On a hot summer’s day in 2019, I was elected President of the European Association for the Education of Adults (EAEA) in Copenhagen. My reaction was a mixture of excitement and deep respect for the responsibility that I had been entrusted with. The years that followed proved to be a valuable learning experience, deepening my understanding of Europe and its adult learning and education (ALE) landscape.
It was certainly a challenging start. The pandemic forced us to embrace the digital world. Board meetings and all other meetings were now held online. As President, I saw it as my duty to keep spirits high as we established a new culture of communication, no longer face-to-face, but via a screen. As with other sectors, this period has had a lasting impact on EAEA. The proportion of meetings held online remains higher than before the pandemic. This has saved time and money while reducing the environmental effects of frequent travel. New tools have been introduced, and experience gained has offered insight into how to compensate for the loss of personal connection. Overall, EAEA emerged from this difficult phase as a stronger European network.
The diversity of adult learning and education across Europe poses a constant challenge for every incoming president of EAEA. More than in any other area of education, traditions, framework conditions, organisational structures and responsibilities differ significantly across Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western Europe. As President, I saw it as my duty to ensure that EAEA policy adequately reflected these different realities. Certain member organisations face particularly difficult circumstances, struggling with fundamental issues of survival in their own countries. It is essential that they are fully recognised and supported, and that they see the EAEA as their representative body.
This is particularly relevant for members from non-EU countries. Like many associations, EAEA has its headquarters in Brussels. Its main institutional points of reference are the European Commission and the European Parliament, before which it must represent the interests of ALE. This institutional structure carries the risk that the concerns of members from regions such as Southeastern Europe or the Caucasus may be overlooked. The establishment of the working group “Europe is more than the EU” has effectively countered this by providing a forum in which the interests and concerns of these important members can be discussed.
As already mentioned, a large part of EAEA’s activities as an umbrella organisation involves lobbying the Commission and Parliament. Both institutions have many individuals who are committed to using their considerable talents to promote the European idea. Unfortunately, when it comes to the Commission, efforts often fail due to overregulation and bureaucracy that is disconnected from the needs of its citizens. This is compounded by what I observe as a weakening of civil courage and resilience among the staff. There are of course exceptions, but these only serve to highlight the broader issue. When recruiting staff for these roles, I would suggest placing greater value on broad life experience and the ability to act independently, rather than relying mainly on academic excellence and language proficiency. When staff are selected solely on these criteria, bureaucracy can very quickly degenerate into an unyielding machine, far-removed from the needs of its citizens. The European Parliament has for many years proved to be a supportive ally for the ALE cause. Recent elections, however, have led to a clearly perceptible decline in this regard, particularly in respect for civil society, on whose work ALE in many countries depends. Pressure from right-wing populist parties, in particular, threatens to bring about shifts in attitudes which would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.
It has been interesting and very encouraging to see that the ALE community is running counter to the general trend of Euroscepticism and the growing rejection of Europe. Many members are now deeply committed as staunch Europeans. For them, the focus is no longer on what they or their organisation “can get” from Brussels, but rather how, as part of the educational system, they can counteract the widespread apathy towards Europe found in large sections of the population. Opportunities such as the Erasmus+ programme, which facilitates educational exchanges and experiences across borders, have had a positive impact in this regard.
