Androulla VASSILIOU, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth

Silvia COSTA, Chair of the Culture and Education Committee, European Parliament

Towards a new EU Agenda for Education, Training and Youth
Speaker: Xavier PRATS MONNE, Director General for Education and Culture, European Commission

Priorities for Education and Training 2020 – results from the stakeholder survey

ICF International will present the main findings of a survey it conducted on behalf of DG EAC during the Spring of 2014 on specific input from education, training and youth stakeholders for remaining challenges and future priorities of ET 2020. The presentation will also include relevant elements of the recent Youth Work study

Speaker: Nick BOZEAT, Director, ICF International

Challenges and priorities for a new agenda - a view from a panel of stakeholders

Moderator: Marc GRAMBERGER, Prospex, External facilitator

Participants:

• Marcello LIMINA, Chair of the Education Committee, EU Council of Ministers/ Italian Permanent Representation
• David LOPEZ, President, European Civil Society Platform on Lifelong Learning (EUCIS-LLL)
• Martin ROMER, European Director, European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE)
• Maxime CERUTTI, Director of European Affairs, Business Europe
• Allan PÄLL, Secretary General, European Youth Forum
• Caroline JENNER, CEO, Junior Achievement – Young Enterprise Europe (JA-YE Europe)

Challenges and priorities for a new agenda – a view from Forum participants

Introduction to the workshop process: Marc GRAMBERGER, Prospex, External Facilitator

Workshops – round 1

Workshop 1: Promoting excellence and innovation
Innovation within education and training is critical for improving quality and relevance. However it is equally crucial that Europe exploits the full potential of education and training to provide the technical competences for growth and innovation in key economic sectors. What drives excellence and innovation in education? How can education and training contribute to innovation, entrepreneurship and productive change in the economy? How can youth work and social enterprises active in the youth field contribute to social innovation? How do non-formal learning approaches stimulate creativity, innovation and entrepreneurial skills/competences? How can partnerships between education and youth increase innovation in education?

Workshop 2: Tackling the low-skills gap
Many low-achieving students come from vulnerable socio-economic backgrounds and the 2013 PIAAC survey provides hard evidence that the problem of low basic skills persists throughout adulthood. How can we offer targeted and tailor-made support to at-risk groups in mainstream education, e.g. to give children a better chance to develop their skills/competences at an early age? What policies may be considered successful in tackling low achievement in basic skills/competences in schools? How can we prevent low-achievement through quality early years education? How can we provide adults with a chance for up-skilling and re-skilling to avoid economic inactivity? How can we ensure that the prevention of early school leaving and raising attainment at all levels of education become part of integrated education policies? How can collaborative practices be improved within and beyond school, including alternative learning approaches and cross-sectoral collaboration among schools, youth work, employers, employment and other services, to tackle early school leaving and the low-skills gap?

Workshop 3: Supporting a new generation of educators
Teachers, trainers, educators, research supervisors or school leaders play a key role in all forms of learning. They are at the centre of organising, presenting and imparting knowledge and in supporting the learning process. How can we ensure that the teaching profession in all its forms (starting in early years) is an attractive long-term career option; that the best possible candidates are attracted to the profession; that policies address the shortages of well qualified teachers especially for schools and pupils in disadvantaged areas? How can we improve the teaching profession, teachers' initial education and ensure access to high quality continuing professional development? How can we encourage training and professionalisation of youth workers? How can we best support Europe's community of teachers and trainee teachers?

Workshop 4: Recognising and valuing competences
Upgrading competences is essential and they must be better recognised. The EU has developed a set of tools which make the myriad of national degrees and qualifications easier to compare, and the skills/competences people have acquired through in-formal and non-formal learning more recognisable. How can we develop recognition and transparency tools in terms of compatibility, simplicity, user friendliness and reflection of modern skills/competences like digital skills/competences?

Workshop 5: Promoting equity, social cohesion and active citizenship
It is crucial that education and training policy enables all citizens to benefit from quality education to acquire and update knowledge and skills/competences for employment, inclusion, active citizenship and personal fulfilment. For future prosperity it is fundamental to improve the education and training systems in terms of efficiency, inclusion and equity by giving access to quality educational provision. How can we best reduce inequalities in education systems and tackle disparities in learning outcomes, especially for learners from disadvantaged backgrounds or with special needs? How can formal education draw greater benefit from experiences gained in youth work towards more inclusive learning? How can education systems adapt to an increasingly diverse learning environment?

Workshops – round 2

Moderator: Diana MADILL, Prospex, External Facilitator

Interactive reporting from workshops by rapporteurs: round 1
In between: Comments from a stakeholders’ panel on the identified challenges
Leonor MORAL SORIANO, Education Attaché, Spanish Permanent Representation to the EU
Elisabeth GEHRKE, Chairperson, European Students Union
Tommaso GRIMALDI, General Manager, European Vocational Training Association (EVTA)
Peter DRUMMOND, Head of International Division, Department for Education, UK
Graciela SBERTOLI, Assistant Director, Norwegian Agency for Lifelong Learning
John BAMBER, Project Specialist, Centre for Effective Services

Interactive reporting from workshops by rapporteurs: round 2
In between: Comments from EAC panel on the suggestions made

Speaker: Pierre MAIRESSE, Director for Europe 2020: Policy Development and Country Analysis, DG Education and Culture, European Commission