Fourth European Education Summit: The Next Decade of European Education

The European Education Summit is the annual flagship event of the European Education Area, the EU’s shared vision of a modern and inclusive European education and training sector, fit to face the digital and green transitions. The 2021 4th European Education Summit, 'The Next Decade of European Education' will take place online on 9 November 2021 in the form of a full-day online event. The event will livestreamed (English only). No registration is needed to follow the live stream.
Programme
The event is split in a morning and afternoon session. High-level keynote speakers will discuss approaches on improving the quality of the education sector, offering a more inclusive, fair and digital future to children, and promote initiatives for adult learning, well-being of teachers and pupils, and the skills European citizens and businesses need to acquire to advance the twin digital and green transformation of their sectors.
Morning session
09:30 - 10:20 Opening statements:
- Speech by Ursula Von der Leyen, President of the European Commission
- Opening statement by Margaritis Schinas, Vice-President of the European Commission
- Setting the stage: Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth
- Welcome by the Slovene Presidency of the Council of the EU: Simona Kustec, Minister for Education, Science, Youth and Sport, Slovenia
- Statement by Sabine Verheyen, Member of the European Parliament, Chair of the Committee on Culture and Education (CULT)
10:20 - 10:30 Coffee break
10:30 - 11:00 Keynote speeches
- Empowering Youth: Teachers' Mission - Lidija Kralj, Senior Analyst, European Schoolnet
- Regenerative education as a driver of socio-ecological sustainability: a whole-person, whole-school and whole-community perspective - Arjen Wals, Professor of Transformative Learning for Socio-Ecological Sustainability, Wageningen University.
11:00 - 12:30 Presentations
- Education and well-being: the 2021 Education and Training Monitor unveiled: Presentation of the 2021 Education and Training Monitor by Themis Christophidou, Director-General, DG EAC, European Commission, followed by a moderated discussion with Susanne Conze, Head of Unit, Country analysis, DG EAC, and Bartek Lessaer, Policy Officer, Evidence-Based Policy and Evaluation, DG EAC.
- Highlights from the 2021 European Innovative Teaching Award: Wrap-up of the pilot edition of the European Innovative Teaching Award and panel discussion with European Commissioner, Mariya Gabriel, and 2021 laureates of the Award.
Afternoon session
13:00 - 13:45 Parallel High-Level Panels
- European Strategy for Universities: a discussion of the EU Strategy for Universities, a key element of the European Education Area and the European Research Area, foreseen for adoption by the European Commission in January 2022. With the participation of:
- Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner, Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth
- Manuel Castells Oliván, Minister of Universities, Spain
- Nikolai Denkov, Minister of Education and Science, Bulgaria
- Maria Cristina Messa, Minister for Universities and Research, Italy
- József Bódis, Minister of State for Higher Education, Innovation and Vocational Education and Training, Hungary
- Snježana Prijić-Samaržija, Rector, University of Rijeka (YUFE European University)
- Jakub Grodecki, Vice-President, European Students’ Union (ESU)
- Teachers' and students' wellbeing: a discussion on the strategies to enhance students’ and teachers’ well-being as conditions for inclusive education and better educational outcomes, using examples of policies and activities from national to school level.
- Justyne Caruana, Minister for Education, Malta
- Norma Foley, Minister for Education, Ireland
- Ben Weyts, Vice-Minister-President of the Government of Flanders and Flemish Minister for Education, Sports, Animal Welfare and Vlaamse Rand, Belgium
- Cristian Pîrvulescu, Member of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), Honorary President of the Pro-Democracy Association (APD) and Dean of the Faculty of Political and Administrative Studies (SNSPA)
- Barbara Novinec, President, European Federation of Education Employers (EFEE)
- Marie Linde Husby, Psychologist, The Student Counselling Service, Denmark
13:45 - 14:00 Break
14:00 - 14:45 Parallel High-Level Panels
- Inclusive education: A step towards a more equal and cohesive society: Following extensive consultations throughout 2021 on several EU-funded initiatives, this panel presents the opportunity to reflect on strategic orientations for future inclusive reforms.
- Nicolas Schmit, European Commissioner, Jobs and Social Rights
- Li Andersson, Minister of Education, Finland
- Simon Harris, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Ireland
- Sorin-Mihai Cîmpeanu, Minister of Education, Romania
- Larry Flanagan, President, European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE)
- Alexey Vladimirov Pamporov, Associate Professor and Deputy Head of Department Knowledge Society: Science, Education, and Innovations, Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
- Strategies for a successful digital education transformation
- Robert Plaga, Minister for Education, Youth and Sports, Czech Republic
- Prodromos Prodromou, Minister of Education, Culture, Sport and Youth, Cyprus
- Victor Negrescu, Member of the European Parliament, Vice-Chair, Committee on Culture and Education (CULT)
- Anne Karjalainen, Chair of SEDEC (Commission for Social Policy, Education, Employment and Culture), Committee of the Regions (CoR), and Chair of Kerava City Council
- Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl, Director-General, Digital Europe
Two other parallel high-level panels featuring experts and keynote speakers will dive into other areas such as the Global Dimension of Education, Future education trends and developments between 16:00 to 16:45.
17:00 - 17:30 Closing remarks
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