New EAEA members from Bosnia Herzegovina, Elvira Leka from Nahla and Meliha Gačanin from ALDI.
14.06.2022

Seven new members join EAEA

EAEA has welcomed seven new members at the General Assembly 30 May in Mechelen, Belgium. The new members come from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Austria, Italy, and Serbia.

EAEA’s General Assembly has accepted four new associate members and three ordinary members. Representatives from four organisations received their membership certificates at the Assembly in Mechelen Cultural Centre. The event provided an opportunity for beneficial networking among the member organisations.

Catholic Association for the Education of Adults (Katholisches Bildungswerk Kärnten) is one of the new members.

“We are established 75 years ago. We are working in the field of parent education, senior education, migration,integration and political studies. We have many Erasmus+ projects and that’s why we are trying to network with European organisations”, said Mija Janesch from the Association receiving the certificate. She was joined by Katharina Wagner.

two women and a man holding a certificate
Mija Janesch and Katharina Wagner receiving the EAEA membership certificate from EAEA President Uwe Gartenschlaeger.

EAEA welcomed two new members from Bosnia Herzegovina. Centre for Education and Research “Nahla” (Centar za edukaciju i istraživanje “Nahla”) is established in Sarajevo and has been active over 20 years. The organisation supports women’s education through different social and business courses. Social and inclusion and equality are key elements of their mission. Nahla attempts to assist women’s personal development and increase their social participation through interactive projects and activities.

“Our goal is to empower women through education and create a stimulating environment for their personal development. We started to work in war-destroyed countries so by now we have lots of experience. We are registered by the Ministry of Education in Sarajevo and we have three education centres in the country.”, said Elvira Leka, who accepted the certificate.

Association for Local Development Initiatives (ALDI) is established in 1996 in Gorazje, Bosnia Herzegovina and works in partnership with actors from both industry and education. ALDI also supports the empowerment of citizens so that they will participate equally in the political and social sphere.

“We are focusing in private sector development, policy, advocacy, and capacity building. For the past 10 years, the organisation has been working in the field of adult education, labor skills development with aim to adapt to the challenges brought by digital age,” explains Meliha Gačanin from ALDI.

Odyssea is a Greek non-profit organisation which specializes in the field of employment and lifelong learning. Through personalized vocational and digital training, they seek to offer equal opportunities for personal and professional development.

A man and a woman holding a framed certificate
Elvira Leka from Nahla and Uwe Gartenschlaeger
A woman and a man holding a framed certificate, man holding microphone
Meliha Gačanin from ALDI receiving the certificate
Loukas Oikonomakis, Odyssea

I am happy to meet you all and work together on European level.

Loukas Oikonomakis

“We are a non-profit organisation working with vulnerable populations, mainly migrants, unemployed people, and returning citizens. We provide training on hard and soft skills, digital training and also employability support through our network of companies. Last year we had more than 600 participants”, said Loukas Oikonomakis from Odyssea. “I am happy to meet you all and work together on European level”.

New Ordinary Members of EAEA

Association Popular University “LUCE”, Italy
Association for Local Development Initiatives “ALDI”, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Centre for Education and Research “NAHLA”, Bosnia and Herzegovina


New Associate Members of EAEA

Odyssea, Greece
Liga 33, Serbia
Catholic Organisation for the Education of Adults, Austria
Didaxe, Italy

12.05.2026 AI

Strengthening adult education through emerging technologies

While new technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) have become more and more integrated in formal education settings, adult education has yet to profit properly from these technological advancements.

11.05.2026 Democracy

Democratic resilience starts with the protection of civil society

As civic space narrows across Europe, civil society organisations play an increasingly vital role in defending democracy and participation. EAEA urges European institutions and Member States to take action to protect civil society as a crucial democratic actor.

07.05.2026 advocacy

A story of empowerment and resilience: Sem Terra in Brazil

On May 5, EAEA, through the support of the Erasmus+ project "ENHANCE: Enhancing Learners Voices", and MEP Cristina Guarda from the Greens, introduced Raizes Sem Terra at the European Parliament.