Members of civil society representative bodies from countries of the Euro-Mediterranean region met in Turin to discuss the situation of education and training in the area. Although the challenges faced by each of the countries are different, as access to education and training is very unbalanced in the region, the general consensus was that investing in human capital is essential for the sustainable development of the countries, but also to ensure regional stability and security.

The participants in the Euro-Mediterranean Summit of Economic and Social Councils and Similar Institutions discussed the challenges posed by education in the region and contributed to a collective reflection that will give rise to an in-depth report that will be sent to Governments of the represented countries.

During the debate, proposals were made to enhance Educational and Vocational Training (EVT) and lifelong learning in all Euromed countries as part of a project aimed at consolidating strong democracies, solid economies and societies with less inequalities. It was also agreed that the EU should contribute to ensuring the design of a quality EVT system in Euromed countries and, with that aim, a number of proposals were made for joint action to: increase networking, e-learning and cooperation between education providers; promoting projects to mainstream gender equality in EVT activities; supporting the development of national qualification frameworks.

This year, the event was co-organised by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the European Training Foundation (ETF).

Read more

Press release