Internationale conferentie over mobiliteit op het gebied van onderwijs in Sopot (en)

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  Our conference is held as part of the Polish Presidency in the EU Council and it perfectly matches the programme of the Polish Presidency, since it responds to one of the top priorities in the area of education, i.e. supporting educational mobility - said Katarzyna Hall, the Minister of National Education, at the opening of an exhibition in Sopot, promoting mobility projects of Polish beneficiaries of the EU education programmes. The exhibition served as an official inauguration of the international conference „Mobility as a tool to acquire and develop competences from childhood to seniority”, organized by the Ministry of National Education and the Foundation for the Development of the Education System (FRSE).
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  Mobility is important for people of different ages. It may be an opportunity to acquire knowledge and additional competences, a driving force behind technological development and it can contribute to improvement of social activity and intercultural sensitivity - said Minister Katarzyna Hall, encouraging people to find out more about the projects presented at the exhibition.

The exhibition presents almost thirty photographs of 18 projects that were financially and substantially supported by FRSE, in which mobility is the leading theme.

During the ceremony, Jacek Karnowski, the Mayor of Sopot, noted that it is the second time that Sopot is hosting such an important event, related to the Polish Presidency in the EU. - Thank you for your confidence. It is probably a result of the fact that Sopot is a beautiful city, which makes effective use of the EU funds - said Mayor Jacek Karnowski.

Miroslaw Marczewski, Director General of the Foundation for the Development of the Education System, said that the aim of the conference is to discuss the best use of opportunities provided by mobility and the best way to start preparing for it from the earliest years, in order to make it a factor that supports the feeling of European identity as well as stimulates creativity and entrepreneurship.

Welcoming the participants of the conference, Miroslaw Sielatycki, undersecretary of state at the Ministry of National Education, pointed out the importance of mobility for the future of the European Union and the whole Europe. - Without mobility, the achievement of goals such as competitive, innovative and loyal Europe will not be possible - said Deputy Minister Miroslaw Sielatycki.

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  Promotion of mobility is one of the priorities of the European Commission in the forthcoming years - said Jan Truszczynski, Director General for Education, Training, Culture and Youth in the European Commission. In his inaugural lecture, Mr Jan Truszczynski underlined the fact that mobility improves European identity and it is a chance and a challenge for the labour market and the development of civil society.

During the conference, the results of the competition for the best project within the Lifelong learning programme were announced. The winners of the „EDUInspiracje 2011” competition were granted statuettes and diplomas by Deputy Minister Miroslaw Sielatycki, Professor Zbigniew Marciniak, the undersecretary of state at the Ministry of Science and Higher Education as well as Director General Jan Truszczynski.

Helen Clark, Director of the Lifelong learning programme and policy in the European Commission - concluded the conference by addressing her thankfulness for the Polish Presidency for dealing with such important issue for Europe’s future. Mobility plays a key role in developing and modernizing the education systems- underlined Helene Clark.

At the end of the conference, the participants have accepted a common declaration which puts an emphasis on promotion and effective usage of available tools in the process of supporting the validation and acknowledgment of achievements acquired during educational mobility, including the ones acquired out of formal education, as well as, by assuring an appropriate place for teaching and learning languagesin next generation of the EU educational and youth programmes.

During the three-day (17-19 October) conference, more than 200 experts in different areas discussed, among other things, the way school education can support the process of shaping core competences from the earliest years. These competences are the basis of mobility. The participants of the conference discussed the way teachers should be prepared, in order to be able to encourage young people, in a competent way, to use the opportunities provided by mobility. They also talked about methods of teaching languages that will make the learners acquire skills that are necessary to communicate in their professional lives and to make them understand the culture of the country in which they are staying. Finally, they deliberated how to ensure the quality of mobility as well as confirm and recognize qualifications acquired in another country.

It has been debated as wellon instruments by means of which the level of mobility in Member States can be monitored, as well as how to encourage employers and public authorities to take mobility into account in the long-term business plans of companies and introduce system solutions supporting mobility in local, regional and national development strategies.

The conference was attended by representatives of the European Parliament, European Commission, members of the committees for the Lifelong learning and Youth in Action programmes, representatives of national agencies for education and youth, NGOs, foreign and national education institutions operating in the area of training, education and youth, higher education institutions, teachers and heads of schools, adult education facilities, representatives of employers as well as social partners.