The Lifelong Learning Lab for 2022 has come and gone. Here’s a brief recap of the two day event.

For its 2022 edition, and under the patronage of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union, LLLP brought its Lifelong Learning Laboratory to France, hosted by the city of Nice. This year, the main point of attention, framing much of the focus, fell on the need to establish ‘lifelong learning entitlements for the future of Europe’. And, perhaps more importantly, to narrow in on how this policy aspiration could be achieved?

The lab was therefore an active exercise in teasing apart avenues and directions for realising a particular policy aspiration; in this case, ‘lifelong learning entitlements for the future of Europe’. Drawing on the expertise of those stakeholders closest to the French education and training context and further afield, the lab opened up a space where a concrete policy context example could be looked into further.  It was also an opportunity to acquaint French stakeholders with EU level education and training initiatives and the various ways in which these initiatives can be of benefit. 

In terms of the question: how can lifelong learning entitlements for the future of Europe be achieved? The idea and necessity of establishing national lifelong learning platforms took center stage. Positioned as a key mechanism in furthering a culture of lifelong learning across the EU, this policy tool recognises the need for greater public investment into lifelong learning and improved cross-sector cooperation, consultation of civil society by policymakers and understanding of the lifelong learning concept in general. 

The lab also carried out a series of active workshop sessions wherein participants were encouraged to identify real-world success stories in the field of education and training related to co-operation across and between various stakeholders. Participants deliberated on real world examples of where and when cooperation worked to achieve a positive educational outcome – and from there, identified the key ingredients from the standpoint of cooperation that supported this. These ingredients included, for example, recognising mutual concerns, fostering spaces for all stakeholders to be recognised, and ensuring that the voice of policy target groups is included in the discussion.

We would like to take this opportunity to warmly thank the city of Nice for their generous support and hospitality throughout the event. We would also like to thank all our speakers for their engagement and each and all of the participants for taking part and contributing to the discussion throughout. Last but not least, thank you to the Graduate School of Economics and Management, EUR ELMI, in Nice for allowing us to make use of their facilities.