(ANS - Brussels) - Don Bosco International participated at the European Parliament in Brussels on 4 March in a debate organized by the European Civil Society Platform on Lifelong Learning. The topic was the potential of new technologies for education and training.

In September 2013, the European Commission issued a communiqué entitled "Opening education: innovative techniques of teaching and learning for all, thanks to new technologies and open educational resources."  It defined the European agenda on the matter and proposed actions to further enhance learning contexts for the purpose of better education and greater effectiveness.

The aim is to pursue the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy to promote EU competitiveness and growth through a more skilled workforce and higher employment. It proposes in particular:

• to help educational institutions, teachers and students to acquire skills and methods of digital learning
• to support the development and availability of open educational resources
• to connect the classes and introduce devices and digital content
• to make all stakeholders (teachers, students , families, economic and social partners) aware of the potential of digital technologies in education.

That same month, the Open Education Europa portal was launched. Its purpose is to support users searching for free educational resources and to improve awareness of the many high-quality resources produced in Europe.

There are still many steps to be taken to implement the recommendations of the European Union in the field of digital learning. The meeting on 4 March was intended to take stock of recent political developments in Europe and to undertake a deeper study of the future of education.

At European level, the Commission should first provide funding for institutions that operate in this sector, through new Erasmus + Horizon2020 programmes. A European summit on education will also be organized.
Individual countries retain jurisdiction in the matter. They must show the political will to carry forward this initiative through appropriate national policies.

Don Bosco International is determined to insist that nobody be left behind, and that the movement  invest in an education that forms the human person first of all, then the citizen and finally the professional. At the national level they will keep contact with the Salesian community to inform them about European opportunities and the political direction of the European institutions.

Published 19/03/2014