Brussels, 30/03/2016 (Agence Europe) - For a year now, two-thirds of member states have been taking measures to update their education systems, explains a report published by the European Commission a few days ahead of the Brussels attacks.
On 17 March 2015, 26 European education ministers met to discuss religious radicalism following the January 2015 attacks on Charlie Hebdo and Hyper Cacher in Paris. They made a formal pledge to improve cooperation to ensure that children and youngsters gain social, civic and multicultural skills and strengthen their discernment, particularly on the internet. A year later, the European Commission is looking at measures taken at European and national level.
National measures. In a report published on 17 March 2016, the European Commission says that two-thirds of member states have taken measures in line with the Paris Declaration. Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia have not yet taken any special measures, mainly because reforms had already been made before the signing of the Declaration, says the Commission. It notes that measures are being discussed in Romania, Croatia and Greece. The report points out that the measures vary, including national strategies and action plans, new regulations and updates, and programmes and large-scale projects, along with the setting up of expert groups and specialist bodies.
European measures. European Commissioner Tibor Navracsics says that the European Union is not lagging behind. Since the adoption of the Paris Declaration, the Commission has issued two calls for proposals. The first, which runs from 15 March to 30 May 2016, aims to help teachers and youth workers carry out projects on the ground, with a budget of €13 million, while the second, which runs from 15 December 2015 to 14 Aril 2016, is aimed specifically at the member states wishing to experiment with policy in the field of education and youth training, for which a budget of €14 million is foreseen. The Commission has also set up two expert groups to work on youth radicalisation, the first focusing on education and training and the second on youth employment. The Commission may release up to €400 million in 2016 in connection with Erasmus+ to support projects promoting European values and more inclusive educational systems. The commissioner says that promotion of social inclusion has been reaffirmed as part of the Education and Training 2020 (ET2020) strategy and youth policy. When it comes to future initiatives, the commissioner is expected to: (1) set up a network of ambassadors in schools at European level; (2) launch a campaign in 2017 on “inclusive learning in practice” with civil society to support inclusion and fundamental values at local level, along with a study of national practices for education in citizenship via the Eurydice network. All these initiatives will be covered in a communication on religious radicalism to be published in coming weeks or months.
A number of recommendations. On 17 March, the Commission published a report analysing the role played by education in learning how to be tolerant and respect diversity and civic responsibility. The hundred-page document makes a number of observations and 28 recommendations for political decision-makers and school institutions. It says, for example, that teachers need diversity training and the intercultural skills of teachers in Europe needs to be strengthened. There is also currently a clear lack of diversity among teachers and directors of schools in Europe. Another observation is that learning one's mother tongue has a deep impact on a person's identity and well-being, and effective training in a second language and multilingualism will benefit both majority and minority pupils, although there is not much of this in Europe at present. Link: http://ec.europa.eu/education/news/2016/0316-paris-declaration-education_en.htm (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)
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