European Social Fund Plus proposal is part of the next long term EU budget.
06.09.2018

EAEA statement: ESF+ – A chance for adult education?

EAEA welcomes the new proposal for the European Social Fund Plus by the European Commission but suggests improvements to make it truly inclusive.

In the current funding period, the European Social Fund (ESF) has been a central funding tool for non-formal adult education in Europe. Adult education contributes to supporting the objectives of the ESF, and in turn, the ESF supports adult education in a number of ways.

EAEA thus welcomes the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+). EAEA particularly appreciates that it is conceived as ”the EU’s main instrument to invest in people and to implement the European Pillar of Social Rights”, and that it promises more coherence and synergies with other funds and instruments such as the Erasmus programme.

While EAEA appreciates many features of the proposal, it has also listed a number of recommendations to make it more inclusive.

EAEA’s recommendations:

  • Reduce the administrative burden
  • Make the ESF+ programme truly inclusive: avoid a too narrow definition of the target groups, and open up educational offers to a broad group of potential learners. This would help to identify and address common challenges faced by the participants, and at the same time create a stronger sense of community and contribute to active citizenship and strengthening of European values
  • Ensure the protection of sensitive private data and make the provision of data by the participants of courses as well as the learning providers, i.e. the beneficiaries, voluntary
  • Promote learning mobility of adult learners within ESF+ and strengthen synergies with the Erasmus programme
  • Include health literacy in the health strand
  • Support non-formal learning for promoting a greener, low carbon Europe.

Read the full statement!

Contact information

Gina Ebner
EAEA Secretary-General
+32 2 893 25 24
gina.ebner@eaea.org

Text: EAEAPhotos: European Commission

22.03.2023 Education in emergencies

EAEA calls for international solidarity to support the people affected by the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria

EAEA stands in solidarity with all the people affected by the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, calling on the international community to deliver consistent relief and recovery aid for these communities. Adult education is a fundamental brick of our society and will give an invaluable contribution to rebuild the affected communities.

16.03.2023 Bildung

Broader purposed, holistic learning is needed now more than ever

The ongoing European Year of Skills has put skills and the surrounding discussion into the spotlight. The new paper “Basic skills and Bildung” proposes that we should adopt a more holistic understanding of basic skills and rethink the teaching and learning approaches.

14.03.2023 inclusion

Taking steps towards safe spaces for adult learning: co-creating the SAFE Board Game

In February we had a workshop with members of the European civil society in Brussels in order to start with the co-creation stage of the SAFE Board Game. The participants agreed that a safe learning space is not just a place but is essentially how we create relationships that are self-reflective and inclusive.