Since its establishment, the Lifelong Learning Platform promotes a holistic approach to education that best fits a modernised society where learning happens in different environments being them formal, non-formal and informal but it also is a continuous and never-ending process. This multidimensionality of lifelong learning and holistic approach to education emphasises the need to break down silos, fostering cross-sector cooperation to address cross-cutting issues, synergies between different policies and strategies, common grounds of understanding and regular dialogue between education stakeholders.
The historical development of the concept of lifelong learning across Europe and the world shows how it is related to the global narrative promoted by international organisations (UN, UNESCO). LLLP has endorsed and promotes what is also UNESCO’s view on education as a universal and lifelong concept as well as the European Commission’s view.
Today, we observe that lifelong learning has become increasingly important on the global agenda as an organising principle of education. The latest policy initiatives of the UN and EU confirm this trend, embedding this concept in all policy and programmating documents. And yet, today, there is no such things as a European nor an international glossary that best defines the holistic approach to education embracing a lifelong learning culture.
Today, this changes. With our latest publication, we present commonly agreed definitions, words, abbreviations, acronyms, used frequently in written work, giving terms contextual meaning. The contextual meaning is an important value as the glossary aims to reflect the different use of the same term, as well as its different inclinations. This Glossary does not seek to provide universal definitions to the different terminologies used in the field, neither to be replacing any existing formal education dictionary. But it pays a common ground to understand the contexts in which lifelong learning, education and training take place.