Winter 2017 Dear readers, please find attached the Winter edition of the online bulletin e-Novičke 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 second half of the year 2017. We wish you pleasant reading and are sending belated good wishes for the year 2018 – may it be a prosperous one in all regards. Ana Peklenik, editor, and Zvonka Pangerc Pahernik, MSc, editor-in-chief. CONTENT SIAE PROJECTS AND EVENTS ............................................................................................................ 3 SIAE e-Novičke makeover ........................................................................................................................... 3 21th Adult Education Colloquium and the closing event of the EAAL project ............................................ 3 An important milestone in the implementation of EAAL project ................................................................ 4 The traditional meeting of adult educators inspired us and brought us closer together ............................... 5 Call for tenders for Awards for promotion of adult learning and knowledge 2017 ..................................... 6 A reflection on the first preparations for the Lifelong Learning Week 2018 ............................................... 7 More funds for realisation of the Annual Adult Education Programme in the next year ............................. 8 In 2017, acquisition of the green OQEA logo in accordance with the new Regulation ............................... 9 ESF project Professional support to information and guidance activities and validation of non-formal knowledge................................................................................................................................................... 10 Presentation of a new tool “Education&Skills Online” .............................................................................. 10 Successful realisation of the event Challenges of evaluating non-formal knowledge of the employed ..... 11 New website on literacy ............................................................................................................................. 11 Results of the Adult Education Survey for 2016 ........................................................................................ 12 Use of the VoxVote web-based system for interactive involvement of participants .................................. 12 INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION ................................................................................................... 13 EAEA 2017 General Meeting and EAEA Annual Conference “Engaging new learners” ......................... 13 Building Bridges in Adult Education conference in Macedonia ................................................................ 15 DIMA – Final thoughts .............................................................................................................................. 16 CONFINTEA VI: Midterm Review 2017: Vision towards 2030 ............................................................... 17 Participation at a workshop in the scope of the international project “RESHAPE the future” .................. 18 Successful final conference of the GOAL project ...................................................................................... 19 RELEVANT PUBLICATIONS............................................................................................................... 20 Publication of the OECD’s Economic Survey of Slovenia 2017 ............................................................... 20 EPALE ....................................................................................................................................................... 20 Second regional EPALE conference in Banja Luka ................................................................................... 20 Searching for partners and organisation for international collaboration .................................................... 21 SLOVENIAN ADULT EDUCATION SCENE ...................................................................................... 22 Snapshots from the Study Circles’ Caravan in Idrija ................................................................................. 22 15 years of guidance and orientation for adult learners in the Primorje-Notranjska region, in Zasavje and in Jesenice ................................................................................................................................................... 23 Pink knits in Kočevje 2017 ......................................................................................................................... 24 Cultural Bazaar in the Region .................................................................................................................... 25 Abbreviations AE: Adult Education AEC: Adult Education Centre 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 PIAAC: Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competences SIAE: Slovenian Institute for Adult Education Rezultat iskanja slik za website logo http://www.acs.si/index.cgi?lang=4 https://www.facebook.com/AndragoskiCenterSlovenije https://www.facebook.com/TedenVsezivljenjskegaUcenja https://www.facebook.com/ACS.knjiznica http://twitter.com/TVUslo SIAE PROJECTS AND EVENTS SIAE e-Novičke makeover In 2010, the SIAE bulletin e-Novičke replaced the printed version of SIAE bulletin Novičke, which has been around in one form or another since 1992. To adapt our bulletin to modern times and new technologies, we now made it available on a special website. We chose a reader-friendly format that allows you to move dynamically between articles, select sections that are of more interest to you and leave comments. You will also be able to share the articles on social networks. We welcome you to the new e-Novičke website, where the Summer edition will be available in English as well. Ana Peklenik (ana.peklenik@SIAE.si), SIAE 21th Adult Education Colloquium and the closing event of the EAAL project On 3 and 4 October 2017, the 21st Adult Education Colloquium and the final event of the EAAL project took place in Ajdovščina, organised in close collaboration by the SIAE and Adult Education Centre (AEC) Ajdovščina. The aim of the event was to underline the role of non-formal education in response to social and climate changes and to present the main conclusions reached by implementation of the Slovenian EAAL 2015–2017 project. The two-day event was attended by around 120 participants from the AEC, MESS representatives and members of various associations and other organisations who work in the field of adult education directly or indirectly, including guests from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ireland, Italy and Serbia. The conference started on 3 October with a morning presentation of good practices of non-formal education on the local level. Ajdovščina AEC presented its numerous current activities in non-formal education, including the Urban Garden project, one of this year’s most successful projects in the scope of the PUM-O (Project Learning for Young Adults) programme. The participants worked in the municipal field actively and with enthusiasm and were involved in processing of the produce into various final products, such as herbal salts, hydrolates, essential oils, etc., while improving their awareness of values such as community learning, friendship and collaboration. Maribor’s Urban Garden was also presented at this occasion as the first certified ecological urban garden in Slovenia that operates according to principles of solidarity economy and participative learning. The morning programme was moderated by Dr Marta Gregorič from the Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana. The afternoon portion, which was the closing event of the EAAL project, began with welcome speeches by Tadej Beočanin, mayor of the Ajdovščina Municipality, Andrej Sotošek, MA, Director of the SIAE, and Elvira Šušmelj, general directress of the Secondary, Higher Vocational and Adult Education Directorate at the MESS. The speeches were followed by a panel discussion with the coordinators of Promoting Adult Skills – Second Round (PASS) events in the scope of the EAAL 2015–2017 project and a presentation of achievements in the field of developing basic skills and other competences within vulnerable groups of adults. Later on, the challenges of the EAAL project for the 2017–2019 period were presented, and the representatives of different sectors and organisations representing the national level shared their opinions. The panel discussion was moderated by Zvonka Pangerc Pahernik, MSc, of the SIAE, who is also the national coordinator of the EAAL project in Slovenia. On the following day, 4 October, the colloquium began with welcome speeches by the hosts, Andrej Sotošek, MA, of the SIAE and Eva Mermolja, directress of the Ajdovščina AEC. Numerous Slovenian and foreign experts presented their conclusions and viewpoints regarding the non-formal education in connection with changes in society and nature. Dr Darja Piciga from the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning talked about the challenges of non-formal education for sustainable adaptation to changes, Andrej Sotošek, MA, drew attention to the ever-changing society and the challenges it creates and Dr Nevenka Bogataj of the SIAE underlined the importance of non-formal education that is flexible enough to efficiently adapt to the challenges brought about by climate change. Dr Tanja Badalič of the Ajdovščina AEC encouraged the participants to reflect upon writing and the messages it carries and Estera Možina, MA, of the SIAE presented the Life Skills for Europe project. We also had the opportunity to hear from our Irish guests – Jimmy Prior and Catherine Aylmer of the Limerick Community Education Network (LCEN) focused on community learning, which they see as a successful way to respond to changing circumstances. The 21th Adult Education Colloquium ended on a high point, with an interview with Ivo Boscarol, director of a successful Slovenian aircraft enterprise, Pipistrel d.o.o., who encouraged creative thinking, lifelong learning and making decisions that will take us higher and higher in life. Sara Bratina (sara.bratina@lu-ajdovscina.si), Ajdovščina AEC An important milestone in the implementation of EAAL project Just before the end of the year, the SIAE completed the third phase of the project Implementation of the European Agenda for Adult Learning (EAAL) in Slovenia. This process has been going on in all EU member states since 2012 in accordance with each subsequent action plan of individual countries and has become firmly entrenched in the Slovenian adult education field. Thanks to the European funds for the Erasmus+ programme and the financial support of the MESS, we were able to develop the concept of Learning Parade (2013–2015), which has become an integral part of the Lifelong Learning week since 2016. This year, the Learning Parade will be held in 15 locations across Slovenia – in addition to the around 9,000 LLW events across the country. We also developed the concept of professional EAAL events – the so called Promoting Adult Skills (PAS) events; we organised 21 of them in 2015, and in the Second Round (so called PASS events) 7 of them in 2016 and also 7 in 2017. This allowed us to realise our aim of organising high-quality meetings of relevant stakeholders at the local and national (inter-sectional) level, where the discussions were focused on enabling educationally disadvantaged groups to acquire basic and other skills. Based on findings and recommendations, we prepared videos and exhibition panels to communicate with these groups. We also did a lot of research at home and visited the Adult Learners' Festival in Ireland coordinated by AONTAS to improve our strategy for raising awareness of the importance and role of adult education. All of the above represents just the tip of the iceberg – to learn about individual activities and their results, please read the project newsletter e-newsletter EAAL and look through the project’s website in the Slovenian or English version. While the European Commission is taking stock of our past actions, our thinking and activities are already in the fourth phase. This phase will continue until the end of 2019 but will progress quickly thanks to the enriched action plan. The overarching goal for the next two years is to spread the Council Recommendation from December 2016 Upskilling Pathways: New Opportunities for Adults and to support its systematic implementation. This way, we will still be focused on encouraging adults with low education/qualifications to participate in adult or lifelong learning and on ensuring higher skill levels of (educationally disadvantaged) adults. During the coming two years, we will raise awareness among the key stakeholders of the existing national measures in the field of education and employment that are already compliant with the above mentioned Recommendation. We will record the situation and analyse the existing processes and projects – focusing on those financed by the European Social Fund, political measures and applicable instruments. We will organise consultation meetings and two conferences for stakeholders from the fields of education, employment and other sectors, which will be included in the analysis of the situation and be used as a basis for conclusions and further measures. We will raise the awareness of the general public through video and audio recordings of exemplary cases of knowledge and skills assessment, offers of adapted, flexible and quality learning programmes, recognition and validation of acquired knowledge and skills, public outreach and consultations and promotion of adult learning. All these steps are defined in the above mentioned Recommendation. The planned activities will go hand in hand and will complement each other, ensuring collaborative learning at national and international levels. Zvonka Pangerc Pahernik, MSc (zvonka.pangerc@SIAE.si), SIAE The traditional meeting of adult educators inspired us and brought us closer together At the Annual Conference on Adult Education (ACAE) 2017 organised at the end of November by SIAE on behalf of the MESS, we experienced an interesting programme. In her welcome speech, the Minister of Education, Science and Sport, Dr Maja Makovec Brenčič, underlined the fact that the event reflected the current situation in adult education politics, professional research and development and practice in Slovenia. As such, it offered an opportunity to familiarise ourselves with the latest activities and their implementation and to meet colleagues from throughout Slovenia in an informal context, as well as associates from other sectors that are more and more closely linked with adult education. In the first part, we listened to two plenary contributions: mag. Boštjan Vasle, director of the Institute of Macroeconomic Analysis and Development, talked about the Strategy for a Long-lived Societyand Katja Kragelj from SIAE talked about the new tool Education&Skills Online. In the following two panel sets, we were presented with two examples of good practice. My personal favourite was the set dedicated to presentations of great local practices. This part of the programme was so full of inspiring words and achievements, of wisdom and visionary ideas and of human compassion that no one was left feeling indifferent. For example, we learned that the Mlinotest company realises they are responsible for developing human resources, but they also know they are not alone in this endeavour. They have allies in the Ajdovščina Municipality and at the Ajdovščina AEC. In addition to its primary mission, the latter has bravely taken on the role of linchpin for the local area, as we can see in the case of excellently realised InCastra, a day dedicated to industry and entrepreneurship in Ajdovščina. This set was entitled Assessment of educational needs in the Ajdovščina Municipality and the participants were Tadej Beočanin, mayor of the Ajdovščina Municipality, Eva Mermolja, of the Ajdovščina AEC, and Ana Furlani, Mlinotest Živilska industrija d.d. Regarding the second set, Process of developing vocational standards for high-tech production – another example of good practice was presented by Polona Trebušak, Zasavje AEC, Dr Slavko Dolinšek, Institute for innovation and development of the University of Ljubljana, Sašo Knez, Aereform d.o.o. from Trbovlje, and Barbara Kunčič Krapež, Institute of the Republic of Slovenia for Vocational Education and Training. We learned what composites are, that people from Zasavje (all “guerrilla fighters” in their own way) are unstoppable when united, that they pave the way for high-tech production and that they are connected in the local and international space and thus create many new jobs for the unemployed. Here, again, the Zasavje AEC played a key role by gathering participants and preparing the training programme (as well as the panel programme). The contribution of the Institute of the Republic of Slovenia for Vocational Education and Training is also more than admirable, as they successfully completed the process for recognition of a new national vocational qualification “Manufacturer of plastic composite products”. These are all tangible facts, stories of success based on “connected hands and brains” that provide progress at all levels. In the afternoon, we worked in two groups. The participants in the first group worked on the definition of activities of different ministries for realisation of the Resolution on the Master Plan for Adult Education in the Republic of Slovenia for 2013–2020 and the Strategy for Long-lived Society. The discussion was moderated by Peter Beltram, MSc and Marija Pukl from the Office of the Prime Minister of RS. In the second group, participants defined the channels for cooperation between educators and other sectors and stakeholders for skills management. The discussion was moderated by Ema Perme from the MESS in collaboration with Katja Kragelj, SIAE. At the consultation, we also marked the 25th anniversary of SIAE and considered the events we organised this year or which we participated in on behalf of Slovenia. We also placed key events on next year’s calendar and invited all stakeholders to make it even fuller. The event ended with the conclusion that we had a productive year, as proven by the content and photographs available on the website of the Annual Conference 2017. Zvonka Pangerc Pahernik, MSc (zvonka.pangerc@SIAE.si), SIAE Call for tenders for Awards for promotion of adult learning and knowledge 2017 The public call for tenders for Awards for promotion of adult learning and knowledge 2017 resulted in 12 proposals of 11 very different candidates in all three categories: awards for individuals, groups and institutions, companies or local communities. The Awards Committee met in mid-December and chose five recipients of the Awards for promotion of adult learning and knowledge. The awards ceremony will take place on 11 May 2018 in Šmarje pri Jelšah as part of the national opening of the Lifelong Learning Week 2018. All the proposals received by the Committee were complete, but they differed in quality and quantity. The proposals for the group and the institutions/companies/local communities categories were especially varied. The candidates differ by gender, age and geographic location as well as their activities. What unites them is that as “ambassadors” of lifelong learning, they reach the largest possible audience. This year, we will learn more about the following award winners. Emilija Milka Erbežnik is a pensioner who defied her poor living conditions and discouraging work environment and created a strength of mind and economic well-being through frugality and constant investments in personal development. Because of her dwarfism, Darja Smrkolj has dealt with prejudices her whole life, which made her fear being among people. She was enrolled into the first workshop by a friend, as she did not have the courage, but in the following five years she participated in more than 500 hours of learning. Minka Kočevar is a chemistry and biology professor with several degrees that is currently looking for a way out of unemployment and works part-time as educator and through membership in various associations, focusing on development of new activities on her family farm and enrichment of the local environment. Interdisciplinary work group “Hiking for people with disabilities and special needs” created a supportive environment for people with disabilities/special needs and enables them to experience the mountains. They developed tools for activation of people with disabilities and special needs and for training of professional associates. The Ajdovščina Municipality allocates a large proportion of its funds to educational programmes and supports new programmes focused on vulnerable groups: the unemployed, the young and the rural population. It set an example for other Municipalities who have yet to recognise the importance of lifelong learning. Every year, the selection leaves us with mixed feelings, as we do not know whether to be happy for those who were chosen or sad for those who were not. As every year, all the candidates deserve to be awarded. Darijan Novak (darijan.novak@SIAE.si), SIAE A reflection on the first preparations for the Lifelong Learning Week 2018 The members of the LLW network from all over Slovenia are glad to have had the chance to start planning this year’s festival of learning at their meeting in the beginning of November 2017. We are especially glad that the results of the Public call for tenders for co-financing of the LLW and the Learning Parade coordination by the MESS were announced already in January, as this financial support has an important impact on the project’s development and motivation of the participating organisers at the local level. At this point, I wish to mention that 10 (out of 45) of last year’s coordinators of the LLW that were not chosen for co-financing but only learned about it after the activities were already underway, still played their role. They financed it by their own funds and in a more limited scope than planned at first – because they simply believe in the mission of the LLW and want to strengthen it in their local environments. We believe that this year, there will be a similar dedication on the part of those who unfortunately did not succeed in getting national financial support for their endeavours. Fotografija osebe TVU - Teden vseživljenjskega učenja. We applaud the quick response of the MESS regarding the co-financing of this year’s festival of learning but still want to appeal to them to increase the budget share for the LLW within the Annual Adult Education Programme, which would also be in line with the desired and actual improvement of quality and quantity performance indicators. The LLW share has not been increased for the past several years and has even slightly decreased compared to the previous year. Some of the most important factors in the development of the LLW are definitely the so called joint actions, which will be organised for the third time in 2018. Active involvement of the meeting participants in the creation of the joint actions shows that the definition of the LLW foci acts as a welcome guideline for development and promotion of the festival of learning. This allows us to affirm some of our long-lasting partnerships while creating new ones – this time related to sustainable development, volunteering, health and the media. At SIAE, we are also excited about the desire of coordinators to host the LLW national opening ceremony – we have letters of intent for local hosts up to 2022; we just have to approve them at the next meeting of the National LLW Committee. We are certain that the organisation of the adult education colloquium, the main professional event of the LLW, will have a similar future. The 2017 Adult Education Colloquium (described earlier) set very high standards and was proof that a local organiser can greatly enrich the programme of this annual professional contemplation with its content and partners and thus strengthen its role as a connector and leader in the local area. We already received applications for AEC co-organisers for 2018 and 2019. We are looking forward to the 23rd edition of the LLW, which will start on 11 May and last until the end of June 2018. At the opening ceremony, we are expecting guests from abroad (e.g. from The Netherlands and Hungary). This event will be the introduction to a series of thousands of events across the country. We will keep you informed about 2018 LLW highlights in our bulletin’s Summer edition. Zvonka Pangerc Pahernik, MSc (zvonka.pangerc@SIAE.si), SIAE More funds for realisation of the Annual Adult Education Programme in the next year At its 145th meeting, the Government of the RS approved the Annual Adult Education Programme (AAEP) for the year 2018. It was prepared by the MESS, Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food, Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Public Administration, Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Justice. The AAEP takes into account the aims of the Resolution on the Adult Education Master Plan of the Republic of Slovenia for the period 2013–2020. These are to raise the educational level of the population and the level of basic skills; to increase the employability of the active population; to improve learning opportunities and learning participation and to improve general education. The AAEP defines the educational programmes and other activities for each Ministry, which will be financed from the national budget. The programme includes education, upskilling, training and learning of people that have completed primary school. It limits the acquisition of publicly-recognised education to education of adults within the programmes of elementary, vocational, secondary and higher education. In 2018, EUR 82,728,952.78 will be ensured for realisation of the AAEP. All the involved ministries will contribute EUR 10,937,612.08 more than in 2017, EUR 7,380,790.08 of which will come from the fund for the European Cohesion Policy. Source: Official website of the Government of the RS Adapted by: Nevenka Kocijančič (nevenka.kocijancic@SIAE.si), SIAE In 2017, acquisition of the green OQEA logo in accordance with the new Regulation In 2017, the process to obtain the green OQEA logo was for the first time carried out in accordance with the new Regulations for Acquisition and Extension of the Right to Use the OQEA logo, which entered into force on 1 January 2016. At the beginning of February, we published a public invitation, inviting educational institutions to apply for the green OQEA logo or for the extension of its use. For the first time, the organisations submitted the applications for acquisition of extension of the right to use the logo using a special web application. The representatives of the organisations were shown how to use the application in October 2016, at an educational meeting at SIAE. By 15 March, the deadline for submission of applications, we received the applications of 22 organisations. During the preparation of applications, we helped the organisation (mostly via telephone or via e-mail) prepare and select suitable documentation to acquire/extend the right to use the logo and also use the new web app. The SIAE Commission for Acquisition and Extension of the Right to use the Green OQAE logo assessed the application based on the standards and criteria defined in the Regulations. Altogether, the Commission issued 18 decisions to extend or grant this right (one organisation newly acquired the right to use the logo, other successfully extended their rights) and 4 decisions to terminate the right to use the green OQAE logo. Jasmina Orešnik Cunja (jasmina.oresnik.cunja@SIAE.si), SIAE ESF project Professional support to information and guidance activities and validation of non-formal knowledge. Within the ESF project Professional Support of information advisory activities and the evaluation informally acquired knowledge 2016–2021, the SIAE offers providers from all over Slovenia, selected in a Public call to tender for financing the activities of informing and consulting and for the identification and evaluation of informally acquired knowledge from 2016 to 2022. They have been carrying out their activities since June 2016 and focusing on less educated employees and companies. During the project they will include at least 20,000 employees in the consultations. Within the activities, according to the public tender, employees can receive free support in planning their personal and career path by choosing a suitable education or training, determine their already acquired knowledge, monitor their progress throughout the education and support at the end of it. Using the online application, which was developed at the SIAE for the purpose of monitoring activities of the providers, we can monitor their activities, but we are also able to access the statistics on participants and the content of the consultations. Within a year of the implementation of this activity, the providers recorded 4,457 participants with the application (63% women and 59.2% older than 45 years), for which 6,687 services were provided (6,113 advisory proceedings and 574 proceedings of evaluating informally acquired knowledge). The counsellors help employees explore their interests and options, they make them aware of their knowledge, skills and competences, which they already possess, and create a (electronic) portfolio about their achievements which helps them become more motivated for participating in further education and training or career change or upgrade. The results of the 3,618 finished counselling services (finished process of guidance, orientation and evaluation of non-formal and informal knowledge) show that most (69.5%) resulted in enrolments in programmes for acquisition of general and vocational competences, followed by those that resulted in enrolment in publicly recognised programmes for acquisition of general competences (17.5%). The SIAE is very interested in the progress of this project. In the future, will the employed decide for different types of education? In addition to participation, we also analyse other results and effects of counselling on the employed. Urška Pavlič (urska.pavlic@SIAE.si), SIAE Presentation of a new tool “Education&Skills Online” In June 2017, we successfully realised the pilot testing of a new tool Education&Skills Online with the help of 21 educational institutions and their partners, 8 regional offices of the Employment Service of Slovenia and 4 city libraries. We met the required quota of pilot questionnaires (1,200) and ensured that the tool is valid and standardised for Slovenia. This would not be possible without the collaboration of above mentioned institutions, which deserve our sincere thanks. The tool Education&Skills Online was presented to the professional public at the Annual Conference on Adult Education 2017. Katja Kragelj (katja.kragelj@SIAE.si), SIAE Successful realisation of the event Challenges of evaluating non-formal knowledge of the employed As part the ESF project Expert support for the guidance and orientation activities and evaluation of non-formal education 2016–2021, the SIAE organised a professional event entitled Challenges of evaluating non-formal knowledge of the employed, which was held on 19 October 2017 at the MESS. The event aimed at the professional public and was attended by experts and practitioners from the field of adult education, representatives of the economy and ministries and the representatives of the providers selected at the Public call for tenders for financing guidance and orientation activities and evaluation of non-formal education 2016–2022. The aim of the event was mutual sharing of information on existing practices, definition of open professional issues in the field of evaluation of non-formal and informal knowledge and development of possible solutions. The event concluded with concrete proposals, taking into account the professional, practical and systematic points of view, for following areas of evaluation of non-formal knowledge of the employed. Evaluation procedure Marketing Participation of all stakeholders Tools Qualifications of counsellors All the contributions from the event are published at the project website. Urška Pavlič (urska.pavlic@SIAE.si), SIAE New website on literacy We are happy to be able to invite you to visit our new website on adult literacyin Slovenianand in English. Since its foundation in 1991, SIAE has been actively involved in the adult literacy field as a part of development, research and education. The results of our work are used by individuals and institutions in Slovenia and abroad, so we wanted to present them to the public in a transparent way. We found the opportunity to do so in the scope of the ESF project Expert support for development of basic and vocational competences 2016–2022. At the new website, you can find several professional and scientific contributions by various experts in the field of literacy and reports from educational and professional events offering different views on literacy. The web page offers a wealth of information on finished and ongoing Slovenian and international SIAE projects focused on adult literacy, including the details on the PIAAC survey of adult competences, which was realised in Slovenia in the 2013–2016 period, and an overview of new activities and tasks in the scope of the above mentioned ESF project. When planning and implementing the education and training of adults in the field of literacy, you can gain assistance by using the educational and learning resources collected, presented and available on the website (libraries with descriptors, educational films, audio documents, etc.) that resulted from research and development projects in the field of adult literacy and are freely available to the public. We also publish the dates of interesting upcoming events in the field of adult education in Slovenia and abroad. Diana Volčjak (diana.volcjak@SIAE.si), SIAE Results of the Adult Education Survey for 2016 The Statistical Office of the RS published the results of the Adult Education Survey for 2016. The aim of this international survey was to find out what percentage of adults participate in any form of education (formal, non-formal and informal), in what ways they acquire new knowledge and what is their relationship with education – their reasons for participating (or not), their satisfaction with the education, their self-assessment of knowledge of foreign languages and computer use and their participation in social and cultural activities. The Survey was carried out for the first time in 2007 and for the second time in 2011 using the population between 25 and 64 years of age. The latest Survey included the population between the ages of 18 and 69. In Slovenia, in the last 12 months before answering the questionnaire, 47% of adults between 18 and 69 years of age participated in (formal and/or non-formal) education. The percentage of women participating in educational processes was slightly higher (48.8%) than the percentage of men (44.9%). All in all, 11.1% of adults participated in formal education, more specifically 10.3% of men and 11.9% of women. Furthermore, 40.3% of adults participated in non-formal education, more specifically 39.2% of men and 41.5% of women. Finally, 63% of adults acquired informal knowledge. The data also shows that percentage of participation decreases with age. In the 18–24-years-old group, as many as 81% participated in educational processes, in the 25–34-years-old group, the percentage fell to 56%, in the 35–49-years-old group to 53%, in the 50–64-years-old group to 33% and in the 65–69-years-old group to just 16%. An important factor determining the participation of adults in formal and/or non-formal education is their current education. Among adults with elementary school education, 19% participated in continued education, followed by 43% of those with secondary education and 69% of those with tertiary education. You can find more details at the data portal SI-STAT. Erika Brenk (erika.brenk@SIAE.si), SIAE Use of the VoxVote web-based system for interactive involvement of participants At the end of November, the associates of the guidance and evaluation centre of the SIAE decided on active participation of the attendees of the GOAL (Guidance and Orientation for Adult Learners) conference. We tried to find the most efficient internet-based system that would allow answers to different questions and enable immediate presentation of the results. Our other criteria were low price, simple use and no special device requirements. When looking through the wide range of systems available on the internet, most of which are payable, we found the VoxVote application. After some testing, we decided it was perfect for us, as it allows users to pose open or closed questions; use different devices (computer, smart phone, tablet) that only need internet access and a browser; is free to use (at the first 5 events); allows for unlimited number of participants and offers interesting graphic presentations of the results as well as word clouds and displays of voting results for further processing at a later time. We were even more enthusiastic when we learned that educational organisations can use the VoxVote for free with no restrictions (until the end of 2018). We prepared an application and gained use access for all associates of SIAE, becoming the first Slovenian organisation to appear on their list of more than 1,000 international organisations. Let me also present some data from out pilot realisation of interactive participation, as practice is always more interesting than theory. As many as 78% (62 out of 80) of participants actively interacted using the VoxVote system, which is an incredible number considering they were not told about this activity in advance. They provided us with 289 answers to the 5 questions we posed. We began and ended the questionnaire with easy open ended questions What is the eye colour of your neighbour? and What are your feelings at the end of the conference? The other three questions were content-based and related to the conference programme. If you want to try out the VoxVote system in practice, you can register for free and enter some test questions. Franci Lajovic (franci.lajovic@SIAE.si), external associate of the SIAE INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION EAEA 2017 General Meeting and EAEA Annual Conference “Engaging new learners” On 27 and 28 June 2017, the European Association for Adult Education – EAEA organised a general meeting in Girona, Spain, combining it with the Grundtvig Award Ceremony for the best projects on creative engagement of new adult learners and with the annual EAEA conference entitled “Engaging new learners”. Around 110 participants from 24 countries (members’ representatives and guests) attended all three events. The representatives of the EAEA members from Slovenia were Darijan Novak and Andrej Sotošek, MS of the SIAE. The events started with a welcome speech and official start of the EAEA General Meeting by EAEA executive board president Per Paludan Hansen and Rosa M. Falgas, organiser and host of all three events and the president of the ACEIF from Girona. Joyce Black, vice-president of the EAEA, led the statutory part of the meeting. The present members’ representatives elected the president and the members of the EAEA executive committee. Katarina Popovič, ICAE general secretary, presented the key point and results of the interim report CONFINTEA VI as well as the key information regarding the global UNESCO conference held in October 2017 in South Korea. Next, we worked in four parallel work groups: (1) Further work and collaboration in the EAEA; (2) European Social Fund; (3) Erasmus+; (4) International – global challenges. On the second conference day, Gina Ebner, secretary general of the EAEA, presented the challenges of engaging new adult learners using the key EAEA documents, focusing on the Manifest prepared by EAEA in collaboration with its members. At the following plenary presentation, Paul Holdsworth from the European Commission’s DG EMPL summed up the key points and challenges occurring in the implementation of the Upskilling Pathways document. Christina Omideyi is a lawyer that dedicates her afternoons to the OK Foundation, a foundation she established to help London’s vulnerable people. Recently, she also learned how to cook and became a chef to improve the services offered by her charity. Now, they also offer hot meals to homeless people and others who need them. “Adult education can have an impact on the individual as well as on his or her community,” she adds. Her solution is almost too obvious: the most vulnerable will definitely be attracted by a hot and healthy meal. Sadly and/or happily ... We thanked Christina for her good work. You can take a look at her video here. Christina shared her story at the conference as a learner, but she also received one of the awards the United Kingdom gives out at their festival of learning. After lunch, we continued with the presentation of good practices in four parallel work groups: 1. Adults with low level of basic skills; 2. Migrants and refugees; 3. Educational programmes in SME; 4. Young adults. In the work group on migrants and refugees, Breda Hegarty of the Business in the Community association from Ireland first presented the EPIC programme as an example of good practice. This was followed by a discussion of situations in other countries as well as other activities and results in this field. Andrej Sotošek, director of the SIAE, presented the activities, programmes and measures implemented in Slovenia and the role of SIAE in this field, while Darijan Novak participated in the work group on young adults. He described his experience below. A conference is always an opportunity to meet old acquaintances and friends as well as meet new people who bring their experience with projects and offer opportunities for future collaboration or at least mutually motivational chats on the key challenges in the field. Last year, NIACE, the long-term organiser of the Adult Learners Week (ALW) that was our inspiration when we began planning our Lifelong Learning Week, transformed from the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education into the Learning and Work Institute. Their YouTube channel is full of excellent video portraits of award winners and other content, which was especially interesting. You can also visit our YouTube channel and compare the results. About two hours before the beginning of group work, Stephen had a suitable introductory speech to present the parallel work groups. I immediately decided against adults with low basic skills as well as small and medium-sized enterprises and was deciding between migrants and refugees and the young, finally selecting the latter. We tried to find ways to include these vulnerable target groups. When discussing good practices, I briefly presented our PUM-O project and then spent a good while answering questions. I also gave the e-mail address of the colleague working more closely on the project to three interested parties. In the final part of the conference, the Irish colleague presented a great summary of the group work, finding in my presentation of the PUM-O the idea that work with the vulnerable requires more heart than brains. The presentation of the results was organised as a fishbowl, where the introductory speakers were replaced by those who felt compelled to speak. And for the finale, the cherry on top. The Akon Choir. Composed of migrants and refugees. Around twenty of them. Of both genders. Of all ages. And of all skin colours, except white. The latter was represented by the energetic conductor. All the singers are learning Spanish and even more likely Catalan. They sang, as far as I could tell, in Catalan. Some never raised their eyes from the printed songbooks. I doubt that they understood everything they sang. Most stomped their feet to the rhythm. They sang Catalan national songs with so much enthusiasm, with wide smiles and light in their eyes, and, it seemed, mostly to show gratitude to be able to show their new country what they can do. For me, they were the indisputable stars of the conference. To sum up the conference in one sentence: The key challenge remains funding, at a national and local level. Andrej Sotošek, MSc (andrej.sotosek@SIAE.si), SIAE, and Darijan Novak (darijan.novak@SIAE.si), SIAE Building Bridges in Adult Education conference in Macedonia “These past days, I experienced constant shifting from a common past (adult education) to a future that can be influenced by our joint work here at this conference,” were the final words of Dr Šefika Alibabić from the Faculty of Arts at the University of Belgrade. She also pointed out that “we can use our differences as an inspiration and our similarities to gain strength.” The third Building Bridges in Adult Education conference in Skopje, on 25 and 26 October 2017, brought together the representatives of seven countries – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia. and Our country was represented by Ida Srebotnik, Eva Mermolja, Mojca Volk, Meta Gašperšič, Peter Beltram, MSc and Zvonka Pangerc Pahernik, MSc. The last two presented the current situation in Slovenia in 2017, highlighting the reform of the Adult Education Act and the ESF projects, focusing on the issues of guidance and information, validation, literacy and social activation. In the workshop part of the conference, Peter Beltram, MSc, presented the DIMA project, starting the discussion on tools for strategy planning, monitoring and evaluation of their implementation. Personally, I felt the most challenged by the topics of media promotion (the holder was Bosnia and Herzegovina) and the role of promotion in adult education development (the holder was Croatia). Dr Lejla Turčilo from the University of Sarajevo gave us some important tips for effective communication with different media and started a lively debate in smaller groups on ideas to present our field to the media and convince them to become an extension of our hand. The Croatian colleagues presented their Strategic framework for promotion of lifelong learning 2017–2020. The document was prepared as part of the fundamental research for the ESF project Promotion of Lifelong Learning. It functions as a quality groundwork analysis and a professional tool for stakeholders involved in planning and implementation of promotion of adult learning. One aim of the Skopje conference was also to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the DVV International Office in Macedonia. Like other DVV offices in most countries of the region, the DVV International office in Macedonia (which grew into the Centre for Lifelong learning) greatly contributed to the development of adult education in the area. At the conference, we also celebrated the EAEA Year of Adult Education in Europe. The conclusions of the conference have been published in a declaration available on the website of the event. Zvonka Pangerc Pahernik, MSc (zvonka.pangerc@SIAE.si), SIAE DIMA – Final thoughts Two years ago, we started working on the DIMA project (A Toolkit for Developing, Implementing and Monitoring Adult Education Strategies), which has now been successfully brought to an end. The project was approved as part of the Erasmus+ programme and was promoted and coordinated by the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Cyprus. Other participants were the CARDET Agency from Cyprus, Maynooth University from Ireland, the National Institute for Lifelong Learning from Slovakia, the EAEA from Belgium and the SIAE. The concept of the project was inspired by the fact that some EU members do not have a comprehensive strategy in the field of adult education and those that do have a strategy usually have no measures in place for its updating, monitoring of its implementation or identification of shortcomings in realisation of the ET 2020 Strategy. In this regard, Slovenia and its Resolution on the Adult Education Master Plan of the Republic of Slovenia for the period 2013–2020 was presented as a good example of the approach to strategic planning. The DIMA project was thus focused on development of an innovative and practical tool to use in planning, introduction and monitoring of implementation of strategies, policies and practices in the field of adult education. The goal of the project was to encourage and enrich modern practices and increase the efficiency of the existing strategies aimed at increasing participation in education and training as part of lifelong learning. Much attention was given to increasing the level of basic skills to define the target groups and to increase the educational opportunities available to these groups. Before creating the foundations for designing our web tool, the project participants prepared a comprehensive state analysis in the field of adult education in the participating countries, completed with descriptions of systems and regulations, which are available here. Another important intellectual output was the needs and shortcomings analysis of the adult education programmes offered by the providers. We conducted a relatively large web survey among the adult education providers in each of the participating countries and analysed their answers. These were our foundations to build the content of a learning tool aimed at policy makers and development planners in the field of adult education. The content was divided into nine modules: (1) What is Policy?, (2) Needs Analysis, (3) Stakeholders & Consultations, (4) Policy Making as a Process, (5) Developing Strategy, (6) Implementing the Strategy, (7) Monitoring and Evaluation, (8) Renewing Policy and (9) Positive examples of policies and strategies. Each module consists of questions and answers that enable the users to immediately test their new knowledge and recommendations for further reading. The tool is freely available on the internet (a so-called OER – Open Educational Resource); users only need to register to use it. After two years (the kick-off meeting was on 9 and 10 November 2015 in Cyprus), the tool has been translated into the languages of all participating countries (English, Greek, Slovak, French and Slovene) and is ready for use. The ambitions of the participating experts have now focused on designing a tool that would be used as part of political and/or social science study courses at universities. In addition, the framework of the toolkit’s content is wide enough to make the toolkit useful for strategic development planners in other fields of social activities, not only in adult education. Peter Beltram, MSc (peter.beltram@SIAE.si), SIAE CONFINTEA VI: Midterm Review 2017: Vision towards 2030 Eight years after the adoption of the Belém Framework for Action, the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) from Hamburg, in collaboration with the Korean Ministry for Education, the Korean National Commission for UNESCO, the National Institute for Lifelong Education (NILE) and the city of Suwon, organised the CONFINTEA VI Conference: Midterm Review 2017. The conference The Power of Adult Learning and Education: Vision Towards 2030 took place from 25 to 27 October 2017 in Suwon, South Korea. Suwon is a UNESCO Cultural Heritage city and one of the 16 cities to receive the Learning City Award. The event was attended by more than 450 participants from 98 countries, including two representatives, Jasmina Mirčeva, MSc and Andrej Sotošek, MSc from Slovenia. We also attended the opening of the Lifelong Learning Week, which has a long tradition in South Korea. The participants were welcomed by Kabir Shaikh, director of the UNESCO Institute of Lifelong Learning, Tae-young Yeom, mayor of Suwon, Sang-Wook Kwak, mayor of Osan, and other high-level representatives of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and the Gyenogy region. The main goal of the conference was to strengthen the strategies for further development of legislation, management, financial support, participation, fairness and quality of adult education and learning. We revised the achievement reached in the field of adult learning and education since the last Belém conference. We underlined both the suggestions and the shortcomings, demanding more active involvement of local, regional and national players. Adult education was put in the context of sustainable development, and it was stressed that every country should ensure inclusive, fair and quality education and promote learning for everybody. In addition to plenary contributions, work at the conference was done in ten parallel groups. Based on the already adopted documents, regional reports and conclusions of regional conferences, the participating countries prepared guidelines for development of adult education and learning for the period 2017–2021, when the CONFINTEA VII conference will take place. Jasmina Mirčeva, MSc (jasmina.mirceva@SIAE.si), SIAE Participation at a workshop in the scope of the international project “RESHAPE the future” At the end of November 2017, a 5-day international seminar Entrepreneurship education and training for migrants and refugees took place in Reggio Emilia, Italy, organised by the IFOA organisation in the scope of the international project RESHAPE the future: Education and training for migrants. The seminar was attended by four associates of the SIAE. We presented the current Slovenian national policy regarding entrepreneurship education and training for migrants and refugees, the e-portfolio developed by the SIAE, which is also useful for other target groups, and the process allowing migrants and refugees to open their own company in Slovenia. We also presented the success stories of two refugees living and working in Slovenia. The rich seminar programme consisted of different presentations by the current seminar organiser from Italy and by other project partners (organisations from Slovenia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway), interspersed by visits to nearby organisations and institutions offering various programmes, workshops and other support for refugees and migrants that want to start their own company. We found it surprising that the Emilia Romagna region has the lowest unemployment rate in Italy – compared to the national average of 11.2%, the unemployment rate in this region where the main industries are food industry, construction, mechanics (packaging, motorcycling), electromechanics and metalworking is “only” 6%. We returned from the seminar full of new ideas for further work. The Italian Chamber of Commerce prepared an interesting presentation on offering and monitoring training of entrepreneurs at the beginning of their business career and explained the regional model for collaboration of different stakeholder groups in development of strategic plans. One example worth following is definitely the Eataly project (FICO), which encourages and promotes regional and national entrepreneurship, while the international network of the Impact HUB supports locals and migrants when setting up their companies as part of this start-up network. The true life stories of refugees and migrants are also always interesting to hear. We were especially moved by our visit to the non-profit organisation Madre Teresa, where qualified workers have very professionally dealt with extremely difficult cases of refugee mothers with children marked by unimaginable life stories. Their mission is to offer them accommodation, support and security and to help them integrate into the society, learn Italian and search for employment. They organise different workshops (we visited a sewing workshop as part of our visit) and they also own a small shop called “Mani in Pasta” where the refugees prepare and sell Italian specialties. Their model of multi stage, multi-level professional approach to dealing with problems of newly arrived refugees and migrants as well as those already living in the country is worthy of consideration, upgrade and implementation also in Slovenia. Neda Đorđević (neda.đorđevic@SIAE.si), SIAE Successful final conference of the GOAL project On 7 December 2017, we successfully realised the final national conference of the Erasmus+ KA 3 Guidance and Orientation for Adult Learners (GOAL) project. Six countries participated in this 3-year-long international project, with the finishing line set for January 2018. The national project manager for Slovenia is the MESS, and the project was realised in partnership with the Institute of the Republic of Slovenia for Vocational Education and Training and the SIAE. In Slovenia, new approaches to guidance for adults were tested at four educational institutions: Biotechnical Educational Centre Ljubljana, CDI Univerzum – Guidance Centre Ljubljana, School Centre Velenje and Velenje AEC – Guidance Centre Velenje. The aims of the project were to improve guidance options for adults in all partner countries and to help increase participation of less educated adults in lifelong learning, improving their participation and mobility in the labour market. At the conference, we presented the project results, recommendations for further development of guidance activities in adult education and shared the experiences of participating guidance counsellors and regional and national partners with the audience. After the video welcome speech by project coordinator Nadia Reynders from the Flemish Ministry of Education, we listened to the state secretary from the MESS, Dr Andreja Barle Lakota, who highlighted the importance of adult education and more specifically guidance as one of the foundational activities for successful education and learning. Then, the colleagues from the national project team presented the project itself, its results and suggestions for further development of guidance in adult education. The second part of the conference was dedicated to the experience of the project participants. Miss Sabina from Velenje presented her experience in a video, which was followed by two panel discussions. In the first panel discussion, two guidance counsellors and two project partners presented their experiences with participation in the project and the added value of their participation both for realisation of the counselling activities and for participation in the partnership network. In the second discussion, the representatives of national partners presented their views on support for adults who are entering the educational/training/learning processes and shared their suggestions for further development of counselling activities at the systemic and policy level. At the end of the conference, the participants expressed their satisfaction with the presented content and the organisation of the conference. Presentations, documents and photo gallery of the conference are available at the project’s website. Andreja Dobrovoljc, MSc (andreja.dobrovoljc@SIAE.si), SIAE RELEVANT PUBLICATIONS Publication of the OECD’s Economic Survey of Slovenia 2017 The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published the Economic Survey of Slovenia 2017. In the 2017 survey, the OECD experts decided to focus on factors that encourage economic recovery, on policies for increasing revenues and on ensuring inclusive growth. In the field of education, they researched the impact of knowledge and skills development on life standard improvement and investment in Slovenia. They focused on segments of secondary education, especially vocational and professional secondary education, adult education and higher education. The recommendations of the OECD for Slovenia are to focus on general knowledge of students, scope of practical training in secondary vocational education, assessment of advantages of vocational secondary education compared to general secondary education, adults in education and quality and accessibility of higher education, including “adaptation” of tuition fees and financial supports. Another interesting piece of advice is to encourage international mobility in vocation education and training, especially in countries that are a source of direct foreign investments. The report was presented in Ljubljana, at the press conference held by the Ministry of Finance, by the Minister, Mateja Vraničar Erman, MSc, and the secretary general of the OECD, José Ángel Gurría. The report, summary and the presentation are available at the OECD website. Adapted by: Nevenka Kocijančič (nevenka kocijancic@SIAE.si), SIAE EPALE Second regional EPALE conference in Banja Luka The two-day event was held on 9 and 10 November and organised by the local branch of the Agency for pre-school, elementary and secondary education (APOSO) of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which also hosts the National EPALE Support Service. In addition to the hosts – representatives from the political, theoretical and practical areas of adult education in Bosnia and Herzegovina – the conference was attended by around 80 participants, speakers and other representatives from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia. The first regional EPALE conference was organised last April in Makarska and was dedicated to management of adult education institutions with a focus on ICT use in the educational process. The main theme of this year’s conference was quality assurance, monitoring and assessment in adult education. Since the society is now connected in many new ways, we also talked about digital marketing and data protection in on-line environments. We also learned about the role of executive institutions in regional development of lifelong learning using the example of the Umag AEC and tourism as the key activity in the local community. I was personally most moved by the contributions of colleagues from the Faculty of Arts of the University of Sarajevo. Dr Amina Isanovič Hadžiomerović, an enthusiastic EPALE user, shared her vision for the platform, which she sees as “a community space that enables instrumental learning and learning through dialogue and self-reflection, allowing us to transform the habits of our mind and our view of ourselves and the world.” Dr Mirjana Mavrak shared a highly professional contribution with a personal note, in which she skilfully moved from the theory of needs (Maslow, Glasser, Tanasaković) to the quality in education and research options, using all of them to justify the role of EPALE, which she sees as an “andragogic FB-like platform”. She finished with the words: “When creating the EPALE content, we need to focus on the needs of potential users (in this case – adult educators) and try to meet them as completely as possible – this will create a high-quality, successful, lively platform. A platform that allows for dialogic ‘I–Thou’ meetings, according to Martin Buber.” The conclusion we came to after this set of presentations was that larger investment in ‘marketing’ and spreading awareness of the platform’s existence are key to further establishment of the EPALE in the field. The conference in Banja Luka is documented in the event programme and in posts on the FB profiles EPALE Slovenia and LLW and the EPALE Slovenia and LLW Twitter accounts; you can also read the blog with comments by Slovenian participants. The third regional EPALE conference will be prepared by our colleagues from Montenegro in March 2018. Zvonka Pangerc Pahernik, MSc (zvonka.pangerc@SIAE.si), SIAE Searching for partners and organisation for international collaboration In autumn 2017, the EPALE promoted collaboration of organisations in different project activities, as the platform also allows users to search for project partners. By entering search criteria, you can find a partner organisation from the desired field. Another programme offering numerous opportunities for international projects in the field of adult education is the European programme Erasmus+, which celebrated 30 years of activities in 2017. You can learn about the Erasmus+ activities of Slovenian organisations at the EPALE. The colleagues from the Rogaška Slatina AEC published a contribution presenting their international ‘MEMTRAIN’ project, in which they collaborate with their project partners to research the connection between physical activities and memories, more specifically the positive impact of physical activities on memory improvement. On the other hand, the Novo mesto AEC participated in a 2-year project called Upskillead with partner organisations from five European countries. Together, they strive to improve digital competences of teachers to allow them to use modern technologies in their pedagogic work. The content published at EPALE offers inspiration for project ideas, helps you find suitable partners via partner search, and allows you to check the calls for tenders for 2018. The necessary documentation is available at the ErasmusPlus website managed by CMEPIUS, which implements the tasks of the national Erasmus+ agency in the field of education, training and sports. Maruša Bajt (marusa.bajt@cmepius.si), CMEPIUS SLOVENIAN ADULT EDUCATION SCENE Snapshots from the Study Circles’ Caravan in Idrija Last year, the Study Circles’ Caravan was hosted by the Idrija-Cerkno Development Agency and the Association of Idrija Lace-makers. Educational activities and presentations contributed to mutual learning, transfer of ideas and experience between different study circles and learning of individual methods, skills and approaches to learning and work. We also learned about the local environment and the achievements of local study circles. The programme took place at the stalls and on the stage of the main square in Idrija. The afternoon was reserved for workshops and a lecture for mentors by Janez Nared from the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, held in the cold rooms of the local high school. After the workshops on lace-making and preparation of the traditional dish žlikrofi and the visit to the town, Scopoli’s Memorial Garden and, for the most daring, the mine, we again gathered at the almost overheated starting point to listen to the Kanomeljske punce choir. The Jesenice AEC also participates in the caravan every year with the study circle Preservation of cultural heritage in the local area – How they used to live. This caravan leads through town in the Jesenice Municipality, where the mentors always meet inspiring individuals who share their memories and personal stories. Like in Idrija, we learn about the diverse and rich treasure box of knowledge and skills of study circle members, organisations and individuals. By exploring the cultural heritage of Jesenice and the surrounding area, we learn about our diversity while also enriching ourselves. It seems that in the past, the place and the way they grew up had much more impact on the life of individuals than today. The stories of people from Planina pod Golico, Hrušica, Koroška Bela, Javorniški Rovt and other parts of Jesenice express a special connection with these villages, whose fate was understandably marked by the Jesenice ironwork, also called the “Mother factory”. In Ravne na Koroškem, they prepared an exhibition with this exact title (Mother factory) and the director of the Museum of Koroška, who is also a study circles mentor, wrote an eponymous book. The study circles might be small and scattered, forgotten by the systemic development, but they reach into “every Slovenian village” and, after 25 years, have created lasting impact and unimaginable connection between places sharing a similar fate. The memories are not always nice and sometimes we find ourselves with tears in our eyes. In Idrija at the joint Caravan Marija Skumavec, a study circle participant, shared a realisation all two hundred participants could only agree with: “Even if you sometimes stay silent in your life, you can tell everything at the study circle, as the truth comes from your heart.” In thirteen years, the Museum of Gornjesavska dolina, Municipal library, Jesenice Municipality and Jesenice AEC have published more than 250 stories, took 660 photos and distributed 11,000 booklets. The project coordinator of the SIAE visited two final presentations (on the ironworks in Jesenice and on education in Jesenice in the past), where she was allowed to witness the incredible response of the locals and the touching stories of the men. Her experience of Idrija is full of stories with valiant heroes told on a hot day in a green environment. She will also always remember the quality of lace-makers and their Mrs. Boškin, who did all she could to make us feel welcome. The thanks for excellent organisation of the event go to young Tina Lisac and the experienced and new study circle mentors from this part of Slovenia. Lea Zlodej (lea.zlodej@lu-jesenice.net), Jesenice AEC, and Nevenka Bogataj (nevenka.bogataj@SIAE.si), SIAE 15 years of guidance and orientation for adult learners in the Primorje-Notranjska region, in Zasavje and in Jesenice Guidance centres that offer guidance services in adult education following the Guidance and Orientation for Adult Learner model celebrated their 15th anniversary in 2017. They marked the occasion in different ways. In the Guidance and orientation centre for adult learners in Postojna, they proudly looked through their history and celebrated the obstacles they overcame and the goals they reached. They calculated that they helped around 800 adults per year in this 15-year period. They also organised more than 100 informative and motivational group meetings, where the participants were encouraged to enrol in various types of educational and learning programmes. Their educational year started with a celebration: they prepared stalls of knowledge with prize games and presented educational opportunities in the region in several locations. They also organised free workshops to promote lifelong learning and their role in spreading of such learning. They also organised a celebratory professional event for the guidance centre partners, professional public and long-term supporters. Two of the participants were Dušica Kunaver, relentless learner and teacher who lives and spreads the culture of lifelong learning, and Tanja Vilič Klenovšek, MSc, GOAL project manager at the SIAE. At Zasavje AEC, the celebratory mood was felt at the 2017 Days of Guidance Centres. They generously offered gifts at the knowledge stalls and marked the anniversary with a celebratory event on Friday, 29 September 2017. They invited members of the renewed network of strategic partners and signed strategic partnership agreements. Andreja Dobrovoljc, MSc, participated at the event as the SIAE representative and presented the achievements of the GOAL activities in Slovenia over the past 15 years. The event was enriched by cultural performances, birthday cake and a visit to the new virtual mining museum in Trbovlje. In the 15 years since its establishment, the Zasavje centre has performed around 14,000 individual guidance services for the locals. More than half of the services aimed at adults from vulnerable target groups. The also trained eight GOAL guidance counsellors, established a GOAL model of quality and participated with a network of partner organisations. They regularly present their free guidance services at the Days of Guidance Centres, in local media and at different professional events in the region. At the Guidance Centre for Gorenjska in Jesenice, they marked their 15th anniversary with the publication of an e-booklet covering the development of guidance and orientation activities in the Gorenjska region, statements of their clients and partners and the contribution of the Centre towards development of lifelong learning activities and inclusion of vulnerable target groups. The GOAL centres network and guidelines for further development of guidance activities were presented in a contribution by Tanja Vilič Klenovšek, MSc, of the SIAE. The guidance activities of these centres are very important, as they offer free high-quality personal counselling to adult learners. It also enables the adult education centres to acquire new knowledge, new partnerships and new projects. From a wider aspect, the guidance activities contribute to realisation of lifelong learning in the local region, strengthen the value of adult learning and raise the quality of life of the entire community. Erika Švara (erika.svara@zavod-znanje.si), Guidance Centre Postojna, Valentina Uran (valentina.uran@zlu.si), Zasavje AEC, and Majda Suljanović Hodžić (majdas@lu-jesenice.net), Guidance Centre of Gorenjska Pink knits in Kočevje 2017 For the third year in a row, we celebrated pink October, month of breast cancer awareness-raising, by wrapping trees in pink knitting as part of the country-wide action pink knits, which grabs the attention of the passers-by to raise their awareness of breast cancer. This is part of our effort to decrease breast cancer mortality. This year, many members of Europa Donna participated in the action, including organisations, associations and creative individuals from more than 60 municipalities. At the Kočevje AEC, we invited local associations and individuals to participate in the action and organised three workshops in September. While knitting threads, we socialised and exchanged experience, knowledge and skills. The results of these meetings were many pink knitted pieces, which were joined into one on Friday, 29 September 2017. We wrapped a willow near the Kočevje Market in the pink hues as a reminder to the visitors. Creativity is also directly related to self-care and care for your health. Knitting helps us develop fine motor skills, creative thinking, perseverance, understanding and ability to follow instructions. These are all skills needed to fight the disease successfully. We also develop an eye for aesthetics, feelings of success and positive self-image. The gentle knits are associated with vulnerability and the trees with strength. Wrapping of the knitted materials thus represents a respect for our bodies, nature and trees, which are the symbol of the strength we all possess and which we need to bring forward or rebuild in difficult life periods (diagnosis, treatment, life after the disease). This is not always easy, which is why our association offers support to all who need it. Sonja Hribar (sonja.hribar@lu-kocevje.si), AEC Kočevje Y:\User\KNJIŽNICA\E-NOVIČKE\2017\12December\Kulturni bazar v regiji-utrinki-134_fotoSašaHuzjak-1.jpg Cultural Bazaar in the Region Cultural Bazaar is a national project for arts and cultural education organised by the Ministry of Culture, the MESS and the National Education Institute of Slovenia. This year, it was enriched by the Cultural Bazaar in the Region, which was held on 29 November in Maribor. At the event, the cultural institutions in the wider region were presented to the professional public and the regional professional associates learned about national and international examples of good practices. The Cultural Bazaar was traditionally designed as a professional training for associates in different fields (education, culture, etc.) and for students of different programmes. The main part of the event was held at the Slovenian National Theatre Maribor, where all arts and culture fields had the space to present their activities for youth and children. In the afternoon, the activities moved to different cultural institutions in the city. The regional bazaar brought together over 70 events from all fields of art and cultural education, which allowed each participant to create a personal programme. The connecting role in the organisation of the Cultural Bazaar in Maribor goes to the 5-year project of arts and culture education Act One: Theatre as a place to learn the language of symbols, implemented by the Drama section of the Slovenian National Theatre Maribor. The tenth Cultural Bazaar will be held on 5 April 2018 at the Cankarjev dom Kongress Centre in Ljubljana. Ana Petrovčič (info@kulturnibazar.si), Cultural Bazaar Published by Slovenian Institute for Adult Education (SIAE), Šmartinska 134a, SI-1000 Ljubljana | Editor-in-chief: Zvonka Pangerc Pahernik, MSc (E: zvonka.pangerc@acs.si) | Editor: Ana Peklenik (E: ana.peklenik@acs.si) | Editorial board: Dr Tanja Možina, Zvonka Pangerc Pahernik, MSc, Andrej Sotošek, MSc, Tanja Vilič Klenovšek, MA, and Margerita Zagmajster, MSc | Translation/proofreading: Prevajalska agencija Julija | Design: Larisa Hercog | Corrective reading: Zvonka Pangerc Pahernik, MSc, and Mateja Pečar | W: http://www.acs.si/bulletin_e-novicke ISSN 2232-2612 The publication is co-financed by the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities.