Summer 2016 Dear readers, please find attached the Summer edition of the online bulletin edited by the Slovenian Institute for Adult Education (SIAE), available also at http://www.acs.si/bulletin_e-novicke. The content briefly presented here is a result of our creative energy and momentum in the first half of this year. We wish you pleasant reading, Simona Kavčič, acting editor, and Zvonka Pangerc Pahernik, MSc, editor-in-chief. SIAE PROJECTS AND EVENTS .................................................................................................. 3 Brochure on the SIAE's work in 2015 ..............................................................................................................3 Analysis of the adult education provision .........................................................................................................3 Promotion via the SIAE Facebook page ...........................................................................................................4 Presentation of different ways of finding sources to students of pedagogy and andragogy .............................5 Rules on certificates issued by the SIAE ..........................................................................................................5 New rules and criteria for granting the right to use the OQEA Green Quality Logo .......................................6 Revision of the Rules on recognition of prior learning in SIAE programmes ..................................................7 The SHAPE project in 2016 .............................................................................................................................8 Publication of the first newsletter of the Erasmus+ GOAL (Guidance and Orientation for Adult Learners) project ...............................................................................................................................................................8 LLW 2016 draws to a close and performance indicators are finally taking shape ...........................................9 INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION......................................................................................... 10 EAEA Executive Board in Slovenia ...............................................................................................................10 Meeting of CIA2SFM partners .......................................................................................................................11 Study visit to Denmark and Slovenia within the Erasmus+ programme ........................................................12 Reduced meeting of EAAL national coordinators ..........................................................................................13 Promoting Adults Skills (PAS) events once again devoted to the acquisition of basic skills.........................14 Study visits to the SIAE ..................................................................................................................................15 Three successful events as part of the international EBSN conference in Slovenia: the closing EAAL event, the EBSN general assembly and the EBSN annual conference ......................................................................16 SIAE staff publish topical content in Elm ......................................................................................................17 PUM-O programme relaunched in spring.......................................................................................................18 EPALE ............................................................................................................................................. 19 Introducing our new EPALE coordinator .......................................................................................................19 Regional EPALE conference in Makarska .....................................................................................................19 EPALE webinars – An opportunity to promote your organisation .................................................................20 Breakfast with EPALE at Slovenska Bistrica Adult Education Centre ..........................................................20 RELEVANT PUBLICATIONS..................................................................................................... 21 We are proud of the Slovenian version of the Manifesto for Adult Learning ................................................21 Basic School for Adults: Portrait and Mission published in the SIAE online collection................................22 Two publications mark the end of the InfoNet project ...................................................................................23 Trends Shaping Education 2016 .....................................................................................................................23 Quality and change in teacher education ........................................................................................................24 SLOVENIAN ADULT EDUCATION SCENE............................................................................ 24 Strategy on the development and use of skills in Slovenia – part of Slovenia's long-term development vision...............................................................................................................................................................24 Opportunities for free of charge Slovenian learning at AZM -LU for more than 200 foreigners..................25 Mentoring programme uniting all generations................................................................................................26 Lifelong Learning Centre at the University of Primorska Faculty of Education ............................................26 The future of adult education in Bela Krajina.................................................................................................27 Guidance in the workplace – the experience of AZM -LU............................................................................28 Abbreviations AE: Adult Education EAAL: European Agenda for Adult Learning EPALE: ePlatform for Adult Learning in Europe GOAL: Guidance and Orientation for Adult Learners LLW: Lifelong Learning Week LP: Learning Parade MESS: Ministry of Education, Science and Sport OQEA: Offering Quality Education to Adults PIAAC: Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competences SHAPE: Shared expertise in provision of adult education in five European countries SIAE: Slovenian Institute for Adult Education Brochure on the SIAE's work in 2015 At the end of the year we looked back and reviewed the achievements, numerous activities, current projects and programmes and other tasks completed in the past year. We have now collected them in the brochure Slovenian Institute for Adult Education (SIAE) in 2015, in which we present both our core activities and tasks that are for the most part connected to current domestic and international projects. The SIAE works with numerous actors in the adult education (AE) field and therefore the publication contains useful information for everyone who is in any way involved with AE or otherwise connected with it, i.e. policymakers at the European, national and local levels and experts and practitioners from the field. Over the course of the brochure's 23 pages we present our working units, along with their staff and main activities. You will also find useful information about EPALE, with which we actively cooperate. The brochure is available free of charge at the SIAE and can also be consulted in electronic form on the SIAE website. Simona Kavčič (simona.kavcic@acs.si), SIAE Analysis of the adult education provision Every year the SIAE monitors the AE provision in Slovenia for the current academic year and publishes details of education providers and their programmes on the Kam po znanje? [Where to for knowledge?] website, an online round-up of the AE opportunities available in 2015/16. We analyse the information on the education on offer and present more detailed results in a final report. Our analysis of the educational provision in the 2015/16 academic year includes 202 AE providers and 3,681 AE programmes, both formal and non-formal. The analysis included those providers who presented their educational offering on the "Kam po znanje" website. In recent years we have noted a slight decline in the number of providers. This is partly due to the merger or closure of several secondary schools in Slovenia in past years, while the economic crisis has also resulted in less investment in AE and training. AE takes place in a wide variety of institutions, not all of them educational institutions. For the most part they are private organisations and private schools, secondary schools (which educate adults as well as school-aged youth), and AE centres. Many opportunities for non-formal education for adults are also offered by a wide range of associations, third-age universities, non-governmental organisations, general libraries, and so on. The greater part of the educational offering for adults consists of non-formal education, either for the needs of a specific job or for general needs and free time. The most popular subjects include languages, personal development, computers, basic communication skills and knowledge, and business and administration. Our analysis shows that the educational offering is aimed at various target groups, from the most general public to more specific groups such as the unemployed, the elderly, entrepreneurs, employees, professionals of different kinds, people with special needs, foreign nationals, various ethnic groups, and others. AE takes various forms and employs a variety of methods. Education is most frequently provided in the form of workshops, lectures and courses, while other methods include study circles, guided self-study, e-learning, practical work, organised self-study, school-based teaching and distance learning – or a combination of taught lessons and guided self-study. Erika Brenk (erika.brenk@acs.si), SIAE Promotion via the SIAE Facebook page This year is the fifth year since we began promoting the activities of the SIAE and adult learning and education in Slovenia and elsewhere around the world on Facebook. The Facebook page ACS has become one of the more visible ways in which we keep you, the network of adult educators and other users of this social network regularly informed about what is happening at the SIAE and in AE and lifelong learning at the European and global levels. The SIAE Facebook team and other staff interested in promoting their work via social networks exchanged information and their experiences of using Facebook at April's Friday meeting at the SIAE. At this meeting (chaired by the author of the present article), I also talked about my own experiences and offered useful information on the functioning of social networks gained during my collaboration on two international projects such as European InfoNet Adult Education and the Electronic Platform for Adult Learning in Europe (EPALE), where Facebook and Twitter play a central role in online promotion. Photographs and contributions from events, video clips, upcoming events, key information, documents and news from the field of adult learning and education attract the largest number of views, comments and likes. Using a combination of images and text, we try to regularly report positive news and encourage you to click on the Like button. We also frequently share content on the Facebook pages of Lifelong Learning Week (LLW) and the SIAE library. We want our page to be as lively as possible, so we renew the invitation to click on our publications. Share your events with us on the SIAE Facebook page and publish your news on our page. May your comments, likes and shares on your own Facebook pages contribute to further raising the profile of our joint efforts. Mateja Pečar (mateja.pecar@acs.si), SIAE Presentation of different ways of finding sources to students of pedagogy and andragogy Where to look for the right sources, how to find material on a specific theme and how to identify the right source: all questions that we encounter in a variety of situations. For many people even the relatively simple search for a specific book with known title and author can represent a problem. One group that is regularly faced with the need to track down various sources of information is, of course, students. We therefore decided to give a presentation to students of educational science at the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana on ways to find the various sources they need both in their studies and in everyday life. A great deal of useful content is available on the websites InfO-mozaik, EPALE and, for Slovenia in particular, EPALE Slovenia and UNESCO's ALADIN (Adult Learning Documentation and Information Network). A snapshot of recent developments in the AE field is also provided by the Kam po znanje? (Where To For Knowledge?) website, which offers an overview of the AE offering in Slovenia. Libraries still contain a real treasury of information, with the SIAE library the leading resource in the field of AE. We also offered the students an introduction to the SIAE as an institution and informed them about our activities and current projects. After all, their number includes future adult educators and active participants in the sphere of AE. Simona Kavčič (simona.kavcic@acs.si), SIAE Rules on certificates issued by the SIAE The story of certificates goes back to the 1990s, when the SIAE was established as an independent development, research and educational organisation for AE. At that time the SIAE's educational activities consisted mainly of support for training in development projects, the development of new training programmes and the running of training and workshops for adult educators. The issuing of certificates was not yet systematically organised and regulated, and no separate archive of issued certificates was kept. It was not until 1994–95, when the National Education Institute Slovenia began introducing a system of ongoing professional training for education professionals, that the SIAE commenced the gradual introduction of a system for issuing and archiving certificates. In the late 1990s we developed the first computer application for the issuing of certificates – an application we are still using today. In 2010, with the aim of regulating this area, we began organising and analysing the archive of certificates. In 2012 we prepared a document on the protocol for preparing and issuing certificates and for archiving certificates issued: the Rules on certificates issued by the SIAE. When preparing these Rules, we followed trends in the recognition and validation of prior learning, and therefore included all provisions requiring that the certificate should be authentic, current and with adequate content (these provisions were also subsequently included in the certificates). We also prepared the forms or documentation necessary to support the issuing of certificates. In 2015, following two years of piloting and testing, we partially revised or updated the rules. We gave the document a comprehensive redesign in order to improve transparency and make it easier to work with. We also grouped the certificates in terms of content and used different colours to distinguish them. The principal new feature of the Rules is that certificates can now also be obtained by SIAE employees who participate in training or advanced training courses. The document was approved by the SIAE's director Andrej Sotošek and entered into force on 1 January 2016. Neda Đorđević (neda.dordevic@acs.si), SIAE New rules and criteria for granting the right to use the OQEA Green Quality Logo Granting the right to use the logo represents an external incentive to organisations to work systematically in assessing and developing the quality of AE. The green quality logo is currently used by 36 organisations involved in educating adults. They use the logo on their websites, in informative and promotional material, in general documents, in advertising, on signs and noticeboards and elsewhere. Let us take a look at the new elements deriving from the revised Rules on granting and extending the right to use the Offering Quality Educa­tion to Adults (OQEA) quality logo ("the Rules"), adopted by the director of the SIAE on 15 December 2015 and in force since 1 January 2016. The key new features of the revised Rules are as follows: . the introduction of eight quality standards for gaining the right to use the logo, which are assessed using quality criteria, . all organisations that educate adults can obtain the logo (previously organisations only received it when participating in the OQEA project), . the period for which an organisation will demonstrate that it has prepared a self-evaluation plan, a self-evaluation report and a written action plan based on in-depth self-evaluation: 3 years, . the introduction of a points system: the right to use the Green Quality Logo is granted or extended to an organisation that educates adults and meets all defined standards, where it scores at least 10 com­pulsory points in the criteria scoring system, . duration of the right: the right will now be granted for 3 years to organisations that meet all standards for the right to use the Green Quality Logo, . from now on the SIAE will only carry out the procedure for granting or extending the right to use the Green Quality Logo once a year (the deadline for applications will be 15 March), . the first procedure under the new Rules will be carried out in 2017 (deadline for applications from organisations: 15 March 2017). Read more. Jasmina Orešnik Cunja (jasmina.oresnik.cunja@acs.si), SIAE Revision of the Rules on recognition of prior learning in SIAE programmes On 1 June the revised Rules on recognition of prior learning of participants in SIAE training and advanced training programmes ("the Rules") officially entered into force. The Rules represent the fundamental document in the process of recognising prior learning. Since 2011 we have been applying the Rules on a pilot basis in procedures for the recognition of prior learning. In 2014 we conducted an evaluation of procedures for the recognition of prior learning and presented our findings in an evaluation report. On the basis of these findings, we revised the Rules and the supporting documentation (application for recognition, coordinator's opinion, panel's decision and candidate's declaration). The new features that we are introducing are summarised below: . If participants are allowed the recognition of prior learning in programmes that are shorter than 24 teaching hours, the programme devisers must specify this in the training/advanced training pro­gramme. . Recognition of complete programmes is still not possible, but we will continue to monitor the imple­mentation of this decision in the future. . If it is not possible to judge from the evidence submitted whether a candidate possesses adequate knowledge, a personal interview is held with the candidate or the candidate is invited to submit a piece of written work. . The smallest unit for the recognition of prior learning is 1 teaching hour. . In terms of how current evidence must be, candidates may submit evidence that is not more than ten years old, except in cases, where the evidence concerned has an expiry date, such as a licence. In this case a valid document must be submitted. . Deadlines for individual phases of the recognition procedure are defined separately in the timetable – the deadline for the submission of applications as a rule begins 45 days before the start of training. In order to assist and support recognition procedures, we have prepared a protocol, in which we define the phases of the procedure with the key roles of the participants, and a draft text of the recognition of prior learning which programme coordinators use in the invitation when calling for individual programmes. With the help of the form for monitoring guidance for participants, we will monitor the process of providing information and guidance to the participants. An informative brochure called Recognition of prior learning – advisory tool for participants in SIAE training and further training programmes who would like to have their prior learning recognised is also available to candidates in electronic and printed form. The revised Rules and forms are available under the Recognition of prior learning tab on the SIAE's Training of Adult Educators website. Neda Đorđević (neda.dordevic@acs.si), SIAE The SHAPE project in 2016 The e-Novičke Summer 2015 bulletin contained an article with the title The SHAPE project – international exchange of good practices in adult education (Erasmus+, Key Action 2: KA2), in which we presented the participating partner organisations, the main purpose of the project and the key tasks of the project partners. The first international seminar within the project took place in 2014. In 2015 there were three international seminars. In 2016, the final year of the project, two key activities took place: . the fifth, concluding international seminar or meeting of SHAPE partners in Finland in February, . final meeting of SHAPE project partners in Italy in May. One of the more tangible results of the project in Slovenia is the preparation and publication of two promotional booklets. These are also accessible in English. Read more. Jasmina Orešnik Cunja (jasmina.oresnik.cunja@acs.si), SIAE Publication of the first newsletter of the Erasmus+ GOAL (Guidance and Orientation for Adult Learners) project Activities as part of the Erasmus+ project GOAL (Guidance and Orientation for Adult Learners, 2015–2018) are proceeding intensively. In addition to guidance activities for vulnerable groups of adults provided by se­lected providers in the Central Slovenia region and the Savinjska region, the first phase (Wave 1) in the planned evaluation of ongoing guidance activities for selected target groups of adults has just concluded. The six partner countries have drawn up national evaluation reports, and the UCL Institute of Education in London will prepare a joint evaluation report. In June 2016 the project coordinator – the Flemish Ministry of Education – published the first project newsletter, the Project GOAL International Newsletter. In it you can read more about the GOAL project, including activities from the first year of implementation, and find links to the first publications on the project, e.g. the joint report on analysis on needs for guidance services in AE in all six partner countries, to a summary of this report (May 2016), etc. The Newsletter also contains a brief description of activities and planned project activities in 2016 and 2017. To read more, click here. To subscribe to the Newsletter, fill in the form on the website. Andreja Dobrovoljc, MA (andreja.dobrovoljc@acs.si), SIAE LLW 2016 draws to a close and performance indicators are finally taking shape On the basis of the entries in the calendar of events, we can conclude that this year's Lifelong Learning Week (LLW) saw the participation of 45 coordinators and more than 1,700 event organisers, who together organised more than 8,700 events. This last figure is lower than last year, but this is no surprise because we have changed the way in which the project is co-financed. Financial support via a call for applications published by the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport (MESS) was received by 38 LLW coordinators and 13 Learning Parade organisers. Unfortunately, however, independent event organisers no longer received financial support. We can assume that some of them withdrew from the project for this reason, while others persisted on an independent basis and others again joined the coordinators and worked with their support. Praise is due to everyone, in particular the institutions which for various reasons received no co­financing but nevertheless functioned as LLW coordinators to the best of their ability. The festival of learning gained freshness and a development impetus through six joint actions, all of which turned out brilliantly and demonstrated that they have great potential. . Adult Learners' Day – Let Our Voice Be Heard! – organiser SIAE: The encounter at the Adult Learners' Day event merely strengthened our conviction that learners are themselves the best advocates of lifelong learning – their voice is (was) extremely valuable to us! . Learning and Culture Hand in Hand – providers: Public Fund for Cultural Activities (JSKD) and SIAE. Cultural creativity has always occupied an important place in LLW, but this year we devoted particular attention to the coexistence of learning and culture. The central event of the Amateur Culture Week, which was running in parallel with LLW, was organised by the JSKD. It took place at Cankarjev Dom on the evening of 17 May and consisted of a round-table presentation of the Singing Hospitals project. By going hand in hand, learning and culture attracted more visitors than either one would have done separately – their synergy was a winning formula. . Learning Parade – Days of Learning Communities – provider: SIAE. The Learning Parade, devel­oped between 2013 and 2015 in the context of the Implementation of the European Agenda for Adult Learning project, took place on 18 May at 13 venues across Slovenia. Stands were set up in town squares and other public spaces and performers appeared on stages. A variety of activities for body and mind attracted visitors everywhere. . Handwriting Is Cool (19 May) – provider: Marijana Jazbec (Grafologika). The participants in this initiative raised awareness about the importance of handwriting among different generations, encour­aged people to write by hand, attempted to establish a socially positive attitude towards handwriting through a variety of activities at schools, libraries, universities of the third age, businesses and in the media, and emphasised the importance of developing individuality, since everyone's handwriting is unique and unrepeatable. . Day of the Elderly – Fit, Healthy, Informed and Active – providers: Slovenian Federation of Pen­sioners’ Associations (ZDUS) and SIAE. Through the events comprising this action, the organisers and members of the third (and fourth) age demonstrated that it is never too late for learning and action, and that this is also very beneficial, for both body and mind. . Slovenia – A Mentoring Country – provider: Zavod Ypsilon. In conjunction with partners throughout Slovenia, the organiser ran workshops on the subject of connections and networking, giving young adults the opportunity to form pairs with mentors. The importance of a (two-way) exchange of knowledge and skills was given a new impetus by the establishment of mentoring relationships and mentoring corners as part of the action. Over the course of the summer we will be publishing our impressions from the venues of individual a ctions on our website. Zvonka Pangerc Pahernik, MSc (zvonka.pangerc@acs.si), SIAE EAEA Executive Board in Slovenia On 18 and 19 February the SIAE hosted a meeting of the Executive Board of the European Association for the Education of Adults (EAEA). This meeting was an opportunity to exchange information and views with 11 representatives of nine European countries, among them EAEA Secretary General Gina Ebner and EAEA President Per Paludan Hansen. Representatives of the SIAE were permitted to attend their internal meeting, an opportunity that gave us an insight into current social conditions and the role of AE in the countries represented, while at the same time we learned about some of the urgent topics affecting AE in Slovenia. Almost all countries reported complications with the European Social Found (ESF), which are having irreparable consequences, and of course on the ways in which we are addressing the refugee crisis, with varying degrees of success. We also talked about the annual report of the EAEA and member states, which will soon be very relevant again (the reference year will be 2015), and about the results of the annual survey among EAEA members, in which a majority initiative regarding the need for regional approaches in EAEA events and projects was expressed. We held a meeting via Skype with a representative of the International Council for Adult Education (ICAE), Uwe Gartenschlaeger, who presented the ICAE's strategic plan to us. We received information about developments at the EU level, where AE is again being marginalised on the grounds that the field is a highly fragmented one and that it is therefore difficult to define effects. We also discussed the Interest Group on Lifelong Learning at the European Parliament, which has an interesting mission but too few active members. Together we came up with the idea of a Year of Adult Learning in Europe (2017 or 2018) , since it looks as though it is not going to be possible to organise a European Year of Adult Education. At our suggestion the EAEA could take over the international coordination of festivals of learning, a role that was played between 1999 and 2006 by the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning. The presence of European guests was also an opportunity for a meeting between SIAE staff and representatives of the Adult Education Society of Slovenia (ADS), the Association of Slovenian Adult Education Centres (ZLUS) (likewise members of the EAEA) and CMEPIUS (EPALE Slovenia). We exchanged information, experiences and contacts and renewed our commitment as members of the EAEA to assist the Association, through our examples and initiatives, with lobbying at the European level. As organisers, we also prepared two specifically Slovenian points on the agenda for our guests: a reception by the minister and a discussion with representatives of the nascent Learners' Forum. The latter – Maja Radinovič Hajdič, Irena Levičnik, Slavica Borka Kucler, Lilijana Pahor – and the author of the present article presented them with our vision and current efforts and received confirmation that the initiative interested them, that they would like to establish something similar in their own countries, and that they would therefore be paying close attention to our development in the future. The activities of the EAEA are published on the SIAE website – follow us! Zvonka Pangerc Pahernik, MSc (zvonka.pangerc@acs.si), SIAE Meeting of CIA2SFM partners On 30 March a meeting of partners in the Cooperation for an innovative approach in sustainable forest management (CIA2SFM) project took place at the SIAE. The project will provide some basic insight into sustainability education in three countries and will result in education programmes on the sustainable management of resources (in the case of a forest). The project is first and foremost aimed at forest owners but also includes a wide variety of groups of the population, including those who provide education to forest owners. For Slovenia this means that it reaches more than 400,000 people. Accordingly, the further possibilities of this project for Slovenia are considerable, while insight into the specificities of some of our neighbouring countries in this field is important. Project partners from Croatia, Austria and Slovenia will prepare a study of good practices from examples in each of the partner countries, after which an education programme on sustainable forest management will be developed on this basis. The programme will include an innovative methodology, a new e-learning platform and a simple user guide for the latter. A second brochure on education programmes for sustainable forest management was published in May. It is available in English online. The brochure illustrates the education programmes proposed as reference programmes by partner institutions in Austria, Croatia and Slovenia, examples of good practices in all three countries, and the principal challenges which the project will address over the next two years. Over the course of the project's three-year duration, Slovenia will be most actively involved in 2016, with activities relating to training methodology, where the emphasis will be on the specificities of adult learning and the practice of study circles. In May we will offer the project partners a presentation of those study circles that are already active in the field of natural resources management. Their working practices can serve as an important starting point to give added value to a project which wishes to avoid simply pouring content into instructions for the design of education programmes whose main weakness is that they are not used, in other words a poor (unsustainable) relationship in comparison to the resources invested. Mateja Pečar (mateja.pecar@acs.si), SIAE Study visit to Denmark and Slovenia within the Erasmus+ programme In the context of the Erasmus+ project Adult Education Staff Mobility (KA1), SIAE staff member Vera Mlinar visited the Tietgen Competence Centre in Odense (Denmark) in mid-March, 14th –18th . During her visit to Denmark, Vera learned about the Danish system of validation and recognition of non-formal and informal learning and visited an economics gymnasium, the guidance office for adult participants in education at the Centre for Adult Education, a vocational school and a teacher training college for teachers in AE. She also looked at how training is provided in a programme for refugees and migrants called Introduction to the Danish labour market, and in the Bridge to education programme, which is aimed at adult recipients of social assistance aged 18–30. A major change to the field of validation and recognition in Denmark was introduced by the education reform that came into force on 1 August 2015, under which adults aged 25 and over returning to formal secondary education must undergo a validation procedure. Three teachers from the same organisation returned the visit in the first week of April. The fundamental aims of the study visit to Slovenia by Danish teachers was to learn about Slovenia's formal VET programmes for young people and adults, national vocational qualifications, education programmes adapted to the needs of businesses, social partnerships between businesses and educational organisations, and programmes to prevent dropout. The visitors from Denmark were thus given the chance to get to know our AE system, with an emphasis on VET for adults. They also visited a number of institutions (National Institute for Vocational Education and Training (CPI), AE centres in Novo Mesto and Velenje, Bežigrad Secondary Vocational and Technical School in Ljubljana, the Novo Mesto Development and Education Centre (RIC), the Business Training Centre (CPU) and Project Learning for Young Adults – PUM Radovljica). At the end of their study visit they expressed their satisfaction. They particularly highlighted the professionalism, responsibility, preparation and friendliness of all the participating organisations and their staff. The SIAE would once again like to thank all participants. Vera Mlinar (vera.mlinar@acs.si), SIAE Reduced meeting of EAAL national coordinators In the first week of April, shortly (perhaps too shortly) after the terrorist attacks in Brussels, the national coordinators for the implementation of the European Agenda for Adult Learning (EAAL) met for our regular spring meeting. Owing to the difficult travel conditions and heightened security, only around two thirds of the participating countries were represented, although some of the missing representatives were able to follow sessions via webinar. The content of the meeting was strongly focused on education and training for the labour market. This is no wonder, given that the adult education unit at the European Commission is now firmly rooted within the Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion. Among other things, we heard about the kinds of services offered by national employment offices to adults with low educational attainment/qualifications in Europe. The latter are also our main target group, so the EC recommended a greater connection with them and directed our attention to the interesting report Upskilling Unemployed Adults. They also presented the timetable for a new initiative, the so-called Skills Guarantee, which will be an integral part of the priority policy initiative New Skills Agenda. In this context, too, we discussed pathways to skills for adults with low educational attainment, inadequate qualifications and – most importantly – low literacy, numeracy and digital skills (under the PIAAC survey). We heard about the results of the EC's Working Group on Adult Learning 2014–2015, which are collected together in the report Improving Policy and Provision for Adult Learning in Europe, and about the plans of the new working group for 2016–2018, which will focus on the theme of "adult education in the workplace" or "... for the workplace". Slovenia is represented in this group by Ema Perme of the MESS. The meeting also served as a look back, since the EC spoke about the outcomes of the evaluation of our final reports for 2014–2015, while the coordinators from Finland, Germany and the Netherlands presented their projects – respectively on the development of a skills acquisition programme for young adults (aged 20–29); the Literacy Decade project in Germany and efforts at the local level; and regional pilot projects designed to improve the range of literacy programmes on offer. We went on to report on current developments in AE at the policy and professional levels in our own countries, and then formed working groups in which we discussed plans for the current two-year project period. Applications have shown that our content falls into three main fields: . raising awareness, guidance, validation and development of quality, . provision of opportunities for the development of adult basic skills at the regional and local levels, and . development of digital skills. We also listened to a representative of the Directorate General responsible for migrants and compared experiences on how AE in our countries contributes to the integration of immigrants and refugees. Naturally, the agenda also included a point regarding the synergy of our work with EPALE. As many as 15 institutions acting as EAAL national coordinators have also taken on the role of National Support Service for EPALE. All of us enjoy good cooperation with the latter in our own countries – through news, material, joint events and opportunities to promote EPALE at our events. We also learned that the EC is organising the first European Vocational Skills Week, to take place from 5 to 9 December 2016, while a conference on the same theme will take place in Brussels on 6 and 7 December 2016. The EC is also interested in using other methods to promote initial and further vocational and educational training (VET) at the European, national and local levels. To this end, it has initiated a major media campaign and has requested us to help find activities for inclusion under this umbrella. Zvonka Pangerc Pahernik, MSc (zvonka.pangerc@acs.si), SIAE Promoting Adults Skills (PAS) events once again devoted to the acquisition of basic skills Last year we held 21 PAS events as part of the EAAL project, concluding with a panel-based presentation of findings and recommendations at the 19th Adult Education Colloquium. We have continued these encounters this year, although unlike the specialised EAAL events in 2015, which were locally oriented, this year's events have been national in character but organised at the local level and have involved the cooperation of the SIAE, the event provider and two or three partners from various locations. A strong commitment (and willingness) to work as partners for the common good and much more besides could be felt at this year's PAS events. Professionals from the fields of education, employment, the business enterprise sector and other spheres exchanged views, information and proposals on opportunities for connection. Learners representing educationally deprived groups of the population were involved in practical training. In many venues their voices were very welcome in the process of formulating findings and recommendations. PAS events in 2016: Celje, 11 Šolski Center Celje: May; The role of non-formal education in solving the problem of long-term unemployed Slovenska Bistrica, 20 LU Slovenska Bistrica: May; With the young for the Young – on participation, employment and policies Kranj, 24 LU Kranj: May Knowledge and competences hand in hand for better employability of the young Novo Mesto, 25 RIC Novo Mesto: May; Together for coexistence Magolnik, 26 KTRC Radeče: May; Let's renew Slovenian forests on Magolnik Murska Sobota, 30 LU Murska Sobota: May; How can employers and educators jointly improve the business environment in the region? Žalec, 31 May; Development of key competences and skills of employees UPI-LU Žalec: We confirmed the findings from the PAS events in 2015 that much that is good and effective already exists in AE practice and that it is therefore worth persevering and constantly building on it. Through these efforts we are closely involved in the wider socio-economic environment, which means we need to strengthen connections and perform a mutually complementary role. In some cases we need to go back to nature, to values, to roots... but first we have to break through with the help of modern technologies, creativity and entrepreneurship. We all agree that we have to include learners – as ambassadors of learning – under the slogan: Nothing for them without them! Last but not least, topics like these attract the media! Last year we tried to offer answers to the question "What?" This year we tried to build on last year's findings with the addition of answers to the question "How?" Would you like to know what we achieved? You can read something about it on the EPALE website and blogs. More information will be available in the EAAL project e-newsletter, which you can expect in the first half of September. Zvonka Pangerc Pahernik, MSc (zvonka.pangerc@acs.si), SIAE Study visits to the SIAE During this year's LLW we were visited by Learning Festival coordinators from Estonia. Seven colleagues from various Estonian educational institutions spent four varied and interesting days with us. They experienced three of our LLW joint actions: Learning and Culture Hand in Hand, Learning Parades and Handwriting Is Cool. The first, on the Tuesday, at the round-table "Singing to a Recipe", the second at Learning Parades in Kranj, Postojna and Nova Gorica, and the third with PUM participants in Celje (Zavod Salesianum, PUM Celje) and with a visit from the Minister of Education, Science and Sport, Maja Brenčič Makovec. Our Estonian visitors spent the last day of their visit, the Friday, at the SIAE, where we introduced them to our centre and its work. They left Slovenia satisfied and full of new ideas which they will now try and put into practice in their own country. Shortly after their departure, we were visited by colleagues from Macedonia. Between 23 and 27 May staff from the Adult Education Centre in Skopje, Macedonia's equivalent of our SIAE, took part in a programme we organised for them. They were particularly interested in our system for the validation of non-formal and informal learning, the institutions that carry out validation, and the challenges faced by providers. We therefore offered them a presentation of our activities by organisations working in these fields. We invited participants to share with us the experiences they have gained in the process of obtaining NVQs. We also met Maryan Antich, a migrant from Macedonia who has been living and working in Slovenia for ten years. Maryan is also an SIAE award winner who has himself obtained a number of NVQs and today also works as a practical NVQ provider. The programme offered our colleagues from Macedonia some insight into the theoretical and practical aspects of the validation of learning and provided them with a basis for the preparation of their own model of validation of qualifications in their own country. This was confirmed by the satisfaction of the participants with what they saw. Darijan Novak (darijan.novak@acs.si) and Simona Kavčič (simona.kavcic@acs.si), SIAE Three successful events as part of the international EBSN conference in Slovenia: the closing EAAL event, the EBSN general assembly and the EBSN annual conference The European Basic Skills Network (EBSN) held its general assembly and annual conference in Ljubljana at the beginning of June. The closing event of the EAAL project 2016 was also included in the programme in cooperation with the SIAE and the MESS. The two-day event, the theme of which was National Policy – Local Implementation, was attended by 30 participants from Slovenia and a further 61 from 21 different countries. The event was given particular international and national importance by the presence of Slovenia's education minister Maja Makovec Brenčič, the head of the European Commission's vocational training and adult education unit Dana Carmen Bachmann and UNESCO representative Ulrike Hanemann, who opened the international conference with keynote addresses. Slovenia's education minister told us, among other things, that surveys such as PIAAC serve as a mirror and set us new challenges in the development of skills. The EC's representative presented the council's new resolution in the context of the New Skills Agenda for Europe, which focuses on the development of adult skills. We listened with great interest to the Skills Guarantee, which will be aimed at adults without secondary school qualifications and in the context of which they will be able to develop various basic skills (literacy, numeracy and digital skills) to secondary school level. The UNESCO representative talked about UNESCO's global targets up to 2030, which are particularly aimed at vulnerable groups and, through an action plan, envisage ambitious goals: guaranteeing basic education for all children and young people and a significant proportion of adults by 2030. From the national point of view, Zvonka Pangerc Pahernik (SIAE) presented Slovenia's perspective on the implementation of EAAL, which was the starting point for a round-table of local coordinators of Promoting Adult Skills (PAS) events. Slovenian organisers of these events presented their findings and recommendations in an interesting and dynamic panel that will be described in more detail in the e-newsletter of the EAAL project. They reported on practical activities at the local level and reflected the potential for these and similar institutions to work as a contact point and driving force for all those who wish to change their socio-economic position for the better. And although the events were aimed at vulnerable groups of the population, their contents speak to all of us! The round-table of national EAAL coordinators from the countries of South Eastern Europe was attended by representatives of two coordinators – from Croatia and Montenegro – the EPALE coordinator from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and two representatives of Slovenia's MESS. Their task was to define a policy for the promotion of the development of basic skills and challenges at the national level. They also touched on the support potentially available to national efforts from the European Commission, the EBSN and EPALE, and connections within the region. Watch a video of the round-table. The EBSN general assembly and conference also included presentations of plans for future activities. These included presentations of working groups in six areas of interest (special interest groups). These were conceived as virtual communities for the exchange and development of good practices. The special interest groups will work on the EPALE website and will cover the following fields: basic skills for work, numeracy and financial literacy, digital literacy, family literacy, basic skills for integration. The conference also gave us the opportunity to present the development and achievements of adult literacy in Slovenia. The next EBSN conference will take place next year in Luxembourg. Estera Možina, MA (ester.mozina@acs.si), in Zvonka Pangerc Pahernik, MSc (zvonka.pangerc.pahernik@acs.si), SIAE SIAE staff publish topical content in Elm Darijan Novak of the SIAE has written an article on the international conference Building bridges in adult education for Elm (the European Lifelong Learning Magazine). The conference was organised by the national partners in the field of AE in Slovenia and took place in Ljubljana in December last year. The conference was designed to provide a review of the current situation in AE in the countries of the former Yugoslavia and offer an opportunity to exchange experiences and study opportunities for connection and cooperation. Conference participants included AE stakeholders from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, Macedonia, Kosovo, Serbia and Slovenia. As well as describing the exchange of experiences and the study of opportunities for connection and cooperation, the article offers brief presentations of the content and results of the event. "Existing systems produce existing results. If we want something different, we have to change the system." This was one of the conclusions of the conference, which all of us would like to see become a regular event. The outlook is positive, since our Bosnian colleagues are planning to organise the next edition in Mostar in the autumn. "Validation of refugees' prior learning is an identity question, making their competences and culture 'visible' in the new home country," argues Dr Natalija Vrečer of the SIAE, the author of an article entitled Validation is a question of identity – political and economic refugees in Slovenia for the Elm e-magazine. Some refugees had to flee in haste in order to save their lives, and some were not able to bring their documents, certificates and diplomas with them. The inclusion of these refugees into the process of identification, validation and recognition of formal, non-formal and informal learning provides them with recognition of their knowledge, competence and skills. Mateja Pečar (mateja.pecar@acs.si), SIAE PUM-O programme relaunched in spring The public programme of non-formal education for young adults known as Project Learning for Young Adults (PUM-O) has been included in the new financial perspective in the Operational Programme of European cohesion policy 2014–2020. The programme is designed to empower young adults aged 15–26 who have abandoned education and are not in employment and was prepared by the SIAE. Although funding for the programme was agreed in October 2015, there were difficulties relating to the guaranteeing of conditions for the payment of funds for the implementation of the programme. Fortunately these have been resolved, with the result that in May this year the first organisations had already begun implementing the PUM­O programme, while the last was in July. The fundamental purpose of the programme is to develop the potentials of programme participants for successful inclusion in education leading to a qualification, the development of vocational identity, successful entry into the labour market and successful social integration. We are therefore very happy that PUM-O is active once again! Simona Kavčič (simona.kavcic@acs.si), SIAE Introducing our new EPALE coordinator The spring also brought a new colleague to EPALE – the Electronic Platform for Adult Learning in Europe. Since the beginning of the month, Maruša Bajt has been the national coordinator for EPALE Slovenia at CMEPIUS. The previous coordinator, Ajda Turk, worked extremely effectively with several key actors in AE and laid excellent foundations for further work on EPALE. Since she now heads off to face new challenges, in which we wish her every success, her work will be continued by Maruša. If you need to contact EPALE Slovenia, you will find Maruša at marusa.bajt@cmepius.si. She is looking forward to working with you! Simona Kavčič (simona.kavcic@acs.si), SIAE Regional EPALE conference in Makarska An exchange of good practices, ideas, knowledge and experience, along with cooperation and interconnection. This is the mission of EPALE, which aims to offer various stakeholders in AE a place to come together and the opportunity to create new partnerships. This was also the aim of the 4th International Andragogical Symposium in Makarska (Croatia), organised by the National Support Services for EPALE in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia: to bring together various actors in AE. The topic of the three-day symposium was the present state of the management of AE providers, with an emphasis on the use of ICT tools in the education process and institutional project management. The title of the symposium was, in fact, Management of Adult Education Providers. Attending the conference alongside representatives of the national coordinators of EPALE Slovenia were members of ten other Slovenian organisations and institutions, including colleagues from the SIAE, which is the main partner of EPALE Slovenia. Zvonka Pangerc Pahernik talked about activities within the successful EAAL project in Slovenia, where we are working to raise public awareness of the importance and ubiquity of AE and lifelong learning, and the opportunities available to the adult population. Together with Brigita Kruder from the Slovenska Bistrica Adult Education Centre, she offered a presentation of the successful cooperation of a national coordinator and local provider. There were, of course, many other speakers over the course of the three days of the symposium. For more details about the programme and the event, click here. Simona Kavčič (simona.kavcic@acs.si), SIAE EPALE webinars – An opportunity to promote your organisation In February we held the first EPALE webinar with the title An opportunity to promote your organisation. Together with individuals from a wide variety of institutions – societies, associations, technical colleges, AE institutions, educational centres and other public institutions – we looked at how organisations can use the online platform to promote their work, their values, the projects they run and more besides. The purpose of the webinar was to present EPALE to educational institutions from the point of view of the promotion of their own activities. We hope that in the future this type of promotion will actually take place and that EPALE will start to function as an exchange of experiences, knowledge and good practices – and that positive stories from Slovenia will also be recognised in other countries. We firmly believe that new, high-quality project proposals and new product partnerships can arise from activities of this kind. In early March 2016 we held a second webinar called How to write and publish content on EPALE. We presented the key characteristics of EPALE and the rules of writing online, and gave a demonstration of how to publish content on the website. In early July we ran a third webinar called How to prepare and publish content on EPALE. This was aimed at new (and old) users of the platform who were interested in learning how to prepare and publish content on the platform (or simply refresh their knowledge). We hope to continue to offer help to our users by means of webinars in the future. Maruša Bajt (marusa.bajt@cmepius.si), CMEPIUS Breakfast with EPALE at Slovenska Bistrica Adult Education Centre In cooperation with CMEPIUS (The Centre of the Republic of Slovenia for Mobility and European Educational and Training Programmes), we organised morning refreshment for mind and body at Slovenska Bistrica Adult Education Centre (LUSB), in the form of an event we called "Breakfast with EPALE". This presentation of EPALE took place on Tuesday, 22 March 2016. Ajda Turk, the former national coordinator for EPALE Slovenia, offered a detailed and exhaustive presentation of the opportunities offered by the use of the largest base of knowledge and information collected in one place. Participants from the field of education were above all interested in how they could use EPALE to disseminate the results of projects and find partners throughout Europe. Representatives of the business and enterprise sector, on the other hand, were interested in whether they would find the necessary information on the platform, and also material for the training of their employees. We devoted particular attention to opportunities for active participation in shaping content on the platform. Ajda showed examples of blogs and themed discussions. For my part, as a member of the expert group, I talked about my own experiences using the platform. I encouraged participants to join the community and emphasised the support provided by the national coordinator. In an age in which we are flooded with information, a lot of time and energy is needed to find the right information. But just a few clicks enable us to select what we need, be it information or locally produced, high-quality food. We ordered our EPALE breakfast from the "online market" Jem domače (Eat Local), in this way underlining the fact that modern technologies do not necessarily mean a poorer quality of life. We used biodegradable cutlery and tableware, which meant that the event had only positive effects, both for the participants, who gained new knowledge, and for the environment, since Breakfast with EPALE only produced organic, 100% biodegradable waste. The second part of the event saw the 20 participants joined by representatives of the media for the screening of a promotional film about EPALE. The aspects they found most interesting were the size of the platform and its multilingual character. As well as the electronic platform for adult learning itself, we offered the media a presentation of the projects we are currently preparing in the municipality of Slovenska Bistrica. The event ended with an invitation to LLW, which we will be organising in Slovenska Bistrica for the twentieth year in a row. Once again this year we will be running a Prize Competition, and journalists were particularly interested in knowing whether they can count on there being interesting events such as "talks about the future". We concluded with the promise that an interesting "lifelong learning flavoured" May awaits us once again this year. Brigita Kruder, MA (brigita.kruder@lu-sb.si), LUSB We are proud of the Slovenian version of the Manifesto for Adult Learning We members of the EAEA are committed advocates of AE, particularly of non-formal learning and education, and are therefore aware of the importance of raising awareness among all target groups. To this end the EAEA has recently published its Manifesto for Adult Learning in the 21st Century, which it describes on its website as a tool for change. The document sets objectives for creating a Learning Europe that is able to tackle the future positively and with all necessary skills, knowledge and competences. The EAEA Manifesto is targeted at European, national and regional policymakers and aims to raise their awareness about the different dimensions of adult learning and the benefits it can bring to the life and work of learners. The Manifesto has been received with enthusiasm in Slovenia. We have translated it and added Slovenian contributions and stories from learners. On our website you will find the following: . the English version of the Manifesto for Adult Learning in the 21st Century and a leaflet with the same title; and . the Slovenian version of the Manifesto (Manifest za učenje odraslih v 21. stoletju) and a leaflet with the same title. We have already given a copy of the longer version of the Manifesto to a key figure in Slovenia's education system – education minister Maja Makovec Brenčič, who met members of the EAEA Executive Board and representatives of the SIAE on Friday, 19 February. The minister expressed her support for the Manifesto and, invited by the EAEA secretary to support AE and lifelong learning at the spring meeting of European education ministers, she assured us that we had her vote. She also expressed her enthusiasm at the idea of holding a Year of Adult Learning in Europe next year at both the European and national levels, and promised the Ministry's cooperation, though in close association with the SIAE. For more details of the meeting with the minister, visit the EAEA website. Zvonka Pangerc Pahernik, MSc (zvonka.pangerc@acs.si), SIAE Basic School for Adults: Portrait and Mission published in the SIAE online collection The publication Basic School for Adults: Portrait and Mission came about as the result of the project Evaluation of the Basic School for Adults (BSA) Programme, a collaboration between the SIAE and the National Education Institute which took place between 2011 and 2013. The publication is conceived as a monograph that goes beyond the mere facts and findings of an evaluation report and offers a theoretically and professionally carefully considered view of the basic school for adults programme as it exists today, and a reflection on its role and mission in the future. In our evaluation of the programme and the preparation of the publication, we sought an answer to the fundamental question of why the BSA programme has not been sufficiently successful and effective, despite being specifically designed for adults. As a result, despite its somewhat later publication, the work is still extremely relevant. The publication consists of nine articles that complement each other logically in that they shed light on the issues from a variety of viewpoints. The articles address the history of the programme and the design and realisation of the current BSA curriculum, which includes both analysis of the conditions of work in the BSA programme and a many-sided analysis of the quality and methods of implementation of the basic education for adults programme, and of the effects of implementation of the programme. A particular value is given to the articles by the interpretation of the programme evaluation supplied by providers of basic education for adults and adult participants in the basic education programme. The publication, which unfortunately is only available in Slovenian, may be consulted here. Estera Možina, MA (ester.mozina@acs.si), SIAE Two publications mark the end of the InfoNet project The conclusion of the InfoNet project at the end of last year was marked by two publications. The work carried out in the three years of the third phase of the project (2012–2015) is evaluated in the final brochure on the work and results of InfoNet. The brochure begins with an account of the history, idea and structure of the project. This is followed by a piece on correspondents and the journalistic style used in the articles. The second part of the brochure contains brief summary reports on quality management and evaluation, dissemination and readership. The publication ends with a summary of everything we have learned over the course of the InfoNet project and a presentation of new challenges. The second interesting and useful publication is entitled Writing for Europe. In it, InfoNet has brought together advice and guidelines for writing articles about AE for a European audience – the fruit of experience gained during the European InfoNet Adult Education 2005–2015 project. The advice was selected by the InfoNet editorial board. Among other things, the brochure offers advice on how to identify your target group, how to write interesting and topical articles for your target group, and how to use social media. With the end of the funding period for the European Union's Lifelong Learning Programme, InfoNet has taken its leave after ten years. Having merged with the Finnish magazine Lifelong Learning in Europe (LLinE) it is now facing a new challenge: publication of a new joint AE magazine called Elm (European Lifelong Learning Magazine) has already begun. We invite our readers to browse the magazine for topical articles from the field of adult learning and education! Mateja Pečar (mateja-.pecar@acs.si), SIAE Trends Shaping Education 2016 A review of key economic, social, demographic and technological trends and questions regarding their potential impact on education. This is what is contained in a new publication from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) called Trends Shaping Education 2016. It focuses on trends that are shaping the future of education and offers policymakers, researchers, educators and other professionals a useful resource for international comparisons regarding the formation of trends in education. The publication is available online here. Simona Kavčič (simona.kavcic@acs.si), SIAE Quality and change in teacher education The differences new reforms of teacher education make to curriculum, teaching and assessment; the issue of the quality of teacher education and issues in the implementation of change in teacher education; the historical context, policies and practices of teacher education. These are the main topics of the publication Quality and Change in Teacher Education: Western and Chinese Perspectives, which addresses the key issues of quality and change in teacher education and the work of educators at the international level. The work is particularly interesting to those who are interested in the issues of quality, change and forward movement in teacher education within the context of policy reforms. You can read more about the publication here. Adapted by: Simona Kavčič (simona.kavcic@acs.si), SIAE Strategy on the development and use of skills in Slovenia – part of Slovenia's long-term development vision The Government of the Republic of Slovenia has accepted the opportunity offered and, in 2016, has embarked on a project to draft a national strategy for the development and use of skills which follows the methodology of the OECD and takes place under its aegis, and is due to be completed in early 2017. The project is coordinated in Slovenia by the MESS and coincides chronologically with the preparation of a national development strategy up to 2050. The draft strategy is designed to represent one of the five pillars of the latter, comprising knowledge and skills, and coincides with the publication of the results of three international studies in which Slovenia has also participated: the PISA international student assessment programme, the TIMSS study of trends in mathematics and sciences, and the PIAAC survey of adult skills. Comparative studies will contribute key comparative data on the present situation and needs for the development of skills in Slovenia. The main objective of the joint project by the OECD and the Government is a strategic evaluation of the national skills system and the method by which skills are developed and used in Slovenia. Preparation of the strategy, which is taking place in several phases, involves the cooperation of key representatives and stakeholders from participating ministries. Three workshops will be organised this year: the first evaluative workshop took place on 7 April, with SIAE staff among the more than 70 participants. The second, diagnostic workshop took place at the beginning of July. A third workshop will follow in October. The overall result of all these processes and analysis of research data and other key statistical development data will be a final assessment report on the situation in the field of the development and use of skills in Slovenia, which will be published by the OECD in the first quarter of 2017. With the drafting of a strategy for the development and use of skills, a unique opportunity is also opening up for Slovenia in the field of AE, since this is now included as a field of equal importance in the preparation of a long-term development vision. At the SIAE, the lead institution of the consortium that carried out the PIAAC survey in Slovenia, we will be able to contribute key reflections on the future of AE, together with PIAAC researchers, from the point of view of the current state of adult skills and development needs. Estera Možina, MA (ester.mozina@acs.si), SIAE Opportunities for free of charge Slovenian learning at AZM -LU for more than 200 foreigners The Maribor adult education centre Andragoški zavod Maribor – Ljudska univerza (AZM -LU) is a selected provider of Slovenian language courses in north-eastern Slovenia under the publicly recognised programmes Early Integration of Migrants (EIM) and Slovenian as Second and Foreign Language (SSFL). After successfully participating in a call for tenders published by the Ministry of the Interior, we began providing the programmes in December 2015. There has been a distinct interest in the EIM programme and we already have more than 200 participants. The ultimate objective of most participants is to pass the Slovenian language exam at the basic level. Programme participants can sit the exam free of charge at AZM -LU. Participants in the EIM and SSFL programmes are also invited to participate in other existing programmes and activities at AZM -LU. They can strengthen their knowledge by visiting our Centre for Self-Directed Learning, take part in a study circle or participate in activities organised by our Centre for Intergenerational Learning. Illiterate persons can enrol in a basic literacy class at the Elementary School for Adults, which operates within AZM -LU. All participants in the EIM and SSFL programmes can use the services of our Adult Education Information and Guidance Centre and take advantage of support activities for the unemployed, since we are very aware that foreigners have many questions regarding procedures for the recognition and validation of learning obtained in other countries and about possibilities for education in general. In view of the current social situation, immigration-related topics are receiving considerable media attention. On February 25 2016 two of our colleagues were guests on the television programme Tele M on local channel TV Maribor. The focus was on integration, which gave our colleagues the opportunity to talk about AZM ­LU's positive experiences with Slovenian language courses for foreigners. A number of university students have also attended the EIM programme as observers. We also participated in LLW 2016, in which context we have invited our foreign learners to take part in a new initiative called "Handwriting Is Cool". It probably goes without saying that knowledge of the Slovenian language is necessary for successful integration into Slovenian society. As AZM -LU provides education, guidance and learning opportunities for adults, it is our wish not only to help foreigners improve their knowledge of Slovenian but also to aid them with social integration into the local community. On May 12 we were visited by a delegation from the Serbian interior ministry tasked with implementing similar integration programmes in Serbia. You can read more about learning opportunities provided by AZM -LU in this longer article (in Slovenian). Neža Bojnec Naterer, Alenka Sagadin Mlinarič (info@azm-lu.si), AZM -LU. Mentoring programme uniting all generations Young people are faced with new challenges and opportunities on a daily basis but often do not know how to make the best of them. They need the advice of wiser, more experienced adults who have been on that road before – to show them the right way. Often, however, they do not know who to turn to. In 2013 the non­governmental organisation Zavod Ypsilon launched a mentoring programme designed to help young adults gain experience, learn from experts and grow both professionally and personally. We want to provide young, proactive people aged 15–30 with access to professionals who will become their mentors. We can help them so much by showing them the right way, guiding them and helping them succeed. Mentors and mentees can connect on the platform www.mentorstvo.si. We raised the profile of the mentoring programme with the campaign "Slovenia – A Mentoring Country", which we ran as part of the national LLW campaign on Thursday, 26 May. The aim of the campaign is to connect young adults with mentors from different fields of expertise (politics, sports, culture, the business enterprise sector, art, etc.). If you have any questions, get in touch with Sabina Đuvelek, programme director of Zavod Ypsilon and initiator of the "Slovenia – mentoring country" campaign. (T: 040 810 345, E: sabina.duvelek@ypsilon.si). Karin Lisjak and Sabina Đuvelek (sabina.duvelek@ypsilon.si), Ypsilon Institute Lifelong Learning Centre at the University of Primorska Faculty of Education At the start of 2016 the University of Primorska Faculty of Education (UP PEF) set itself the goal of highlighting the importance of lifelong learning and intensifying its activities in the relevant fields. A significant step in this direction was taken with the establishment of the Lifelong Learning Centre (LLC), which opened its doors to the public in early spring. UP PEF has already distinguished itself by the vast variety of its study programmes and its close cooperation with professionals and scholars from different fields. By drawing on these resources the faculty is able to provide targeted training programmes for different age groups. Within the LLC, an Alumni Club was established to bring together graduates from all levels of studies at the UP PEF. The LLC also offers refresher courses aimed at upgrading the skills and expertise of professionals working in the education and training field. Plans are afoot to broaden the range of lectures, workshops and seminars provided by the LLC. As well as offering a vast choice of training opportunities, the LLC will also provide advisory services to those who need information on available study programmes or assistance in choosing the studies that are right for them or continuing previous studies. The LLC will also cater for students interested in enrolling in "ABC Faculty" or "Blue Faculty" programmes. The former offers lectures to elementary school students (years three to nine), while the latter is aimed at students aged 40 and over (its name in Slovenian, Modra fakulteta, is a play on words since modra means both "blue" and "wise"). Nina Krmac Dr (nina.krmac@pef.upr.si), UP PEF The future of adult education in Bela Krajina At the initiative of the mayor of Črnomelj, as part of the celebration of the municipal holiday, a conference on the topic "The Future of Adult Education in Bela Krajina” was held in Črnomelj in February 2016. The conference was attended by representatives of decision-makers (a department head from the MESS and the mayors of all the municipalities of the Bela Krajina region), employers, employer associations (Chamber of Crafts and Small Business, Chamber of Commerce and Industry), development institutions of the Dolenjska and Bela Krajina regions, professional organisations (SIAE), peer and partner organisations (Association of Slovenian Adult Education Centres, Črnomelj secondary school, the Youth Centre, social services centres and administrative units) and the media. The purpose of the conference was to inform all stakeholders about AE in Bela Krajina, exchange information, views and experience, promote integration and cooperation among partners and identify educational needs in the local environment as a contribution to the development plan of the Črnomelj Institute for Education and Culture (ZIK Črnomelj). The conclusion of the conference was that it is necessary to work in a coordinated manner to realise development goals in Bela Krajina. The particular challenges facing the local environment – such as an exceptionally high unemployment rate, economic underdevelopment and low average educational attainment – must be transformed into development opportunities. Nada Žagar (nada.zagar@zik-crnomelj.si), ZIK Črnomelj Guidance in the workplace – the experience of AZM -LU In 2015 the Maribor adult education centre AZM -LU successfully participated in a call for tenders jointly published by the MESS and the European Social Fund. Our project document included, among other activities, guidance in the workplace at Mariborska Livarna Maribor (MLM), a large firm with more than 500 employees. Over the course of the seven-month project we ran 13 guidance sessions, held an introductory meeting with the MLM human resources office and held a special meeting with managers to plan referrals of employees aged over 45 whose educational qualifications are equivalent to four years of secondary education or less. A total of 32 employees (24 men, or 75% and 8 women, or 25%), took part in the guidance process. The average age of participating employees was 49,19 years. Special attention was paid to motivating employees to develop IT skills. We assessed their previous non-formal learning and issued them with a written opinion and on their computer skills and competences. We also carried out an in-depth evaluation of the project activities. The final evaluation meeting revealed that 15 of the 32 employees who participated in the guidance process also took part in some educational activity aimed at personal growth and development. This means that 47% of them were already participating actively in education during the guidance process. All participating employees were of the opinion that guidance in the workplace was beneficial to them, and the majority felt that guidance activities should be offered free of charge to MLM employees on a continuous basis. They also identified the obstacles preventing them from taking part in education and highlighted areas where information and guidance could be useful to them in professional as well as personal life. Guidance in the workplace also received attention in the media. Since the project was jointly funded by Slovenia's MESS and the European Social Fund, all the activities were free of charge. A shorter version of this article (in Slovenian) was also published on EPALE. You can read more about it in this longer article (in Slovenian). Alenka Sagadin Mlinarič (alenka.sagadin.mlinaric@azm-lu.si), AMZ -LU