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LEAP project empowers local authorities with adult education policy-making tools: Intellectual Output 3 (IO3) announced

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LEAP – the “Local Adult Education Policy” project – is an Erasmus Plus co-funded project, involving a partnership of seven organizations from six different European countries (Belgium, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Slovakia, Spain). The project aims to increase adult participation in formal, non-formal, and informal learning on local, national, and EU levels by directly engaging local decision-makers and technical staff of local authorities. The project recognises the gap between macro-level (EU dimension) and micro-level (local/regional dimension) policy and seeks to bridge it by increasing the awareness of the importance of adult education (AE) among local authorities. To enhance policy effectiveness, the project also collaborates with the wider AE ecosystem and involves stakeholders such as education providers, learning centres, cultural centres, and civil society.

The LEAP project has announced the release of its third intellectual output (IO3), the AE Policy Making Tools for Local Authorities. The output comprises a Toolkit for policymakers, including a training module to enhance their understanding, adoption, and integration of EU priorities, strategies, and programmes in the domains of AE and LLL. This output has uploaded on the OER Platform in multilanguage version, representing a learning corner for local authorities. The various resources create an organised body of knowledge in the domains of the local policy making and AE, aiming to empower local authorities to draft local adult education and/or skills policies.

The Toolkit and Learning section of the OER Platform is conceived as a practical, operative and multilanguage section that contain resources such as operational examples and cases, guidelines, good practices. The main targets of the Toolkit are:

  • Policymakers at the local / regional layer of governance
  • Participants in the AE ecosystem, primarily providers and learners
  • Stakeholders of public policy and AE / LLL
  • Civic society in general

This part includes a first page summarising all the resources developed for local authorities and a brief introduction on why AE is important and on LEAP’s vision of “Bring Education and Learning to Everyone”. Starting to explore the subsections, one finds one that shows the contents of the training module. The main issues and their contents concern:

  • The Importance and Benefits of Adult Education
  • Lifelong Education and Types of AE
  • Adult Education Guidance
  • Quality of Education Programs
  • Inclusive Adult Education
  • Second Chance Education
  • Recognition of Prior Learning
  • New Topics in AE – Digital & Green Literacy
  • From Learning Cities to Smart Cities and Regions

The other subsections present and include the Toolkit’s resources, as follows:

  • Useful Materials – representing the Study Kit on the following theme:
    • Effective Policy on Adult Learning and Education
    • Quality Adult Learning that Meets the Needs
    • Improve Equity of Access for All
    • Improve learner’s disposition towards learning
  • For Educators – a subsection with two documents concerning how to engage adults in learning:
    • “How to Motivate and Engage Adult Learners”
    • “Comprehensive education for adult students with special needs”
  • Learning Cities – a subsection with three documents concerning the way to make your city or community a learning place:
    • “What is it and what do you need to do to make your city or community a learning place?”
    • “Pécs as a Learning City”
    • “Learning City of Trnava”

More info about IO3 Toolkit and Learning: www.leap2local.eu/ELEARNING/EN

The AE Policy Making Tools for Local Authorities (IO3) is a valuable resource for providers of both formal and non-formal education, small and large, public, and private, and learners. The release of IO3 is a significant milestone for LEAP, which aims to bring education and learning to everyone and make lifelong learning a reality.

The project invites local government representatives, policy makers, and providers to use this platform and get inspired to make quality and inclusive education a reality for all.

For further information on LEAP, please visit the project website: www.leap2local.eu