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EAEA General Assembly and Annual Conference 2022: Transformative Learning and Values
The next EAEA General Assembly, Grundtvig Award Ceremony and Annual Conference will take place on 30-31 May in Mechelen, Belgium. The events will be dedicated to EAEA’s annual topic in 2022: transformative learning and values.
Every year, EAEA chooses an annual theme which is also the topic of the Grundtvig Award and the Annual Conference, organised jointly during a two-day event. In 2022, EAEA is dedicating its thematic focus to transformative learning and values, looking at how adult learning can change individual lives and societies.
The most innovative and inspiring initiatives from across Europe will be awarded the Grundtvig Award during a festive ceremony on the evening of 30 May 2022. On the following day, EAEA will dedicate its Annual Conference to in-depth discussions about transformative learning and values, linking the topic to challenges that European societies are confronted with, such as green and digital transitions.
11:00 – 12:00 Registration at the Mechelen Cultural Centre
12:00 – 13:00 Lunch
13:00 – 13:15 Welcome words and practical information from Uwe Gartenschlaeger, EAEA President
13:15 – 14:10 Statutory business
14:10 – 14:30 Coffee break
14:30 – 15:30 Group discussions
Lead-up to CONFINTEA VII: national developments and final recommendations
The International Conference on Adult Education, CONFINTEA VII, is rapidly approaching, scheduled to take place in Marrakesh on 15-17 June. We already know that civil society will have a very limited space to participate. During the group discussion, EAEA members will be asked to share their concerns and recommendations in the immediate lead-up to the event.
New opportunities in the Erasmus+ programme
The new Erasmus+ programme, launched in 2021, introduced several changes that are important for the adult learning sector: from small-scale partnerships to learner mobilities in the Key Action 1. New opportunities will be presented to EAEA members by Malgorzata Kozak, Policy Officer at DG EAC, European Commission, who will also invite the participants to share their feedback about the programme.
New developments in EU policy on adult learning and education
The past two years have been eventful for adult learning policy, marked by the launch of two key EU initiatives: the European Skills Agenda and the New European Agenda for Adult Learning. During the group discussion, EAEA members will hear from Klara Engels-Perenyi, Policy Officer at DG EMPL, European Commission, who will summarize the new developments. They will also be invited to share policy updates from their countries.
15:30 – 15:50 Statutory business continued
15.50 – 16:00 Closing words
18:00 – 19:00 Grundtvig Award Ceremony and reception at the Mechelen City Hall
09:00 – 10:00 Registration and welcome coffee at the Mechelen Cultural Centre.
10:00 – 10:30 Welcome words and practical information. Uwe Gartenschlaeger, EAEA President
10:30 – 11:30 How can transformative learning shape values among citizens? Roundtable discussion.
Prof. Laura Formenti, University of Milano Bicocca, Italy
Anne-Sophie Van Vyve, Kazerne Dossin, Belgium
Deborah Oniah, AONTAS, Ireland
11:30 – 11:50 Break
11:50 – 13:00 What values should adult learning and education promote? Mapping exercise and group discussions. Facilitated by Maja Maksimovic, University of Belgrade and Adult Education Society, Serbia
Which values are connected to the green transition? How can transformative learning promote these values? Facilitated by Susanne Rodemann-Kalkan and Sabine Bertram.
Which values are connected to the digital transition? What can transformative learning do to mitigate the unwanted consequences of digital transition? Facilitated by Daiana Huber.
Transformative learning and democratic processes. How can citizenship education be transformative and engage people in active dialogue? Facilitator TBC
She is working on adult skills policies, and in particular on the Commission initiative on individual learning accounts and on the action “Skills for Life” of the EU Skills Agenda. Klara is coordinating the Commission expert group on Adult Learning and the Network of national coordinators for the implementation of the EU Agenda on Adult Learning. She has until recently worked on higher education policies and the Bologna Process and developed the Commission’s initiative on an EU approach to micro-credentials.
Anne-Sophie van Vyve has 13 years of experience in cultural education. In 2013 she started focusing more on remembrance and peace education and worked extensively for Vredescentrum in Antwerp. In 2020 Anne-Sophie started at Kazerne Dossin, Memorial, Museum and Research Centre on Holocaust and Human Rights as the Director of Education and Public Engagement.
Her aim is to welcome different target groups and to accommodate each of them in their unicity. In doing so the museum educates visitors on the historical events that took place in Mechelen and also plays a role in assessing universal mechanisms linked to racism, discrimination, exclusion, group violence still at play in society today. In this way, the museum makes a fundamental contribution to the educational and social project, in which citizenship, democratic resistance and the defence of individual basic freedoms are central.
Laura Formenti, PhD, is Professor of General and Social Pedagogy at the University of Milano Bicocca, Italy. President of the Italian Universities’ Network for Lifelong Learning and Joint Convenor of ESREA’s Life History and Biography Network, she has been Chair of ESREA from 2014 to 2019.
She developed a systemic and cooperative approach to adult education aimed at social justice, weaving participatory and arts-based methods, biographical writing, embodied experiences, critical and cultural reflexivity, and Socratic dialogue. She co-edited books on Stories that Make a Difference (2016), Embodied Narratives (2014) and with Linden West (2018) Transforming Perspectives in Lifelong Learning and Adult Education: A dialogue, receiving the 2019 Cyril O. Houle Award from AAACE.
Deborah Oniah is a mum of four and graduate in law from her home country Nigeria. Deborah is a University College Cork Sanctuary Scholar and graduate with Postgraduate Diploma in Trauma Studies.
She is important voice for the migrant community in Ireland and she is now trained in and facilitates intercultural dialogue in Ireland. Deborah is a member of several community programmes such as sanctuary runners and Saoirse (Ethnic Hands on Deck), a Social Enterprise project run by migrant women living in Direct Provision Centres in Cork City and County. Deborah is now studying Global Youth Work and Development in University of Maynooth, Kildare.
Currently she focuses her research practice on the entanglement of the educational, activist, and artistic, trying to incorporate the critical, embodied, spatial and imaginative into a repertoire of action. Maksimović has an intensive cooperation with NGOs, cultural institution and activist organizations, trying to build stronger links among academia and the civil sector, but also to explore public spaces as participatory educational sites. She is a part of ESREA steering committee and a co-convenor of the ESREA network Active Democratic Citizenship and Adult Learning. Maksimović is also a member of Škograd collective.
She supports teams, individuals, networks and organisations with systemic approaches to leverage their impact for building regenerative systems. She is the founder of „futurlabor – Institute for systemic future design“ (est. 2015) and guest lecturer at Leuphana University Lüneburg, Germany.
Sabine Bertram holds a degree in education with a focus on adult education. She feels at home in the community-oriented education sector, where she can draw on many years of practical experience, including 10 years as a leader.
In 2021, she founded BILDUNGSFRAUEN and has worked since then as a coach, mentor and consultant. Her podcast BILDUNGSFRAUEN features inspiring women from across the education sector.
Daiana Huber has been working since 2006 on European Project management. For the past 10 years has specialised in correctional pedagogy, working with practitioners from prisons all over Europe and acceding countries.
She is part of the management team at Centre for Promoting Lifelong Learning from Timisoara, Romania and together with her colleagues strongly advocates for the role of adult education in public policy reform at all levels.
More information about the speakers and the programme will be updated soon.
Registration
The event is now full and registration is closed. Please contact aleksandra.kozyra [at] eaea.org for further information.
Please note that depending on COVID-19 restrictions, participation limits might apply. We kindly ask you to wait for a confirmation email from EAEA staff before making your travel arrangements.
General Assembly and Annual Conference: Mechelen Cultural Centre, Minderbroedersgang 5, 2800 Mechelen Grundtvig Award Ceremony: Mechelen City Hall, Grote Markt 21, 2800 Mechelen
Participation fees
General Assembly: 30 EUR Grundtvig Award Ceremony: free of charge Festive dinner: 50 EUR Annual Conference: 80 EUR
Recommended hotels:
Novotel Mechelen Centrum Van Beethovenstraat 1, 2800 Mechelen
Holiday Inn Express Mechelen Veemarkt 37C, 2800 Mechelen
NH Mechelen Korenmarkt 22/24, 2800 Mechelen
Hotel Elisabeth Goswin de Stassartstraat 28, 2800 Mechelen
Further information
If you have questions about the event, please contact Aleksandra Kozyra at EAEA, aleksandra.kozyra [at] eaea.org.