By Vita Žunda. The Latvian Adult Education Association (LAEA) is an excellent place and site for adult education providers to inform of, pilot and disseminate LLL projects that are being developed in Latvia. Here we introduce some of them.
Benchmark of 15 procent for adult participation in lifelong learning may seem an abstract goal, but all adult education leaders wish to have more learners in their schools.  But it is not only a matter of funding, but also a matter of skills.  Where can we develop these skills? We propose to learn from successful and experienced education leaders who can be our mentors. We can analyze their experience and identify strategies which can bring more learners. More...

By Agne Narusk. Estonia now has a new lifelong learning strategy, where three out of the five important points are directly related to adult education. The state means business: at the beginning of this year the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research divided the department of vocational and adult education into two independent units – the ministry now includes a department, which only deals with topics related to the education of adults.
This strategy for the years 2014– 2020, which consists of five important points, was put together for five years. It involved a large number of people from very different organisations, including outside the education system, such as representatives of employers. More...

By Wilfried Hackl / Adrian Zagle. In 2011, Austria introduced a national quality reference framework for adult education called Ö-Cert. This move was met with much attention from adult education professionals from both public and private institutions: well over 900 providers of adult education (including branches) have been certified so far, and around 200 applications are still pending.
Further clarification of criteria needed
Looking back on two years of experience, the Ö-Cert accreditation group recognised the need to render its criteria for accreditation clearer and more precise. The group’s five expert members therefore evaluated the current framework as well as their working definitions of adult education, services and providers. More...

By Petra Herre. The EU-financed¹ project “Benefits of Lifelong Learning” (BeLL), launched on 1 November 2011, came to an end on 22 January 2014 with its final conference² presenting and discussing the key results. The project was aimed at empirical data-gathering and investigation into the subjectively perceived benefits of participants in educational events in the fields of general, cultural and political continuing education, i.e. liberal adult education. More...

By Michael Sommer. Ten years ago European InfoNet Adult Education was launched at its first meeting in Cologne. Since then, InfoNet has developed into a major network that has representatives in almost every country in the European Union and approx. 5000 regular readers. More...

By Michael Sommer. Erasmus+, the European Union’s new programme for education, is up and running. The budget for adult education together with its Grundtvig sub-programme now represents approx. 3.9 % of the total budget (approx. € 576 million). The end of April was the first deadline for submission of project applications which now for the first time all have to be submitted to the relevant national agency. As part of this process two national experts will now be responsible for evaluation of the applications – this stage is to be completed by the end of June – and the award will set according to the amount of the budgets provided. More...

By Carlos Ribeiro. It was a real celebration with music and performances. Hundreds of adults with diplomas crossed the Le Phare stage at Tournefeuille, in the outskirts of Toulouse, confirming that it was well worth the effort they had made to terminate the RVA - Recognition, Validation and Accreditation of Non-formal and Informal Learning  process. Recognition and validation of skills in France is on the right track.
About 800 adults from the Midi- Pyrenees region attended the public ceremony in the South of France on 19th May of this year to celebrate the Victories of the RVA. Similar sessions took place in the past in different emblematic places of the city sung by Claude Nougaro. But never communication and institutional pomp and circumstance of 2014. It included testimonies, round tables, debates, interviews, popular music, jazz and an enthusiastic mingling of adults with diplomas, teachers, guidance technicians, multidisciplinary experts, elected leaders from the Region, scholars and heads of local institutions.
Challenging Paths
Since Jean Luc Guitard left France in search of better economic and social conditions, the question of diplomas always seemed to crop up. In England, he was asked for experience and discernment for duties performed at his new job. Informality dominated this phase of his career but when he arrived in Canada, he had to formally prove his skills to be eligible for high positions, which led to the launching of a RVA process in France to be able to pursue his career. During this process, he was not hindered by obstacles still existing in the French system, which finds it difficult to deal with erratic career paths outside the tricolor system. International mobility calls for systems to validate and recognize skills that need to be adjusted to the pace and needs of these new professional paths and profiles worldwide. This is also evident in the case of the former Yugoslavian athlete, Daniela Petkovic, who was continuously promoted over the years in French handball until she reached the position of Federal technical director of the Midi-Pyrenees Professional League. She could only maintain these positions through completing a particularly demanding higher level RVA process and achieving a theoretical and technical diploma from her country of origin, which was unfortunately not recognized in France. Now she trains other trainers and considers her RVA of crucial importance in the world of international sports.
International RVA required!
The person responsible in France for the RVA national system at the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Research, Norbet Jaouen, set the theme at the Round Table that took place after the presentation of testimonials by saying that the most intelligent way to promote RVA internationally is through its strategic connection with businesses. It is companies that value operating relationships between skills desired for a job and those designed and developed in other economic and social contexts by job candidates. Jaouen defended a relationship between RVA systems in countries with strong economic connections in this promising international cooperation framework. This opinion was shared by others participating in the Round Table strongly representing the motto of the encounter in Toulouse “RVA without borders” , Pierre-Alain Besançon and Patrick Rywalsky from Switzerland and Carlos Ribeiro from Portugal.
Parade and Jazz
At the end of the session, hundreds of adults paraded on the central stage to receive a Trophy from the Region’s elected leaders and heads of institutions. The seminar ended with a concert by a group of young jazz musicians from schools linked to the famous “Jazz in Marciac” Festival.
http://www.centre-inffo.fr/quatriemes-victoires-de-la-vae-19.html
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152397807332365.1073742071.686562364&type=1&l=bc03b7d787
http://youtu.be/2oa1FV9ajDA
http://youtu.be/SxF1EufIxaQ. More...

Le gouvernement a décidé de programmer 45 000 emplois d'avenir supplémentaires pour 2014. C'est ce qu'a annoncé François Rebsamen, ministre du Travail, lors du Conseil des ministres du 3 juin 2014. "Au total, 95 000 emplois d'avenir pourront être conclus en 2014, permettant de prolonger les contrats des jeunes embauchés pour un an et d'embaucher 70 000 nouveaux jeunes en 2014", a précisé le ministre. Sur les 45 000 emplois d'avenir supplémentaires, 20 000 vont être de nouveaux contrats, et 25 000 correspondront à des renouvellements de contrats signés en 2013 pour une seule année. Le ministre du Travail a également annoncé une rallonge de 20 000 contrats aidés classiques (contrats uniques d'insertion). L'objectif est d'atteindre 400 000 contrats aidés en 2014, dont 350 000 dans le secteur non marchand et 50 000 dans le secteur marchand.
Localtis info, 4.6.14.

Chaque année, l’Afdas, Opca et Opacif des secteurs de la culture, de la communication, des médias et des loisirs, conduit une enquête auprès des bénéficiaires de congés individuels de formation (Cif) qu'il finance. Sur 1 428 salariés formés grâce à ce dispositif en 2013, plus de la moitié a répondu aux deux questionnaires de l'Afdas. Au moment du CIF, la moitié des bénéficiaires est salariée en CDI, 34 % sont intermittents du spectacle et 16 % sont salariés en CDD. Les femmes représentent plus de la moitié des CIF CDI et bénéficient désormais du CIF CDD à part égale des hommes. Les employés et techniciens sont plus de 60 % à suivre un CIF CDI et CDD. 67 % des bénéficiaires ont choisi des formations diplômantes ou certifiantes et 87 % d'entre eux ont réussi l'examen. Comme en 2012, une majorité des CIF (57 %) est orientée vers des formations non spécifiques aux domaines de la culture, de la communication et des loisirs.
Afdas, Congés individuels de formation : évaluation des formations et impacts sur les parcours professionnels, avril 2014.

Quelles sont les disparités entre les régions françaises depuis 1993 ? La crise a-t-elle creusé les écarts entre régions ? Au jeu du redémarrage économique, qui tire le mieux son épingle du jeu ? Pour mieux comprendre l'évolution du PIB dans chaque région, l'Insee consacre un numéro d’ "Insee première" à la croissance dans les régions depuis vingt ans. Cette étude est déclinée pour les 22 régions métropolitaines.
Voir la publication nationale et les 22 éclairage régionaux de l’Insee.