The Ministry of Education has launched a series of events in the framework of the first ever Presidency of the Slovak Republic of the Council of the EU

The first of these events was a meeting of the High Level Group for Education and Training in the EU i, which traditionally takes place the month before the official start of the Presidency.

On 9 and 10 June senior officials from the EU Member States and representatives from the EU institutions met in Bratislava for political-level discussions on planned initiatives in the area of education and training and to officially present the key priorities of the Presidency in that area.

“The main focus of the meeting was the New Skills Agenda for Europe, the European Commission's strategic initiative for education and the promotion of employment, which will be among the key priorities of the Slovak Presidency,” explained the Director-General of the Directorate-General for International Cooperation and European Affairs, Marek Moška, who also officially opened the meeting.

The floor was then taken by Ivan Hromada, Head of the Research, Science and Education Unit at the Permanent Representation of the Slovak Republic to the EU, who chaired the meeting and summarised the benefits of the workshops that took place during the event. “Participants in the interactive workshops discussed key competences that we all need to apply fully and actively, in the work process and in society,” said Hromada.

Intense and lively debates were held on topics such as digital skills, critical thinking, and social and civic skills, as well as the worryingly poor state of basic skills - reading, writing, arithmetic and digital literacy.

The meeting was concluded with the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic presenting its priorities for the Slovak Presidency in the area of education, which will be developed around the key motto "talent promotion and development", i.e. the New Skills Agenda for Europe, digital skills and modernisation of higher education.

The event was also used to present Slovak best practices in terms of working with and promoting creativity and talent.