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Regional capacity for Adult Learning and Education

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Annual conference of the regional guidance network Baden-Württemberg

Written by Andrea Bernert-Bürkle, vhs BW.

vhs BW, REGALE partner from Baden-Württemberg/Germany, has explored future skills and an adapted version of the so-called „VUKA concept“ (engl. VUCA)  as a cross-sectional element in Adult Education and Learning (ALE) and guidance. During the annual conference of the regional guidance network Baden-Württemberg (Landesnetzwerk Weiterbildungsberatung – LN WBB), Dr. Arndt Pechstein presented the VUKA concept, originally designed by the US Army. About 65 participants discussed the relevance of the concept with a view to regional ALE offers as well as educational and career guidance practices. Vhs BW is coordinating the LN WBB guidance network Baden-Württemberg and will consider VUKA as an impulse that is relevant for the upgrading of the network’s services.

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Capacity-Building in Adult Learning and Education: What regional strategies and tools for success?

28 November 2023 10.00 – 12.00
Offices of Tuscany, Rond Point Schuman 14 1000, Brussels, Belgium

Final conference

The Lifelong Learning Platform hosts the Lifelong Learning Week event annually, and the 2023 edition will be hosted in the week of November 27, attracting a large range of stakeholders invested in lifelong learning. This year, the theme of the event is ‘Key Competences for All: A Lifelong Learning Approach to Skills’. Under the theme, one of the sub-areas of focus is considering key competencies at the system level, including successful policies for transversal competencies for learning and resilient societies.


It is from within this context that EARLALL (European Association of Regional and Local Authorities for Lifelong Learning) and EAEA (the European Association for the Education of Adults) would like to propose a session that incites a debate on the tools and strategies needed to facilitate cooperation between public authorities, Civil Society Organisations and education providers on learning territories.

 
The two organizations have been involved in the Erasmus+ Regional Capacity for Adult Learning and Education (REGALE) project (coordinated by EAEA) and would draw from these experiences to contribute to the debate. The project aims to set up or reinforce networks of adult education organizations and to create synergies with regional/local authorities in order to increase their impact and sustainability. This is being achieved by increasing the partners’ capacity (and of their networks, stakeholders, partners, and members at their level of action) to respond to their challenges, build cooperation structures, and promote an adult education culture in communities, cities, and regions.


As the REGALE project draws to a close, it has become clear that each territory is facing unique demographic issues from a societal and labour-market perspective, which in turn, hinder the capacity of the regions to provide adult education and learning. With this in mind, this debate session hopes to expand upon the opportunities, tools, and strategies for intergenerational learning, mentoring, and on-the-ground exchanges as a means to shift the cultural mindset towards a lifelong learning perspective, creating resilient lifelong learning societies at the regional level.

Agenda

Agenda

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Lifelong learning for local sustainable growth: Policy and Practices for the Green Transition

21th edition of the European Week of Regions and Cities (#EURegionsWeek) , Brussels, Belgium

The workshop organised during the European Week of Regions and Cities 2023 by EARLALL, in collaboration with Skillnet Ireland and the European Association for the Education of Adults (EAEA), proposed an exchange on initiatives that empower local & regional authorities, businesses, and communities to develop the skills needed in the green transition.

Read the highlights:

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RegALE Study Visit to London, May 2022: "Campaigning and Advocacy"

Co-written by Aslan Liivak, ENAEA, Estonia and L&W, the UK.

Campaigning and advocacy play crucial roles in promoting change, raising awareness, and advancing various social, political, and environmental causes. They are essential tools for individuals, organizations, and communities seeking to address important issues and influence decision-makers. Our study trip to London was focused on those very important issues from a practical point of view, starting from planning to actual hands-on tips when trying to engage with media. Our guides through these topics were Alex Stevenson and Sarah Perry, our hosts from RegALE’s UK partner Learning and Work Institute (L&W).  The event took place at City Lit, a nationally leading provider of adult education based in London’s Covent Garden.


We started our first day with a seminar about campaigning, using L&W’s Festival of Learning and Adult Learners’ Week campaigns as case studies.  Campaigning means to get the message out. To get the message out about lifelong learning, it is of utmost important to raise awareness. A good campaign on lifelong learning is also about making people to see their own potential. So, it is about the need for education that benefits learners and all of society.


Then we covered the advocacy part.  This session was led by L&W’s Deputy Chief Executive, Naomi Phillips. Comparing advocacy and campaigning, advocacy is a long-term strategy and campaigning is a tactical step to fulfill that strategy. As with advocacy, campaigning is successful if it also has an impact on policymaking – changes in laws, regulations, and government policies.


The second day of the visit was about practical tips and ways to engage and work with the media. We had an interactive session with Shane Chowen, the editor of FE Week, a specialist newspaper which reports on adult education and the learning and skills sector. Also, we learned about the history and future of City Lit, including a tour around the City Lit building and facilities, guided by Mark Malcolmson, City Lit’s principal.


I have to give a shout out to London’s City Lit for providing an excellent venue, and the opportunity to see the ‘behind the scenes’ side of how City Lit operates. Also thanks to Alex and Sarah for this wonderful opportunity to learn from L&W’s experience. By the end of the visit, we got a lot of useful tips, spent time with a lot of great people and got to enjoy a bit of warm spring in London along the way.

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SAVE THE DATE: Workshop on Lifelong learning for local sustainable growth: Policy and Practices for the Green Transition

Practical Details:

11 October 2023 | 11.30 – 12.30h | Mont Des Art, The Square, 1000 Brussels, Room 206 | Capacity of Room: 52

Short Description:

The workshop will propose an exchange on initiatives that empower local & regional authorities, businesses, and communities to develop the skills needed to achieve a carbon-neutral local economy. Participants will reflect upon a roadmap for building capacity in Adult Learning Education
that was piloted in Europe in the context of the REGALE project, in addition to hearing from practices on building good public-private partnerships, including the example of Skillnet Ireland and Cork City.

Context of the REGALE project:

The workshop is being held in the context of the policy recommendations developed by the Erasmus+ KA3 RegALE – Regional Capacity for Adult Learning and Education – consortium. The policy recommendations are related to the challenges and opportunities of the adult education sector at the regional and local level, and the gaps and needs of the adult learning and education staff to use them for the future steps of the project.

Speakers:

Speakers Include:

  • Kieran McCarthy, Independent member of the Committee of the Regions and Independent Councilor, Cork City Council (Ireland)
  • Aoife O’Sullivan, Head of Network development and innovation at Skillnet Ireland
  • Davide Muraro, Policy and Project Coordinator, EAEA
  • Iva Janežić, Varaždin County
Register here

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PILOTING: Varaždin County is forming Center for education of adults for gifted preschoolers

Written by Iva Janežič, Varaždin county.

By establishing a Professional Development Center for gifted preschool children, meaning clear vertical from kindergarten through primary and secondary education and beyond, Varaždin County is leading the way in caring for and working with gifted children. This Croatian region has already formed 14 centres of excellence over the past 15 years, and five more professional centres of excellence in the last year. They systematically work with children of primary and secondary school age.

Now by forming a Professional Development Centre for Gifted Children where kindergarten teachers will receive a specific type of education their goal is to start working with gifted children from the kindergarten age in order to detect child’s talents at that early age and enable their further development. They also want to encourage all kindergartens in the north of Croatia to take care of children’s talents from an early age. For these purposes a gathering of representatives of Associates of Kindergartens in Northern Croatia (from five counties: Varaždin, Međimurje, Koprivnica-Križevačka, Krapina-Zagorje and Bjelovar-Bilogora) was organized.

First meeting was held in March on the occasion of the Giftedness Day in order to connect people on this unique topic and provide them with sufficient information from eminent experts and persons who deal with giftedness in the field of preschool education.

The second meeting was organized in June where founders, directors of the kindergarten and county representatives gathered and a team to create program guidelines was formed. Robert Kelemen, director of the public institution “European Talent Center Croatia – Centers of Excellence of Varaždin County” explained that intention is to set up a network for talent development that would become nationally recognizable.

"We want to raise the level of competence of educators as well and enable them to recognize gifted children and standardize practices in kindergartens so that we do not lose talents at the transition from kindergarten to school. Trained educators dedicated to work with the gifted will have a crucial role here."
Robert Kelemen,
Director of the public institution "European Talent Center Croatia - Centers of Excellence of Varaždin County"

Head of the Administrative Department for Education, Culture and Sports of Varaždin County, Ph.D. Miroslav Huđek referred to a past work of the Centers of excellence, as well as future plans.

"Every community, whether it is state, a county or another, must have the ability to create talents, but also the ability to retain them later once when they finish their education. This program was designed with this goal in mind. The vertical goes from kindergartens to primary and secondary schools, and there is a part when all our young gifted people finish their education to motivate them to come back as well."
Ph.D. Miroslav Huđek
Head of the Administrative Department for Education, Culture and Sports of Varaždin County

The person in charge of the organization and development of this network will be Dr. sc. Jasna Cvetković-Lay, whose area of speciality is early identification and creation of gifted programs. She introduced the audience to the scientific concept and the work materials necessary for the implementation of the program that encourages the giftedness of children of early and preschool age.

"This networking is a great initiative and we have to take advantage of it. Searching for talents is necessary, and it is possible to spot them already in preschool age. I am glad that I have the opportunity to share my knowledge with you and I believe that we will expand the knowledge of educators about the phenomenon of giftedness and help them to spot such children in their educational groups in a timely manner." and "Even the most famous people were children and if they weren’t recognized early enough, with their abilities and talents and not being further expertly monitored and encouraged, the result would have failed. That’s why it is best to start from kindergarten, from preschool age. Of course, this work is the most specific, because it is very demanding to correctly identify children at this age. But it can be done. Now Varaždin County will have experts in identifying and encouraging giftedness in preschool age that will secure an advantage over other regions."
Dr. sc. Jasna Cvetković-Lay

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