The EU goal of a smarter Europe is restricted by the regional disparities that exist in Adult Education opportunities, as outlined in the policy paper "Mind the Gap: Education Inequality across EU Regions". Some EU regions report 30% of their citizens aged 16-65 are involved in formal adult education, whereas other regions report figures as low as 3%.
This disparity requires a strategic approach for the regions and local authorities to formulate policies and programmes that align with national objectives and with EU2020. However, to date there has been no one place for finding materials, resources and information for planning and delivering Adult Education programmes.
Michael Kenny of Maynooth University, Ireland presented the CREATE Project (Competitive Regions and Employability of Adults Through Education), developed with partners from 7 European countries and co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme. projectcreate.eu
CREATE has been developed to address the problem of fragmentation when it comes to accessing the excellent existing adult education policies and tools that could inform regional policy makers.
The CREATE partners, in consultation with regional stakeholders and citizens, identified Adult Education policies, tools, good practices and lessons which have been assembled to populate the CREATE ToolBox. This ToolBox is a searchable interface that brings together the policy tools and resources that can support regional policy makers. It is also a virtual community that can connect Adult Educators and policy makers, to break the silos.
The CREATE project intends to have sustainability both in its applicability for addressing the disparity in Adult Education and through its transferability to other domains of education, particularly VET. The long-term intended outcomes of CREATE are to ensure evidence-based policy-making that aligns Adult Education policies and programmes with socio-economic development.
Written by: Simon Ahern (Ireland)
