1. Challenges and issues for Adult Education in Europe Cyprus, 29 March 2013

2. What is EAEA anyway? • It works with adult education and lifelong learning • It concentrates on the non formal-sector • It is an association with 127 members, from 43 countries, representing 5000 associations, reaching 40-60 million adults annually

3. Recent Activities • Lobbying for (and against) “Erasmus for all” • Focus on older learners and intergenerational learning • Policy paper on active aging • Policy debate at the EP • General Assembly and Conference on Older Learners • Cooperation-Workshopfor EAEA-non-EU members • EC Conference on Active Ageing • Advocacy workshop for adult education in development • Younger Staff Training

4. Policy level – what is planned? • European Year 2013 of Citizens (Policy paper, GA and GrundtvigAward) • GrundtvigAward on: Active citizenship and transnational solidarity - Adult Education as a tool against nationalism, chauvinism and xenophobia • Rethinking Education • OECD PIAAC study results in October 2013

5. What are the issues? • Money • Crisis • Our role as adult educators? • Participation • Awareness raising • Advocacy • Partnerships and synergy

6. Money • Financing • Staff development • Who gets the money under what circumstances? • Funding for umbrella organisations • Can people still afford adult education? • And this leads to ….

7. The economic crisis • Different impacts on different countries • Is it just an economic crisis? • What about Europe? • What should be the role of adult education in times of crisis? • And what about belly dancing?

8. Our role as adult educators? • Are we the repair workshop of society? • Is there still a place for personal development and active citizenship? • What can we do to support people in times of crisis (and which crises do we really face)?

9. Participation • We’re too far away from the 15%! • We’re too much focused on the middle class (but isn’t that disappearing?) • How can we reach out? (and who’ll pay for it?) • How can we reach more diversity? • How can we create a learning society?

10. Advocacy • We need political support that goes beyond speeches • Grundtvig • European Agenda • Agendas on national and local levels • We need more knowledge and debate about the wider benefits of learning

11. The wider benefits of adult learning • Productivity • Health • Good parenting • Better economic situation • More open-mindedness • Active citizenship • Less crime • More self-confidence • Better social relations • More happiness

12. Awareness Raising • We need • Campaigns • New target groups • More and new participants • More positive attitudes towards learning • What works? • And what definitely works is:

13. Partnerships and synergies • Pooling resources is one of the best ways to use them efficiently • Networking is necessary to tackle the challenges of the future • Examples such as learning regions, learning cities • Results: ‘huge benefits to individual learners and opportunities for wider communities. Also I would argue that it has changed our professionalism itself(UK)’

14. More information needed? Don’t hesitate to contact us! Gina Ebner Secretary General gina.ebner@eaea.org Ricarda Motschilnig Policy Officer ricarda.motschilnig@eaea.org Francesca Operti Project Assistant francesca.operti@eaea.org EAEA Main Office Rue d’Arlon 40 1000 Brussels Tel. 0032 2 234 3763 Fax 0032 2 235 0539 Website: www.eaea.org