About Project
Download the whole description of the project
Education carries big part of responsibility for raising new generations and forming European society. It’s a key to knowledge based economy and to active and responsible citizenship.
‘Every person - child, youth and adult - shall be able to benefit from educational opportunities designed to meet their basic learning needs. These needs comprise both essential learning tools (such as literacy, oral expression, numeracy, and problem solving) and the basic learning content (such as knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes) required by human beings to be able to survive, to develop their full capacities, to live and work in dignity, to participate fully in development, to improve the quality of their lives, to make informed decisions, and to continue learning.
For young people getting good education should be a priority, as it widely defines their chances in adult life. Yet nowadays education of people aged between 18-25, needs improvements to better answer the changing European reality.
As young, active people we observe several problems.
Higher education understood in conservative, limited way as concept of school-teaching is not able to develop in an individual the key competences defined by European Commission , or life skills defined by UNESCO. Today in integrating Europe, the education system must take into consideration not only academic needs but also the skills needed for the individual to live and actively participate in society. Not forgetting those youngsters who are not granted access to higher education and for whom other forms of learning could be an alternative.
There is need for broader understanding of learning. Acknowledging that it takes place in different settings: formal, non-formal, informal, in home country and abroad, based on various teaching and learning methods.
Education of young people is an important element of Life-long-learning processes. However, as for secondary education is it admitted that ’schools alone cannot provide young people with the full spectrum of key competencies. Informal learning is just as important when it comes to developing cognitive, social and personal competencies. (…)Complementary interaction between schools and their surrounding communities is one of the cornerstones of successful preparation for adult life , still high-level Lifelong Learning debates limit the concept of education for 18-25 year old to higher education. The role of non-formal education and complementarity of both is neglected.
Recognition of learning outcomes is not based on real assessment of knowledge, skills and attitudes, but on documents issued by official institutions. Young people with learning experience acquired outside of formal ducation system are not equally treated on the job market. Therefore more emphasis has to be put on the curricula not the formal degree. Relevant and promising content raises students’ attention.
Active students in many European countries face the problem of lack of space within studies for extracurricular activities. Due to formal regulations they cannot get involved in e.g. organising projects, running an NGO, participation in international events. This issue has been neglected by the Bologna process until now.
Mobility is a great chance to enrich both formal and non-formal education. Formal - by bringing in international staff and students in the national systems of education and non-formal - by opening to different values and mentalities, it allows learning and taking the best from one other. Unfortunately this potential is often wasted. Young people coming back from educational exchange, do not share a great part of their foreign experience with peers or academic staff. Lack of good method of evaluation or follow-up causes students not realising how much more they actually learned and blocks positive changes they could initiate.
The educational reforms that take place all over Europe are arranged on governmental level and do not take into account feedback from the grass-roots. There is barely any knowledge on educational policies among regular students.
When good policies are to be created and good practices to be implemented, young people at grass-root level should be encouraged to express their view on education. They need to see that it is worth to get interested in this issue and that their voice is valuable.
The open debate with young people at the grass-root level is necessary to discover where are the real needs for change and improvement. Education Unlimited! has been launched to open and push forward this debate.
According to the aims of Lisbon Agenda new ways of learning, life-long-learning and pre-conditions for mobility should be achieved. Involving young learners in the process of targeting the goal will help all actors in this field to make a
sustainable change. Many objectives of Education Unlimited! are conducive to the purpose of the Lisbon Agenda. Validating experiences and skills gained through non-formal education will dot the ‘i’, will make the difference.
Overall aim:
To contribute to improvement of European higher education by strengthening involvement of young people in educational policies at the grass-root level and bridging formal and non-formal education in a more sustainable way.
Specific objectives:
- Bring Bologna process and concept of lifelong learning closer to young people on the grass-roots level
- Contribute to the acknowledgement of non-formal education activities next to and by formal education system
- Encourage proactive approach of young people to the organisation of education, encourage them to actively participate in discussing and implementing how they want education to be like
The project has direct and indirect target audience.
In the first place it aims directly at:
- students and youth leaders,
who experience, or should be able to experience all kinds of education in order to develop themselves and prepare for adult life as individual, citizen, employee. Those, starting from smaller to bigger groups, will be promoters of the idea of unlimited education, taking initiatives in their local environment, getting more people active and involved. And finally benefiting directly from results of the project. - academic staff and trainers communities,
who are passing on education to young people. They are important side in the debate on education, and should be interested to get involved. They might also become very good communication channel to decision makers. - labor market
will become more aware of the human (and intellectual) resources at its disposal in the youth/students’/non governmental organizations and pay more attention to education (both formal and non formal) as it means securing future in business development
As second target, project reaches for decision makers in the field of youth, education, employment and those who influence these decisions.
- Representatives of respective ministries in national governments;
- Heads of educational institutions, both public and private;
- European institutions, units responsible for youth involvement and education programmes;
- International organisations working for education (e.g. UNESCO);
- Platforms of NGOs with relevant thematic focus (e.g. EUCIS)
They are most welcomed to get involved in the project directly as partners for dialogue and cooperation, but without doubt they all should be interested in results of the project, therefore they will be the target of the follow-up lobby.
Indirectly project will reach public audience, civil society, media.
- Presenting the impact of non-formal education and its importance next to formal education
- Promotion of best practices of recognition of NFE
- Reaching all actors in the field (NGOs, Government , international organizations), so that in the long run lobbing for recognition of NFE to be done with joint efforts, thus more efficiently
- Active contribution to the work of Bologna Follow-Up Group regarding complementarity of formal and non-formal education
- Increase participatory level (or role) of students in Education processes (e.g. Bologna Process)