integration.
Conducted in March and April 2011, the survey found agreement that more effort is needed from all sides - from governments, migrants themselves and the general public.
EU citizens and migrants alike have similar views on the factors influencing integration. Speaking the language of the host nation, being able to work, respecting the local culture and enjoying an unambiguous legal status were the top four factors - with language being the most important for both groups.
Both also agreed on the importance of interaction at work and in schools, and on the detrimental impact of segregation between neighbourhoods.
The EU is home to 20.1 million migrants from non-EU countries, around 4% of the population.
European Agenda for the Integration of Third-Country Nationals
Integration is a process that starts on the ground and integration policies should be developed with a genuine 'bottom-up' approach, close to the local level. Such policies include actions such as support for language learning, introductory measures, access to employment, education and vocational training and the fight against discrimination, which all aim at increasing migrants' participation in society.
Disabilities and Education
In March 2012, OBESSU will hold a Study Session on the topic of disabilities thanks to the financial support of the Council of Europe. Disabilities and education is a very relevant and current topic and it is important to discover the European framework as well.
The area of Education and Training is a very special cause and very close to OBESSU’s values and standpoints. The topic of disability is also present in the European Commission’s strategic framework “Education and Training 2020" within its objective to “promote inclusive education and lifelong learning for pupils and students with disabilities”. By the use of this framework the Commission has a more powerful instrument to try to influence national level education policies.
On 15th November 2010 the European Commission adopted the EU Disability Strategy 2010-2020 setting new goals within the framework of the UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
The United Nations Convention sets the minimum standards that each country should achieve regarding the safeguard and well-being of people with disabilities. In Europe there are around 80 million people falling within the scope of the UN Convention: they often live at the edge of our society and not every Member State is doing the same to help and integrate them. The EU Disability Strategy aims at making it easier for people with disabilities to go about their daily lives like everyone else and enjoy their rights as an EU citizen.
The Strategy contains the 8 “Areas of Action” where improvement is needed: Accessibility, Participation, Equality, Employment, Education and training, Social protection, Health, and External Action.
New Skills for New Jobs: Call for papers on Green Skills to be launched in September
The Cedefop-OECD Green Skills Forum 2012 we will be announcing its major theme, and calling for related papers, in early September.
The Cedefop-OECD Green Skills Forum 2012, to be held at OECD headquarters in Paris on 27 February 2012, will bring together an international forum of 70-80 researchers, government advisers and social partners who work on skills development and training needs for a sustainable future. They will gather the latest insights and identify tools and directions for further research.
The event aims at drawing on lessons from the work conducted by the OECD and Cedefop on the implications of a green economy for skills and training policies. These insights will contribute to the OECD’s Green Growth Strategy, and to Cedefop’s Green Skills activities, which contribute to the European Commission’s initiative on New Skills for New Jobs.
The deadline for submitting papers is early December 2011. Details will be given in September.
GREEN PAPER Modernising the Professional Qualifications Directive
Modernisation should draw on the latest technologies to offer new tools for mobility. These technologies have the potential both to enable professionals to become more mobile and improve information to consumers and employers about professionals' qualifications for the services they offer.
Call for Papers prolongued! 'Agriculture business, education and training' for the COME-HR - 5th European Conference
The European Conference “Competence Modelling for European HR and Policies: Bridging Business, Education, and Training” (COME-HR) has launched its Call for Papers: All experts from the agricultural sector, human resources development, and competence modelling are invited to contribute their own related professional or academic efforts and to present them in a scientific paper and presentation.
The conference will take place in Brussels, Belgium on the 09th and 10th of November, 2011 and is organized by the European consortium for competence tools eCOTOOL. “By sharing the results of the eCOTOOL project with European professionals and academics and asking them to draw upon their own experience, we hope to greatly benefit the discourse concerning innovations for Europass and the agricultural sector by competence models, E-Learning and social communities”, says Christian M. Stracke, the Coordinator of the eCOTOOL project from the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany, ISO Convener and editor of many competence standards and specifications. Additionally, the key note speeches and participation of representatives from the European Commission, competence modelling experts, and European standardisation bodies ensure a competent and influential audience and thus fruitful exchange of ideas.
By this Call for Papers all experts and practitioners are invited to contribute to our dialogue on competence modelling for Europass and the agricultural sector and to submit high quality papers describing fully developed results, on-going work or innovative concepts on the following topics:
Innovations for Europass
- Competence models supporting vocational education and training
- Competence modelling in human resource development
- E-Learning for vocational education and training
- Social communities for vocational education and training
- Learning outcomes and competences orientation
- Job profiles and working places defined by competences
- Standardization of competence models
- European tools for supporting mobility and transparency of qualifications
- Qualification standards for the effective linking between education and employment requirements
- Europass instruments and their usage into the transparency of competences and qualification
- Implementation of E-Learning and social communities
- Harmonization of competence models
.Overview of the European Conference:
The conference is organized together with an experience session on the 10th of November which gives all participants the opportunity to exchange their experiences face-to-face. On the 09th of November 2011, next to the key note speeches, the results of the eCOTOOL project will be presented: The Europass CS eco-tools and the Competence Model supporting a better description and recognition of competences and their online representation which will contribute to European competence standardisation and improve vocational education and training and the mobility within Europe.
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Overview of the important dates:
- Paper submission deadline: September 25, 2011
- Notification of acceptance: September 30, 2011
- Camera-Ready copy due: October 7, 2011
- Conference program: November 09-10, 2011
Attendance at the European conference “Competence Modelling for European HR and Policies: Bridging Business, Education, and Training” (COME-HR) is free of charge and requires online registration as places are limited. Submissions of papers related to the conference (max. eight pages) must be sent to the eCOTOOL Consortium by Tuesday, 16th of August 2011. The submitters are informed about the acceptance of the papers by 16th of September 2011. All accepted will be published in the official proceedings of the European Conference (with ISBN) and distributed to all conference participants and across whole Europe.
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More Information and Contact:
For more information, please visit the web site of the 5th European Conference (COME-HR) “Competence Modelling for European HR and Policies” at the eCOTOOL web site www.competencetools.eu.
Direct enquiries and full papers can be sent to the eCOTOOL project manager Karna Wegner, University of Duisburg-Essen, via e-Mail to: Karna.Wegner@icb.uni-due.de.
For registration, please contact Mr Charalampos Thanopoulos (Agro-Know Technologies) in an email with your name, country of origin and organisational affiliation at: cthanopoulos@agroknow.gr
eLearning in National Policies: full report published!
'Digital Agenda Assembly', Workshop 08: Mainstreming eLearning in education and training'. The purpose of the workshop was to mobilise key stakeholders and Member States' representatives to support the mainstreaming of eLearning in national policies as an agent for modernization of education, for all subjects and skills.
'Education Europe': Investing today for growth tomorrow
The European Union has just proposed a multi-annual budget for 2014-2020. Responding to today's concerns and tomorrow's needs it focuses on priority funding at the EU level that provides true added value and includes more funds for Europe’s youth. In order to overcome the fragmentation of current instruments the Commission proposes to create an integrated programme of €15.2 billion for education, training and youth ('Education Europe'), with a clear focus on developing skills and mobility. The Commission's plans also include a new programme for the cultural and creative sector worth €1.6 billion ('Creative Europe').
A simplification of the current structure to one main programme is planned in order to avoid fragmentation, overlapping and/or proliferation of projects lacking the critical mass necessary to a lasting impact. The New Education Europe programme will include three key priorities.
Firstly, it will support trans-national learning mobility. Strict quality conditions for mobility, concentration on key policy objectives where critical mass can be achieved and complemented with other EU programmes will be instrumental in ensuring very high European added value.
Secondly, it will foster co-operation between education institutions and the world of work in order to promote the modernisation of education, innovation and entrepreneurship.
Thirdly, it will provide policy support to gather evidence on the effectiveness of education investments and help Member States to implement effective policies.
Funding through the new programme will be complemented by significant support for education and training through the Structural Funds. For example, in the period 2007-2013 around €72.5 billion is being spent on education and training across Europe's regions, and similar levels of spending can be expected in the future.
The Commission further proposes a common strategic framework in research and development, to be called Horizon 2020, which will have a volume €80 billion for the 2014-2020 period and include the Marie Curie actions for skills, training and career development of researchers and the European Institute for Innovation and Technology.
For more information on the Commission's proposal for a multi-annual budget for 2014-2020:
- The communication is available on the Multiannual Financial Framework website
- MEMO/11/468: Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF): Questions and answers
- MEMO/11/469: Money where it matters – how the EU budget delivers value to you
- MEMO/11/459: Myths about the EU budget and the Multiannual Financial Framework
- SPEECH/11/487: Remarks by President Barroso on the Commission's proposals for the 2014-2020 Multi-Annual Financial Framework