Education and Youth

Activity Report, January 2003 - March 2004

1. Realized Activities

With the launch of the Education Reform Initiative of South Eastern Europe (ERI SEE) in December 2002 the Task Force Education and Youth entered a new phase of its work laying a stronger focus on European perspective as meeting the evolving European standards in education will be a precondition for inclusion of SEE countries into the wider European Area of Education. The ERI SEE will serve as an interface between ongoing SEE education reform at national level and European trends in order to achieve common European standards in education

This shift of the TFEY’s focus from emergency measures to more long-term development and policy level underlined the need to streamline the organizational structure of the TFEY. However, it was important to maintain the existing network and its expertise and include it in another form into another platform. This was discussed with six Working Group Coordinators in January and the new organisational structure was endorsed at the TF Meeting in Belgrade, held in June 2003.

During 2002 TFEY was in constant contacts with donors in an effort to ensure financial support for 27 projects endorsed within the second call for projects. End of March the TFEY finalized its donor coordination and fundraising efforts. Eleven projects have received support and around 50% of the overall amount requested within the Stability Pact have been raised.

Also in March a regional capacity building seminar for school inspectors from SEE was held in Belgrade gathering around 30 inspectors. The seminar was organized within the framework the project Strategy 2001 and its aim was to present the various models/functions of inspectors in European countries and to identify possibilities of using the knowledge gained in the respective countries of South Eastern Europe. The seminar was funded by the Austrian Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

The TFEY managed to ensure further financial support for the South Eastern Educational Cooperation Network (SEE-ECN) (www.see-educoop.net) as the information backbone of the TFEY providing virtual library and other information on education on national, regional and EU level.

Within the ERI SEE the second Working Meeting of Senior Officials took place in Romania in May. On this occasion Senior Officials from SEE endorsed the ERI SEE Action Plan and agreed upon the Memorandum of Understanding to be signed by the Ministries of Education. In June Ministers of Education of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, FYR of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia signed the Memorandum of Understanding at the EU Education Ministers Conference, in Nicosia, in presence of the Greek EU-Presidency and the SP, demonstrating their commitment to join the wider European area of education and co-operate in the ERI SEE. Ministers of Education of Albania and Moldova signed the Memorandum of Understanding on the ERI SEE during the Stability Pact Regional Table Meeting held in Tirana on 5. December 2003 with UNMIK/PISG Kosovo following in February 2004. It is expected that Croatia and Romania will join the Memorandum by May 2004.

More than 20 representatives of SEE Ministries of Education, international organisations and donor countries took part in the regular meeting of the Task Force Education and Youth held in Belgrade, on June 16 2003. The aim of the meeting was to discuss the future structure and working mechanisms of the Task Force in view of recent developments within the Stability Pact and to present the results of the second Working Meeting of Senior Officials from SEE held in Romania and discuss future priorities of the Education Reform Initiative of South Eastern Europe (ERI SEE). The participants agreed upon the new structure of the TFEY as agreed by the Working Group Coordinators and in accordance with future priorities of the Education Reform Initiative of South Eastern Europe - ERI SEE.

The OECD Project “Education Development for Disabled and at Risk Students” covers the area of access to quality education as one of the priority area of ERI SEE and will be carried out with financial support by Norway, World Bank and Flemish Community. A kick-off meeting was organized jointly by the OECD and TFEY and was held in Vienna in September informing experts from SEE countries about the project and giving them the opportunity to present the situation in their countries with regard to disabled and at risk students.

Also within the ERI SEE two Expert Seminars on Teacher Training and Information and Communication Technologies took place on November 24, 25 and 27, 28. The aim was to bring experts from EU and SEE together to give SEE experts the opportunity to learn more about the EU current and future priorities could help close the growing gap between the EU and South Eastern Europe concerning the pace education development and a common understanding of reforms and in this way accelerate the process of getting closer to EU standards in education.

Third Working Meeting of the Senior Officials from South Eastern Europe was held Belgrade 8-9 December 2003 during which participants discussed the recent developments regarding the EU “Detailed Work Programme on the follow-up of the objectives of education and training systems in Europe” (intermediate Report to be published in November 2003 by the European Commission) and the Bologna Process. This meeting served as a high-level forum to identify interested SEE countries to host the secretariat based on the Terms of References for the ERI SEE. In addition to this, the participants decided upon the ERI SEE programme for 2004 and discussed the terms of references of the ERI SEE Secretariat.

The two-day regional capacity building seminar on decentralization took place in Bucharest on 6-7 February 2004 providing an overview of decentralization in various countries, allowing a practice and solution-oriented discussion in order to develop tailor-made strategies for implementation of education reforms. In support of regional ownership the seminar was organized by the Romanian country node presented through the Institute for Educational Sciences.

There is an ongoing activity with regard to the implementation of small-scale projects in support of networking, increased co-operation and the development of innovative approaches by regional actors. Four projects were endorsed and implemented in 2003.

Within the Strategy 2001, aimed at promoting education development process in SEE countries at national and regional levels, the TFEY continues the consultation process with other countries with regard to further launching events. Conferences in FYR of Macedonia and Moldova postponed until summer 2004 due to political changes in Ministries of Education.

As a follow up to the ERI SEE Memorandum of Understanding, Education Ministers of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, FYR of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, Kosovo and Slovenia signed the “Declaration on life-long learning in the SP region” in the framework of SEE conference on life-long learning and a regional learning festival in Skopje on 18. October 2003.

2003 has been a very successful for the TFEY with regard to further development of the Education Reform Initiative of South Eastern Europe (ERI SEE) and in accordance to this also with regard to the streamlining of the organizational structure of the TFEY. The ERI SEE was met by great interest and approval indicating a very strong commitment and readiness of SEE countries to take over the responsibility and stimulate the process of adaptation of existing national legal frameworks of education reform in line with the ongoing European developments and national reform priorities. SEE countries expressed their commitment to the ERI SEE by signing the Memorandum of Understanding, which so far has been signed by 8 SEE Ministries of Education (Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, FYR of Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, UNMIK/PISG Kosovo) including a concrete Action Plan and priority areas;

With regard to Strategy 2001 the TFEY continued its consultation process with other countries in order to organize further launching conferences but political changes in respective ministries of education have disrupted this process and are the main reasons for postponements. Lack of administrative capacities has also proven to be a constraint to the flow of information. As the main principle of the TFEY/EGP have always been to synchronize its activities with the efforts of the major international players in order to avoid duplication of work and financial means, such co-ordination sometimes caused delays and hampered the continuity of our efforts.

3. Challenges and further activities

1) Organize further launching conferences within the Strategy 2001

The conference in FYR of Macedonia is envisaged for June 2004 covering also the issue of increased decentralization as one of the major elements of the Ohrid Framework Agreement. However, a preparatory seminar will take place in April this year.

The OECD launching conference in Moldova, also envisaged for June 2004, would support the consultation process on education reform providing a wider discussion forum such as the Stability Pact, which is an important instrument for donor co-ordination and identification of funding possibilities also enabling the country to find its place in a wider international framework. Moldovan participation in the ERI SEE will strengthen the cooperation and accelerate the process.

Ongoing consultation with Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Romania

2) Establish the organizational structure of ERI SEE

The organizational structure of the ERI SEE will consist of a Governing Board, Consultative Body and the regional Secretariat and is intended to be established in 2004 to further promote and support the Education Reform Initiative of South Eastern Europe. It should include representatives of the (former) Task Force Working Groups: Council of Europe, OECD, European University Association (EUA) and the European Training Foundation, the European Commission, donor countries and institutions contributing to the ERI SEE and additional educational experts.

3) Establish ERI SEE Secretariat in the region in support of regional ownership

Supporting the idea of regional ownership, the overall co-ordination of the ERI SEE will be transferred to the region through establishment of a regional secretariat. Conditional to donor interest concerning the financing of such a secretariat and interest by a country in the region, it could be established by the end of 2004. The respective selection procedure has been already launched amongst the signatory ministries in February 2003 with respective Terms of References posted on the SEE-ECN Homepage (www.see-educoop.net). The 4. Senior Official Meeting will take place in Croatia in May 2004. Amongst other issues participants will decide on the location of the Secretariat, nominations for the GB members and will also further discuss the ERI SEE work programme.

4) Organize third regional expert seminar on lifelong learning

In preparation of the 8th Minister´s conference in June 2004 the Task Force Education and Youth will organize an expert seminar to discuss current trends and developments in the field of lifelong learning with special reference to ongoing discussions on the European and international level. The representatives of respective SEE ministries will furthermore prepare a joint position of SEE Ministries with respect to future aims and goals of LLL strategies to be presented in the framework of the Minister´s Conference in June 2004 in Oslo. The two-day seminar is envisaged to take place in Vienna on 7/8 May 2004 gathering the representatives of SEE ministries and experts, representatives of international organizations as well as experts from EU member states and candidate countries.

5) Follow up lobbying for the inclusion of SEE into existing EU mobility programs

Further clarifications with European Commission. Continued support for SEE Education Ministries with regard to the opening of Community Programs to SAP countries as outlined in the Thessaloniki Agenda for the Western Balkan Countries.