On 26 – 27 September the EFC represented its members to the meeting of the Stakeholders’ Forum on cooperation in education and training   promoted by the European Commission.

The forum allows representatives of European organisations active in the fields to share their views on the progress made since the adoption of the Strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training (ET2020) in 2009 and to make concrete proposals on the priorities for the next three years.

Participants recognised that the current economic and social crisis can have a serious impact but they asked for wise and effective reactions from the decision-makers and identified some key areas to be strengthen, namely:

• Effective participation of stakeholders and full implementation of tools and policies: more coherence of education policies at national and European level; the proposal of new subjects and perspectives; effective involvement of stakeholders at all levels in the preparation, implementation and follow – up of policies 
• A broader approach to learning: implementation of lifelong learning strategies in all Member States; recognition of formal, informal and non formal learning; common systems of validation of competencies
• Education and training focussed on learners: change of the way of learning; increased importance of personal and social skills and transversal skills such as learning to learn
• Equity, access and quality as top priorities: equal access for all citizens to education; possibility to move between the formal and non-formal systems; capacity building and peer – learning as key elements to reform systems; enhanced quality of education and training in all sectors

Key messages from this Stakeholders' Forum will be used by the European Commission in drafting its proposal of policy priority themes for education and training for the period 2012 – 2014 that will be discussed and endorsed by EU ministers for education during the first semester 2012.

Foundations support education and training in a context where public investments vary  across  Europe. Foundations are actively involved in the education cycle from pre-school education to adult learning, from higher education to continuing teacher training. The EFC Interest group on Children and Youth, is working to raise the profile and voice of foundations working in the field at European and international level providing a platform for mutual learning and for the establishment of a number of collaborative initiatives.

Background

In 2008 the European Commission established the Stakeholders' Forum on EU cooperation in education and training to gather a broad group of European level stakeholders and social partners to discuss European cooperation in education and training mainly on topics of a transversal nature. The Forums are organised by the European Commission with the support of the EUCIS-LLL Platform, the European platform for lifelong learning. The Stakeholders’ Forum meets once a year.

Further information