“Top-quality education and training are vital if Europe is to develop as a knowledge society and compete effectively in the globalising world economy. Education policy as such is decided by each EU country, but together they set common goals and share best practice. In addition, the EU funds numerous programmes which allow its citizens to make the most of their personal development and the EU’s economic potential by studying, training or doing voluntary work in other countries”
(From the Web page of the European Union)
The Grundtvig programme: practical learning for adults.
The European Commission, through its Directorate – General for Education and Culture, promotes and develops various educational and training initiatives under a single umbrella: the Lifelong Learning Programme.
The programme enables individuals at all stages of their lives to pursue stimulating learning opportunities across Europe. There are four sub-programmes focusing on different stages of education and training and continuing previous programmes:
- Comenius for schools
- Erasmus for higher education
- Leonardo da Vinci for vocational education and training
- Grundtvig for adult education
A transversal programme aims to ensure that they achieve the best results possible and the Jean Monnet programme, aiming for a geographical reach beyond Europe's borders, stimulates teaching, reflection and debate on the European integration process at higher education institutions worldwide.
The Grundtvig programme focuses on the teaching and study needs of those in adult education and alternative education streams, as well as the institutions and organisations delivering these services. Supporting lifelong learning and mobility in this way also tackles Europe’s ageing population problem.
Launched in 2000, Grundtvig aims to provide adults with ways to improve their knowledge and skills, keeping them mentally fit and potentially more employable. It not only covers learners in adult education, but also the teachers, trainers, education staff and facilities that provide these services. These include relevant associations, counselling organisations, information services, policy-making bodies and others involved in lifelong learning and adult education at local, regional and national levels, such as NGOs, enterprises, voluntary groups and research centres.
There are also actions supporting adult learner mobility, such as exchanges and, now in the 2007-2013 programme, so-called 'European Assistantships'.
Objectives and actions Specific aims are to:
- Increase the number of people in adult education to 25 000 by 2013 , and improve the quality of their experience, whether at home or abroad
- Improve conditions for mobility so that at least 7 000 people per year by 2013 can benefit from adult education abroad
- Improve the quality and amount of co-operation between adult education organisations
- Develop innovative adult education and management practices, and encourage widespread application
- Ensure that people on the margins of society have access to adult education, especially older people and those who left education without basic qualifications
- Support innovative ICT-based educational content, services and practices
Actions include support for:
- Mobility, including visits, placements, 'assistantships', adult education exchanges (i.e. staff training and professional development) and the preparations needed to plan the exchanges
- Grundtvig Learning Partnerships focusing on themes mutual interest to participating organisations
- Multilateral projects for improving adult education systems through the development and transfer of innovation and good practice
- Grundtvig Networks of experts and organisations working on developing adult education, spreading good practices and supporting partnerships. At least 55% of the total funding for Grundtvig should go towards mobility and partnership activities. For more information see the web page of the Directorate – General for Education and Culture of the European Commission