Societies around the globe have been hit hard by the coronavirus (COVID-19). People are being affected in their daily lives and are concerned about the consequences for their health, jobs and well-being.
In nearly all countries across the world, providers of youth and adult education have been forced to temporarily close their doors, with dramatic consequences for the sustainability of these institutions, their employees, and, not least, the learners. At the same time, adult learning and education (ALE) can contribute to mitigate the consequences of the crisis, offer badly needed education and training and support social action.
DVV International, as the only development partner focusing on ALE, suggests concepts on how ALE can contribute to managing the crisis by offering social and educational services, especially to vulnerable groups. At the same time, we urge governments and international actors to provide ALE providers – public, private and civil society organizations – and their staff with the necessary resources to deal with this situation. It is a joint responsibility of all stakeholders to ensure that non-formal education offers will continue to be available during the crisis and after.