Grundtvig: It’s always a good time to learn

Until recently, people generally associated learning with the education they received at school and university. Today, Europe is undergoing a major transformation to become a world-leading knowledge based society. This means that knowledge, and the innovation it sparks, are the EU’s most valuable assets. The Lifelong Learning Programme (LLP) supports individuals at all stages of their lives to pursue stimulating opportunities for learning across Europe.

A range of trans-national mobility activities within the Lifelong Learning Programme off ers pupils, students, trainees, adults, professionals, professors and teachers a unique chance to obtain education, training and work experience in a foreign country. Thus, they acquire new expertise and professional skills and in addition
develop their capacities to adapt to new environments. Mobility activities are supported in all of the four sectoral programmes of the Lifelong Learning Programme, i. e. Comenius, Erasmus, Leonardo da Vinci and Grundtvig.

Grundtvig is a prime example of how Europe creates opportunities for its citizens. Teachers, trainers, tutors and other staff of working with adult education move to other countries and come back with a bag full of experience. Apart from knowledge in new subjects or in teaching matters, in better organisational skills and in intercultural understanding, they acquire an improved command of other languages
and deeper insight into the host countries.

One of the key eff ects of the mobility actions is the mutual understanding and trust they create among the education and training systems of the countries participating in the LLP, which helps to improve education structures and supports cooperation for a European Area of Education and Training.

In order to ensure quality, the European Commission has established a European Quality Charter for Mobility, which provides recommendations to organisations responsible for mobility. The exchange lifespan includes preparatory measures, implementation and follow-up – three stages that must be considered as a whole for a project of quality.

I am pleased to present the outstanding projects and courses included in this brochure to demonstrate the potential and positive eff ects of mobility of staff working on the adult learning sector. These examples of good practices at European level can provide inspiration to potential project coordinators and course developers in mobility actions. They should encourage European citizens to seize the opportunities that mobility in Europe has to off er to improve knowledge and skills, enlarge horizons and meet new friends and colleagues throughout Europe.