Commission seeks stakeholders' views on co-operation priorities in education and training for 2009-2010
The European Commission has invited European stakeholders in education and training and the social partners to discuss immediate policy priorities and to improve ways of working together in the long term. The exchange is based on the Commission's proposal for a strategic policy framework in education and training, presented last December, but also touches on the ongoing European Year of Creativity and Innovation.
This second European Stakeholders' Forum on EU co-operation in education and training brings together around 80 representatives from European stakeholder organisations and the social partners on 9 February 2009.Following a wide consultation the Commission presented on 16 December 2008 its outline for EU co-operation in education and training up until 2020. In this updated strategic framework, the Commission identifies long-term challenges to guide policy co-operation for the next decade and outlines its suggestions on how education and training can contribute to the EU's wider reform projects, the Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs and the renewed Social Agenda. The paper also outlines the most urgent priorities which merit particular attention in 2009 and 2010.
The primary objective of the Stakeholders' Forum is to get feedback on these short term priorities, which include for instance action on school dropout rates, ways of assessing future skills needs, mobility and the follow-up on national strategies for lifelong learning. In addition, participants are asked to reflect on their responsibility and involvement when it comes to improving working methods for the time up to 2020.
The afternoon of the Forum is dedicated to the European Year of Creativity and Innovation 2009. The overall objective of the Year is to support the efforts of the Member States to promote creativity both for its role in stimulating innovation and for its contribution to personal development and creativity and innovation is identified as a strategic challenge in the updated strategic framework. At the Forum discussions focus on how policies for lifelong learning can support these efforts.
To know more
European Commission: Strategic plans for European co-operation on education and training
