MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
VET for social inclusion: from conceptualisation to actions
REGIONAL WORKSHOP
Tirana International Hotel, Tirana, 15–16 March 2012
Agenda
The Western Balkans[1] and Turkey have agreed to actively participate in regional cooperation through innovative and contextualised approaches with the aim:
· to raise awareness regarding the importance and benefits to be gained from VET for social inclusion and cohesion;
· to contribute to enhanced multi-level, cross-sectoral, cross-country and cross-regional policy dialogue and policy learning on practices and innovative approaches in education and training for social inclusion and cohesion in the Western Balkans and Turkey.
The event “VET for social inclusion in the Western Balkans and Turkey: from conceptualisation to actions”, to be held in Tirana, 15–16 March 2012 is organised by the European Training Foundation (ETF) jointly with the Albania Ministry of Education and Science. It is part of the continuous consultative process with partners from the Western Balkans and Turkey on how to enhance regional cooperation in the area of inclusive education and training. Israel is one of the ETF partner countries which expressed its interest, after participating to the Western Balkans and Turkey regional event in Ohrid in 2011, to join the WBT regional project “VET for Social Inclusion” for the period 2012- 2013.
The regional event will focus on the role of VET policy and systems for combating social exclusion and for contributing to building to more inclusive societies in the region of the Western Balkans and Turkey, including Israel. Within this framework the ETF regional intervention in 2012-2013 will be discussed with policy makers, practitioners and researchers from the region and EU Member States. The working group discussions will centre on the capacities of education and training systems for generating sound evidence on the potential of VET for promoting equity, social cohesion and active citizenship. Most importantly the national policies and practices that stimulate and support the enhanced inclusive character of the VET system in the region and EU will be shared with participants.
The Ministry of Education and Science and National Agency for Vocational Education, Training and Qualifications (NAVETQ) and the Institution for Education Development (IED) of the hosting country will also contribute to the regional peer learning activities by organising a one day school/community visit programme on the 16th of March 2012.
Overall Objective
· To contribute to the process of building inclusive societies in the region
· To maximise the contribution of education and training towards social inclusion
The specific objectives are:
· to discuss the operational modalities of actions of the ETF 2012-2013 intervention focussing on the links between vocational education and training (VET) and social inclusion for young people & adults in the Western Balkans, Turkey and Israel;
· to exchange information on challenges being faced and support needed for school managers, teaching staff, local government and community in addressing diversified needs in education and training and to learn from each other through peer learning activity at regional and EU level including European Includ-ED project [2].
Expected result: Conclude on the implementation modalities of actions of the ETF 2012-2013 intervention. Participants will be invited to reflect on the current contributions of VET to social inclusion in their countries, identification of the participating VET schools/centres, the role of the different country beneficiary institutions and the capacity development actions for the schools and community, central and local institutions. The school visits and experiences from the EC/EU Member States will enhance the exchange of information and learning from each other on how education and training can contribute to overcoming social exclusion and avoid that it is reinforced. Measures of effective educational and training policies and practices that contribute towards fostering social cohesion, improving learning processes and enhancing the academic attainment of all students in a national context, will be discussed in detail.
Participants: Invited participants will include representatives of ETF-supported Western Balkans and Turkey Regional Policy Network. Other members of the network who will attend come from the European Commission’s DGs, the Council of Europe, the Roma Education Fund (REF), the Open Society Institute (OSI), UNDP, ILO, GIZ, Swisscontact, KulturKontakt Austria, and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. Many distinguished experts from public institutions and NGOs from the Western Balkan and Turkey, Iceland, Israel, and EU Member States will join the meeting
Interpretation will be provided in the local languages of the region.
Interpretation will be provided in the local languages of the region.
DAY ONE – Thursday 15 March 2012, Tirana International Hotel
08.30 – 09.00 /Registration of participants
09.00 – 10.0010.00 – 10.30
10.30 – 11.00
11.00 – 11.30 / Plenary session, Balsha Room
Chair: Halit Shamata, Deputy Minister of Education and Science
Myqerem Tafaj, Minister of Education and Science
Luigi Brusa, Head of Operations Section, EU Delegation to Albania
Alastair Macphail, Head of Department, ETF
ETF work programme 2012-2013 on VET for social inclusion and social cohesion at regional level: evidence for policy making and tools
Lida Kita, ETF
Integrative Successful Actions in diverse social areas: the Mondragon VET model (European Includ-ED project)
Izaskun Alzola and Amaia Aizpuru Garmendia, Mondragón Corporation
Sandra Racionero Plaza, Researcher and Professor, University of Barcelona
Coffee break
Coffee break
11.30 – 13.00 / Plenary session: what we learn from each other?
Chair: Julian Stanley, University of Warwick
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Israel, Kosovo
Country cases of how VET schools, adult education centres collaborate with community, central and local government, employers, other institutions and their peers in shaping and implementing effective and inclusive educational practices in vocational education and training, highlighting specific transformative approaches to education policy and practice
13.00 – 14.15 / Lunch
14.15 – 16.30 / Continuation of plenary session: what we learn from each other?
Chair: Tidita Abdurrahmani, Director of the Institute of Educational Development
Iceland, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey
16.30 – 17.00
17.00 – 18.00 / Coffee break
Policies and approaches for Inclusive Education and Training
Chair: Lida Kita, ETF
Kate Lapham, Open Society Institute in New York
Bilgic Alpaslan Idil, TOBB University of Economics and Technology
Batuhan Aydagul Zakir, Education Reform Initiative
Daniela Zampini, ILO/One UN Joint Programme on Youth Employment and Migration
Open discussion
Conclusions of Day one and practical indications for Day two
20.00 / Official Dinner, Xibraku Restaurant, Elbasani Street, in front of “President’s Residence”
Transfer by bus - meeting at 19:40 in Tirana International hall
DAY TWO – Friday 16 March 2012
VISIT TO SCHOOLS- Measures of effective educational and training policies and practices that contribute towards fostering social cohesion, improving learning processes and enhancing the academic attainment of all students in a national context.
1. 9-year school “Bajram Curri”
Rruga " Niko Avrami"
Njesia Bashkiake Nr 4
Tirana
BLUE BADGE, meeting at 9:30 in Tirana International hall
2. VET high school “Beqir Cela”
Shkozet-Durres
YELLOW BADGE, meeting at 8:30 in Tirana International hall
3. VET school on Tourism
Rruga e Kavajes, Nr 50
Tirana
RED BADGE, meeting at 9:30 in Tirana International hall
4. Vocational training Center
Lagjia ‘Shenkoll’
Elbasan
GREEN BADGE, meeting at 8:30 in Tirana International hall
National Agency for Vocational Education, Training and Qualifications (NAVETQ) and the Institution for Education Development (IED) of the hosting country will decide about the schools/centres to be visited
Objective: to exchange information on challenges faced and support needed for school managers, teaching staff, local government, community and employers in addressing diversified needs in education and to learn from each other through peer learning activity.
School visits followed by discussions and reflections on transferability
Morning (see departure time) / Four parallel school visits12.30 – 14.00 / Lunch in restaurant Sofra & Airut Restaurant, Elbasan Street before arriving at the Presidential Residence
14.30 – 15.30
15.30 – 16.00
16.00– 17.00
17.00 – 17.30 /
Four parallel working groups, Tirana International Hotel:
1.BLUE BADGE, Balsha Room, facilitated by Marsela Taho, Roma Education Fund2.YELLOW BADGE, Onufri room, facilitated by Sabine Schubert, KulturKontakt
3.RED BADGE, Red room, facilitated by Evelyn Viertel, ETF
4.GREEN BADGE, Blue room, facilitated by Silvana Mjeda, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation
Four parallel working groups discussions will focus on observations, reflections and discussions among peers, where all the participants will have the opportunity to further elaborate their views focusing on some of these questions:
o Can the VET schools/centres/institutions make a multi-dimensional contributions through the skills, socialisation, civic, social mobility, equity and access dimensions
o How the curricular and extra-curricular activity (concrete examples) enables/hampers the school to implement its inclusive education policy?
o What are the key elements of considered “good practice” (related to inclusive education) and how are these good practices disseminated or shared with other schools’ community in the country?
o How the school links with the surrounding communities and participates in activities beyond the school walls - that contribute to inclusion
o What does the school do to further support the teacher professional development- can teachers really practise what they learn and how are these innovative small endeavours supported at the school level?
o How the schools, community, employers, local and central government institutions use the results of the integral evaluation carried out by the NIPE to monitor the school performance in regard to inclusiveness?
o Can you mention some of the differences and similarities between the experiences visited and the situation in your country?
o What ideas or actions are transferable to your context or work?
o If you had to summarize the visit on a message and you want to share it with the others, what would it be?
Coffee Break
Plenary discussion: presentations of the key messages and results from the four parallel working groups
Facilitated by: Afërdita Haxhijaha Imeri, NGO Deside and Lizzi Feiler, ETF
Closing remarks
Halit Shamata, Deputy Minister of Education and Science
Alastair Macphail, ETF
2
[1] The Western Balkans region includes Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo* (this designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence- hereinafter ‘Kosovo’), the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia
[2] INCLUD-ED. “Strategies for inclusion and social cohesion in Europe from education” Priority 7. Citizens and Governance in a Knowledge-based Society. Integrated Project. 6th FP. European Commission 2006-2011