Education Conference: Diverse Talents for the future of Europe

The Federation of Active Associations of Belgium (Fedactio) organises an international conference on diversity in education and the role of civil society in collaboration with a number of universities and institutions. The conference takes place in Brussels on the 5^th and 6^th of March 2012. The opening ceremony and the first session will be held in the European Parliament and the second and the third sessions in the Flemish Ministry of Education and Formation.

The title of the conference is: “Diverse Talents for the future of Europe: strengthening Europe through grassroots civil initiatives in education”. It builds on the goals of the Europe 2020 Strategy for education: to reduce school drop-out rates and increase the level of education for everyone. It is now known that these phenomena often appear to be problematic for youngsters from an immigrant background.

International experts, researchers, policy makers, civil society organisations and practitioners from the education sector will come together to discuss the following three key issues:

1. Which educational policies are needed to meet the Europe 2020 targets?
2. How can all young people, including those from an immigrant background, be given opportunities to develop their full potential and contribute to Europe’s future?
3. How can partnerships between schools and civil society, including the immigrant communities, contribute to achieve the European education ambitions for 2020?

Apart from presentations and numerous discussion moments, you will also have the opportunity to participate to field visits to highlight the practical side apart from the theory. In order to make the conference accessible to all, simultaneous interpretation will be provided into Dutch and French during both days.

You can consult the programme and practical information on www.educationconference.eu. Registration is also possible on the website before Monday February 27th. For any further practical information, please feel free to contact educationconference@fedactio.be.