Thu 11 December, 09:30-12:45 // European Parliament, Room JAN 6Q1, Brussels

Some 80 million EU employees, the unemployed and particularly the young unemployed will purportedly need to update their skills and qualifications in order to improve their employment prospects and find gainful employment. Creating a sense of self-worth and self-confidence of all EU citizens and enhancing their position and acceptance in society is​ ​just as​ ​important. The validation of non-formal and informal learning is an important​ ​tool in tackling​ ​these challenges.

We need strong comprehensive validation mechanisms which will benefit disadvantaged groups. Member States are encouraged to set up validation mechanisms by 2018, as set in the 2012 Council Recommendation, but how will this turn into concrete actions and reforms? How to raise awareness of​ the ​validation arrangements? How to make sure guidance and counselling are available and affordable for them at every stage of the validation process? What are exactly the new “skills audits” mentioned in the recommendation?

We are happy to invite you to our policy debate ‘Validation of non-formal and informal learning: all aboard! How to reach the targeted publics?’ during the Lifelong Learning Week 2014. By gathering European institutions and civil society representatives and researchers, the policy debate will aim at providing some answers on fostering inclusive validation arrangements by presenting existing practices and sharing policy recommendations, so that the Europe’s most vulnerable learners can be the primary beneficiaries of validation schemes.

The event was organised by the European Civil Society Platform on Lifelong Learning (EUCIS-LLL), with the support of MEP Sirpa Pietikäinen (EPP, FI).

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Agenda

9:30 Welcome words

• Sirpa PIETIKÄINEN, Member of the European Parliament (EPP, FI)

• David LOPEZ, EUCIS-LLL president

9:45 Panel 1 – Experiences in reaching out to disadvantaged groups

• Sharon WATSON, Area Education Coordinator at Workers’ Education Association, Representative of the SOLIDAR project “Building Learning Societies: Promoting the validation of non-formal & informal learning” – see presentation

• Ana CONTRERAS, Romani Association of Women Drom Kotar Mestipen President and Natalia FERNANDEZ ALCALA, Coordinator of Drom Kotar Mestipen and ROM-ACT project manager – see presentation

• Ana Claudia VALENTE, Researcher and Board member of CEPCEP, Portuguese Catholic University, Portugal – see presentation

10:15 Group discussions

11:00 Coffee break

11:15 Panel 2 – Activating the knowledge triangle: From practice to research and policy-making

• Chiara RIONDINO, Policy Officer “Skills and Qualifications”, European Commission, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion 
  

• Prof. Dr. Nico SCHÖPF, f-bb Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training – see presentation

• Jens BJORNAVOLD, Expert on validation, CEDEFOP – see presentation

11:45 Group discussions

12:30 Conclusions

13:00-14:00 Networking lunch

The event was followed by the launch of Bertelsmann Stiftung’s Study “VNFIL in Europe: Learning from the Best. A full system transfer is doomed to fail. So what can we learn from which country?” from 14:00 to 16:00.