EAEA’s President Uwe Gartenschlaeger, Secretary-General Gina Ebner and Ms Doris Pack, former MEP and chair of the CULT Committee in the European Parliament, met online with Commissioner Mariya Gabriel on 11 June to discuss the future of adult learning at the European level.

EAEA has launched a campaign for the continuation of the European Agenda for Adult Learning. The agenda has been central for improving adult learning structures and increasing participation in adult learning, but has not yet been fully implemented in all countries. EAEA believes that a further push for adult education at the European level is needed.

As we are becoming more interconnected than ever before, many of us who are away from friends or family are still able to keep in touch, share our news, and look after our loved ones, just online. However, while social media and the internet are letting us share and connect with the people who matter most, it is also a breeding ground for false information and rumours. This is commonly referred to as ‘fake news’. A project coordinated by KVS and our quick tips show how fake news can be unmasked.

A new website brings together EAEA country reports in an interactive and accessible way, visualizing key trends in adult education in Europe.

The European Association for the Education of Adults (EAEA) welcomes the draft report of the European Parliament on effective measures to ‘green’ Erasmus+, Creative Europe and the European Solidarity Corps and calls for a green Erasmus+ programme that puts social inclusion at the forefront.

All of Europe and many regions of the world beyond are severely affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The daily lives of millions of people have changed radically, and many are worried about their health, jobs and well-being. Across Europe, adult education providers are forced to cancel or virtually continue courses. The loss of the financial basis through these measures has dramatic consequences for course providers, the sustainability of institutions, staff and, last but not least, learners. However, to mitigate the consequences of the social and economic crisis that will follow this pandemic, adult education and training will be needed more than ever.

For many of us, the ongoing pandemic means being stuck at home, left with an overabundance of time and at the mercy of a decent internet connection. It would seem like a perfect time to take up some learning; isn’t that what everybody else is doing?  Yet if we sign up for a new online course, aren’t we just bending to the pressure of still being productive when everything else is on pause? Can we even enjoy participating in community theatre if, of all places, it has somehow moved online? In other words: is learning still fun? We dedicate this important topic all the attention it deserves, and have called on three experts to help us with the conundrum.

“You live and learn”, they say. No one has ever lived through a situation as the current Coronavirus pandemic, and so, we should probably all find something to learn from it. If each and every one of us takes time to reflect upon different philosophical questions, appreciate different aspects of our existence, and make a number of good resolutions for our lives after this lockdown, I hope that we will all learn one simple – yet powerful – message: in this world, everyone counts. Our EAEA Project Manager shares her reflections on the Coronavirus crisis.

One question currently unites all educational sectors: how can learning and teaching be organised during the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, and how can marginalised groups be included? Measures to contain the outbreak forced schools, universities, adult education centres and other educational institutions to suspend all face-to-face learning offers. Barriers to learning that have existed for learners from vulnerable groups before the pandemic are reinforced through the rules for “social distancing”, report EAEA members from all over Europe.

As individuals and families across Europe find themselves “social distancing” or in quarantine at home, many have had to adapt to new ways of working and learning remotely. At the same time, a large number of e-learning offers for children, young people and adults have been advertised in social media. Should we be recognising this time, while strange and scary, as an opportunity for self-improvement, for personal development, for empowerment through e-learning?