EAEA is proud to present the 2021 country reports, offering a civil society perspective on the state of adult learning and education (ALE) in Europe. This year, we have asked our members about sustainability, funding and the impact of COVID-19 on the ALE sector.

“It’s very important to be visible and to have influence on the discussion. We need to scream loudly about adult education – sometimes we do it literally,” said Gina Ebner during the EAEA Younger Staff Training 2021. Advocacy for improved adult learning policy has been the cross-cutting theme of two EAEA training programmes organised this autumn.

After a very fruitful year of meeting online, discussing and learning from each other, EAEA’s Working Group on Digitalisation is happy and proud to make the context paper on the annual topic now available for everybody.

CONFINTEA, the International Conference on Adult Education, is a rare opportunity to make a global commitment to adult learning and education (ALE). EAEA urges UNESCO Member States to involve civil society representatives in the preparations for CONFINTEA VII, scheduled to take place in Morocco in June 2022, and shares recommendations for a renewed vision of ALE.

The European Association for the Education of Adults (EAEA) supports the European Commission’s initiative to promote inclusion in the Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps Programmes. A series of recommendations drafted by EAEA calls for adequate funding and support for adult learning organisations and National Agencies to make the programmes truly inclusive.

Smart Adult Education (SAE) project has enhanced adult educators skills in designing effective interventions aimed at bridging the relational and social gap imposed by the pandemic.  The initiative took part in EAEA Grundtvig Awards 2021 and was granted a highly commendable mention.

EAEA welcomes the Council Resolution on a New European Agenda for Adult Learning. The agenda recognises the need for holistic adult learning and education provision that takes into account the needs to all groups of learners.

Christoph Jost, Director of DVV International, has been elected for the second term as the European representative of the UNESCO CCNGO/ED 2030 Coordination Group.

The Lifelong Learning Interest Group met on 1 December 2021, chaired by MEP Sirpa Pietikäinen. A high-level panel composed of representatives of the Slovenian Presidency, UNESCO, Euro Health Net, and OECD discussed the topic of “Funding Education for Well-being”.

Digital Skills Passport provides engaging, gamified learning opportunities for people in Lisbon, Portugal. The initiative took part in EAEA Grundtvig Awards 2021 and was granted a highly commendable mention.