On 9 and 10 October 2014 EFIL attended the 3rd European Education, Training and Youth Forum, in Brussels. This event aims at gathering once a year all European stakeholders in the field, from policy makers to practitioners.
Promoting excellence and innovation, tackling the low-skills gap, supporting a new generation of educators, recognising and valuing skills and competences, promoting equity, social cohesion and active citizenship were the 5 main points on which challenges were tackled and priorities set. The event was attended by key policy makers who provided their views on the future of education in Europe.
Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, stated at the opening of the Forum, today key word for a better cohesive policy is cooperation among all stakeholders (society, employment, education, the so called Golden Triangle) and dialogue. Adopting a holistic and inclusive approach is of vital importance since there is still a too big gap between EU objectives and the national realities.
According to Xavier Prats Monné, Director General of DG Education and Culture at European Commission, what we urgently need is to restore confidence in our education systems and teachers because one of the biggest differences between Europe and the rest of the world is not the current economic situation but the lack of confidence in our future. Education is not just a tool for labour market policies but through social criticism people can become more active in society and democracy (active citizenship).
The final detailed report can be found here.
For more: elisa.briga@afs.org