EAEA’s has welcomed four new associate members who received their membership certificates at the General Assembly 26.6. in Copenhagen. The new members come from Austria, Germany, Lissabon and the Nordic countries.

The online course on policy and practices for Upskilling Pathways has reached about 100 people so far and engaged them in interesting discussions about the various aspects of the initiative in their countries. Two out of four modules were successfully completed before the summer, the others will be carried out in the autumn. Interested participants are still very on time to join as the content is all available online.

We need to be more flexible and creative in our learning provision, if we want to increase participation in adult education. Fun might be the key, as well as a holistic approach to learning, said our speakers at the Annual Conference in Copenhagen.

Dr. János Szigeti Tóth, president of the Hungarian Folk High School Society (HFHSS) and former president of the European Association for the Education of Adults, passed away on 25 June 2019.

MEDIA RELEASE. The 16th annual Grundtvig Awards were given to projects which successfully embrace the life skills approach in adult education.

“A safe environment with flexible learning pathways, with no curricula or exams, and an equal focus on individual needs of learners as well as the integrity of the group.” Jette Borgstrøm from Kursutrappen and Stine Hohwü-Christensen from the Danish Adult Education Association shared with us inspiring stories and reflections on the key concepts that underpin life skills.

European elections are just around the corner. EAEA is inviting MEP candidates, EAEA members, adult learners and educators to post their views on how to strengthen adult learning and education at the European level.

EAEA very much welcomes the adoption of CULT Committee report on Erasmus+ 2021-2027 by the European Parliament in March 2019. Erasmus+ is an outstanding and crucial programme for adult learners, as it has supported adult education organisations from all over Europe in their efforts for more innovation and cooperation in the sector.

Upskilling Pathways Recommendation was adopted in 2016 with the aim to support adults with low levels of skills and enhance their literacy, numeracy and digital skills. In February this year the European Commission (EC) published a stocktaking report on the implementation of the initiative in the Member States. EAEA has also collected feedback from its members on the implementation of this strategy in 2018, and we will compare the feedback to the findings of the EC’s report.

Ruth Jermann, former Deputy Director of SVEB and member of the EAEA Executive Board, succumbed to her serious illness on 17 March 2019.