Education and Youth

Strategic Framework and Priorities for Action
Work Plan 2002/2003

Mission

The Enhanced Graz Process/Task Force Education and Youth actively supports the incorporation of South Eastern Europe into a European Area of Education and promotes the European perspective by using regional co-operation and networking as an instrument to enhance participation in wider European networks and initiatives.

This objective also requires establishing a dialogue process on perspectives for mid- and long-term co-operation between the countries of the European Union and the Accession and SAP countries, as stated in the Council’s "Objective Report on Education and Training Systems in Europe".

While countries and education systems in the region vary greatly, they share the common challenge of having to respond quickly and flexibly to fundamental democratic, economic and social transition processes in difficult financial and political situations.

Regional co-operation is also an important instrument in the Accession and Association Processes, as it offers the opportunity to exchange experience on the process of European integration and to facilitate the participation of SEE countries in wider European networks and initiatives.

To promote regional co-operation and regional networks of key actors at different levels of the education system the Task Force concentrates on three areas of activities in 2002.

Areas of Activities

• Long-term Education Reform and System Development

The overall focus of the Task Force Education and Youth’s strategy is on mid- and long-term reform development of the educational systems in the region supported by comprehensive advocacy for education and youth issues, both on national and regional level.

Based on the OECD Thematic Reviews on 10 educational systems in the region, which offer policy recommendations to governments and donors, a series of conferences in the region has been planned for 2002. Such events have already taken place in Serbia on January 16-17, 2002, in Montenegro on January 18, 2002, and in Croatia on May 24/25, a conference in Kosovo is scheduled for June 10-11. It is expected that by the end of 2002 similar activities will take place in Albania, Bulgaria and Romania. Consultation with other countries is ongoing.

These conferences offer the opportunity for consultation processes on national and regional education reform strategies and for promoting co-operation networks among regional key actors and donors. The Task Force, as co-organiser, emphasises the need to involve key policy makers from SEE in all conferences as well as to attract the donor community and the media.

The conferences in Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia clearly showed the important input the OECD recommendations provide for the formulation of the respective policy documents. Well prepared media coverages showed the increasing interest of key stakeholders in education.

These events gave almost 1000 participants (international organisations, ministry representatives of the region, experts and the education community) the opportunity for in-depth discussions on major key issues of educational reform, e.g. decentralisation of the education system, curriculum reform, teacher training, quality assurance, democratic principles in education, etc. and on future steps of the implementation of education reform. Ministry representatives and experts of SEE countries also explored possible areas of future cross-border co-operation in educational reform.

Based on the Thematic Reviews the regional perspective of education development in SEE countries has also been analysed in a regional overview of the common problems and reform needs of SEE countries. Although there are no general regional solutions for national education reform challenges, regional consultation processes in targeted areas substantially support the development and implementation of reform strategies at national levels.

In order to further promote these national and regional consultation processes, the Task Force will organise two regional events on targeted areas giving special attention to the Accession/Stabilisation Processes. The first regional event is planned for autumn 2002.

• Networking/ Dissemination of Information among Educational Communities in the Region and towards the wider European Education Area

  The SEE Educational Co-operation Network (SEE ECN) with a hub in Ljubljana and a network of nodes in the region is the information and dissemination backbone of the Task Force network. It collects and constantly updates information on educational reform processes (e.g. strategy papers, curricula, legislation, reports) and provides a regular overview of activities in SEE (workshops, conferences, meetings, etc.). In areas of common interest relevant documents on education reform in the wider European context are collected.

  Up to now in each of the countries in the region an information node has been identified and co-operation structures with the hub in Ljubljana have been established. In October 2001 the Education Ministers of Slovenia and Austria signed a letter of intent to jointly support the further development of the network. While preserving the ECN as a light, lean structure, existing activities should be extended to cover all aspects of an enhanced network (cf. "Feasibility Study on the Creation of a Southeast European Educational Co-operation Centre", commissioned by the EC and conducted by the London University, Institute of Education).

  Consultation with further donor institutions concerning participation in a donors’ consortium is ongoing.

  The first project phase will be completed by August/September 2002. The second phase will focus on the establishment of an "Open College" within the ECN, providing targeted capacity and institution building measures for educators in SEE.

Development of New Regional Projects in Targeted Priority Areas

The Experience of the Quick Start Projects

Two years after the Stability Pact Regional Funding Conference in March 2000 the majority of Quick Start Projects has successfully been implemented, others will be finalised soon. The Quick Start Projects covered a wide range of areas and activities and although conceived as short-term measures, their achievements are clearly visible and lay the basis for future projects, e.g. stocktaking activities such as the OECD Thematic Reviews, the Stocktaking Research on EDC/MoD Policies in SEE, the "Denied a Future?-Report on Access of Roma and Traveller Children to Education". Others have already received financing for a follow-up phase, e.g. the project on "Development of History Teaching Materials and Teacher Training in Albania, Bulgaria, FYR of Macedonia", and the "youthNET", whose next phase will be financed also by the European Commission.

A large part of Quick Start Projects has established sustainable cross-border networks, either for collecting, disseminating and exchanging information, e.g. the "SEE-Educational Co-operation Network (SEE-ECN)", the "Internet Network for History Textbook Development", and the "Banat Network for Intercultural Citizenship Education" or for capacity building and establishing cross-border co-operation between key actors in the respective field, such as the "Regional University Network in Governance and Management in SEE", "Strengthening Local and Regional Structures of Adult Learning", a number of school networks, regional history workshops etc.

New Projects in 2002

The experience and expertise gained in the 44 Quick Start Projects provides a solid basis for the next phase of targeted project development, which has started in early 2002.

In the fields of "Policy Development and System Improvement" and "Vocational Education and Training" the focus for 2002 is on the analysis of education policies in SEE countries and on the development of reform strategies, as in the launch of the OECD Thematic Reviews and the ETF Peer Reviews on VET. These reviews will provide the framework for the identification of priority projects in the respective areas.

In the field of Higher Education the TF works in close co-operation with other higher education networks and institutions and promotes sustainable regional co-operation in SEE and towards the EU, considering the European-wide Bologna Process as an important incentive for the HE reform process in SEE.

A number of regional pilot projects on governance and capacity building in pre-university education and higher education are under way or will start soon, e.g. "Twinning Regional School Administrations in Serbia" (project start planned for first half of 2002) and the "Regional University Network on Governance and Management of Higher Education in SEE" (has started in January 2002).

In the areas of Education for Democratic Citizenship, History/History Teaching and Young People new priority projects have been identified based on the results of the Quick Start Projects, the TF Strategic Framework and Priorities and on consultations with donors.

For EDC 11 priority projects have been identified, for Young People 9 projects, the results of the screening of History Projects will follow soon. These projects clearly meet the identified key priorities and foremost have a mid-term perspective in order to ensure sustainability and impact on the education and youth sector.

The Task Force is currently looking for financial support for these new projects among the donor community in order to contribute to education reform activities not only at policy level, but also at the concrete project level.

Conditional to donor interest further rounds for new projects might follow during 2002/2003.

Work Plan 2002/2003

Objectives	Realised /Planned Activities	Date in 2002	Benchmarks
1. Support of long-term education reform and system development in SEE countries with a focus on regional co-operation, networking, exchange of expertise, capacity building	Launches of the OECD Thematic Reviews in SEE: - International Conferences on Education have already taken place in Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia - OECD Launching Conference in Kosovo - Consultation on further Launching Events/ Education Conferences to take place in Albania, Bulgaria and Romania - Consultation with other countries are ongoing (Bosnia- Hercegovina, FYROM, Moldova)	Belgrade, Jan 16/17 Podgorica, Jan 18 Zagreb, May 24/25 Prishtina, June 10/11 Autumn 2002	- 6 launching events have taken place by the end of 2002 - cross-border exchange of information and identification of possible areas for co-operation takes places
	Conference on the Status of Education Reform in Serbia, 6 months after the launching event	Belgrade, September 2002 (to be confirmed)	Reform process in targeted areas of education has been assessed
	Regional network seminar on a priority issue for capacity building in SEE	Second half of 2002	Capacity building in an education priority area for 30 key actors takes place at regional level
2. Lobbying for the incorporation of South Eastern Europe into a European Area of Education and promoting the European perspective	6th Conference of the European Ministers of Education ÓEducation in the New MillenniumÓ, organised by the European Commission, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport/Spain, the Ministry of Education,Slovak Republic	Bratislava, June 16-18, 2002	European Integration Process in the field of education of SEE has been supported
	Working Meeting of Senior Officials from SEE Ministries of Education on the integration of SEE countries into the wider European Area of Education with a special focus on the EU Objective Report on Education	December 2002 To be confirmed
3. Networking/ Dissemination of information among educational communities in the region and towards the wider European Education Area	Further development of the South East European Educational Network (SEE-ECN): strengthening the regional nodes, providing targeted capacity and institution building measures for educators in SEE	September 2002 onwards	- Continuation of the ECN for the next phase has been ensured - First seminar activities of the regional network take place in 2002

Objectives	Planned Activities	Date in 2002	Benchmarks
4. Development of New Regional Projects in Targeted Priority Areas	Presentation of new projects in targeted areas (Education for Democratic Citizenship, Young People, History/History Teaching) to the donor community for funding Lobbying for financial support at the donor community; donor commitment, contractual procedures between donors and project implementing institutions	End of May/June Ongoing	- Funding ensured for some of the short-listed projects - Projects can start implementation in 2002/beginning of 2003 - Conditional to donor interest further rounds of project development envisaged
5. Regional networking of key stakeholders in education and youth at expert and policy level 6. Continuous lobbying for education and youth issues in the region and internationally 7. Identification of synergies of TF activities in the respective areas with existing networks and initiatives across the region and internationally	Extended Meeting of the Working Group on Young People Meeting of the Board for Excellence Meeting of the Task Force Meeting of the Working Group on History/History Teaching Further Working Group Meetings	Kotor, Sep 6-8, 2002 Brussels, Sep 10, 2002 Autumn 2002 November 2002 End of 2002/spring 2003	- Enhanced participation of key stake holders in education and youth from all SEE countries in regional networks - Enhanced co-operation with key stake holders, esp. the European Commission on education and youth issues in SEE
8. Stocktaking and assessment of Task Force activities	International Conference (follow-up to the Sofia Conference in November 1999)	First half of 2003	Comprehensive analysis of achievements and shortfalls, recommendations on the future strategy and activities in regional cooperation on education and youth in SEE