2017 EAAL closing event 2017 and 21st Adult Education Colloquium

The 2017 EAAL closing event was organized under the framework of the traditional professional event at national level, i.e. the Adult Education Colloquium (AEC; this event is a part of the Slovenian Lifelong Learning Week project). The event consisted of three parts:

• ‘Challenges of non-formal education in the Zgornja Vipavska Valley’: SIAE co-organized the event in cooperation with the Ajdovščina Adult Education Centre that provided local contents regarding non-formal learning for rural inhabitants, such as study circles, NVQs, Project learning for Young Adults, Urban garden etc. into this workshop. 69 participants attended this part of the programme.
• ‘With adequate skills to better life’: Coordinators of all PASS and ‘Key competences for active involvement in learning communities’ events 2017 took part in the presentation of their findings and recommendations regarding opportunities for educationally deprived target groups to gain skills for life and work. In addition, the way forward (touching upon the implementation of the Upskilling Pathways recommendation) was represented in the panel of national stakeholders. 68 participants attended this part of the programme.
• ‘Non-formal adult education as a strategy for reacting to changes’ (the theme of the AEC in the narrow sense): presenters from the field of adult education as well as sustainable development (Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning) elaborated on the potential impacts of non-formal adult learning in ensuring sustainable development. 78 participants attended this part of the programme.

Guest speakers from Ireland, Jim Prior and Catherine Aylmer of the Limerick Community Education Network (LCEN), presented their view on ‘Community learning as a way to react to changes’. In the second programme strand we also had the input from the Irish EAAL national coordinator AONTAS on current and future activities. There were also participants from Bosnia and Hercegovina (EAAL NC), Croatia (EPALE NSS), Italy and Serbia taking part in discussions. The event enabled altogether 122 participants to get acquainted with interesting and topical themes, exchange viewpoints and formulate challenges and recommendations for the future.

On the dedicated Slovenian website (http://pro.acs.si/ak2017) of the event, videos were published as to document the most important parts of the happening (http://pro.acs.si/ak2017/video).