11.12.
EAEA
EAEA eventProject event:
ENHANCE LEARNER VOICE: Building the road to participatory policy making in Adult Education
CONCEPT
This 4-hour workshop aims to bring together a diverse group of participants to explore how adult learners can actively shape policies that affect their education. Using the ENHANCE Workshop Methodology, the session guides participants through an experiential process—from setting the scene and building community to defining practices of learner voice and co-designing policy actions. Rooted in dialogue and international cooperation, the workshop aligns with the LLLWeek 2025, fostering cross-border exchange of participatory tools and approaches. Drawing from European experiences, the session highlights how a learner voice can serve as a bridge between grassroots realities and policymaking arenas. By the end of the workshop, participants will have co-created a shared roadmap identifying enablers, obstacles, and strategies for embedding learner participation in adult education governance. Their contributions will feed into broader European dialogues on inclusive policy design, reinforcing the principle that learners are not merely beneficiaries of education systems—but essential partners in shaping them.
Be sure to reserve your place as soon as possible, as seating is limited!
Agenda
| Time | Module / Activity |
| 09:30 – 10:00 | Welcome to the ENHANCE ecosystem Introducing the ENHANCE Roadmap for participatory policy making Angeliki Giannakopoulou, Senior Policy and Projects Coordinator, EAEA |
| 10:00 – 10:15 | Setting the Scene: The example of learners’ movements in Serbia Katarina Popovic, Secretary General of ICAE |
| 10:15 – 11:00 | Building a Voice -Forward Community Mapping common goals and defining good practices of learners’ voice implementation using the ENHANCE Matrix Roundtable discussion |
| 11:00-11:30 | Light Brunch |
| 11:30 – 13:00 | Designing our own Policy Roadmap and defining policy Re-Routes & Dead-Ends |
| 13:00 – 13:30 | Wrap-up and reflections Alexandra Matthys, Education and Lifelong Learning Officer, SOLIDAR Foundation |
About the organisers
EAEA, the European Association for the Education of Adults, is the voice of non-formal and informal adult education in Europe. EAEA is a transnational, non-profit association with 120 members in 43 countries. EAEA promotes the social inclusion aspects of the European Education Area, fostering adult learning and widening access and participation in formal and non-formal adult education for all, particularly for under-represented groups. EAEA’s vision is that of a learning Europe, where all adults can participate in learning, no matter what their personal or socio-economic background. EAEA supports the transformative power of non-formal learning in adulthood, as outlined in the Manifesto for Adult Learning in the 21st Century.
SOLIDAR Foundation is the learning hub of the SOLIDAR network, which unites over 50 civil society organisations from 26 countries (including 20 in the EU) to promote social justice through a just transition. Its work revolves around promoting lifelong learning as a means to foster social inclusion, active citizenship, and democratic participation. Its work spans key topics such as inclusive education, Global Citizenship Education, the recognition and validation of non-formal learning, and closing the digital divide.