VHS Wien – lernraum.wien

The VHS Vienna (VHS Wien) is a large adult education institution with a longstanding tradition in adult basic education. VHS Wien has 1.000 employed staff and about 2000 freelance teachers and trainers. VHS Wien offers a wide range of courses in general education and runs projects for pupils (Förderung 2.0) Roma children (Roma Lernhilfe), basic education courses, as well as upcycling projects (DRZ WIEN). VHS Wien has a longstanding tradition of outreach and empowerment work especially in municipal social housing projects. Supported by the City of Vienna, the federal government and the European Union, Vienna’s adult education centres run numerous projects to expand educational opportunities and prospects. Orientation towards the needs and requirements of learners and low-threshold access are important cornerstones of our work. Vienna’s adult education centres have strong regional roots, which is not least due to their over 120-year history. With 34 locations and 17 event centres, they provide low-threshold, local and inclusive access to education. A special focus is traditionally placed on educationally disadvantaged groups, who can be supported with a very broad network of educational and counselling services. https://www.vhs.at/de  

lernraum.wien, as a part of the Wiener Volkshochschulen GmbH deals with issues of multilingualism, integration and education. A team of experts works on basic research in theses fields, offers trainings for literacy and language teachers as well as for translators, organizes conferences and participates in international projects and learning partnerships. https://www.vhs.at/de/e/lernraum-wien  

European Association for the Education of Adult – EAEA

EAEA is a transnational, non-profit association with 120 members in 43 countries that represents adult learning and education (ALE) organisations at the EU level.  

EAEA’s membership spans the geographical region of Europe and, while EAEA’s policy work is based mainly on EU policies and initiatives, thereby also creates a bridge between EU and non-EU countries in terms of ALE provision and policy-making. An EAEA working group composed of members from non-EU countries is also looking in particular at how EU initiatives and policies in ALE could be applied to their countries and building regional cooperation. EAEA’s members must be non-profit organisations. For a full list of EAEA’s members, please refer to https://eaea.org/our-members/. 

EAEA provides information on EU policy to members, and, at the same time, cooperates with EU institutions, especially the European Commission (both DG EAC and DG EMPL), but also the European Parliament (where EAEA co-manages an Intergroup on Skills the LLL Platform), the EESC and the Committee of the Regions, to provide information on new developments at the grassroots level of ALE to the EU level.  EAEA also cooperates with national and regional governments as well as local authorities and education agencies. 

SVEB Schweizerischer Verband für Weiterbildung

SVEB is the Swiss national umbrella organisation for adult education and operates as a professional association and pressure group. In addition, we manage the national training-of-trainers system and are responsible for eduQua, the national quality label for adult learning providers. We are represented through offices in all three language regions. Our 750 SVEB members represent private and state institutions for adult education, associations, in-house training departments and individuals. https://alice.ch/de/  

AONTAS

AONTAS is the Irish National Adult Learning Organisation, founded in 1969, and has been passionately working ever since to make education equal and accessible for all. Backed by robust research and focused community work, the organisation advocates and lobbies for quality education for all adults and raises awareness of the impact of adult learning on both individuals and society. They work on behalf of their members, who connect with communities across the island of Ireland. Their members and adult learners inform all research and campaigns for social change. The organisation currently employs a total of 22 paid personnel. https://www.aontas.com/ 

SOLIDARCI

Since 2001 as an association and since February 2017 as a social cooperative, SOLIDARCI s.c.s. has dedicated itself with particular interest to issues related to migratory flows, with study and research activities on the integration of immigrant workers in the local context; designing forms of intervention aimed at improving the socio-economic conditions of non-EU workers and their families; designing and managing vocational training courses aimed at obtaining qualifications that can be used in the local labour market; managing consultancy, orientation and reception services for foreign citizens. 

SOLIDARCI s.c.s. recognizes as its mission that of pursuing the general interest of the community through the construction of processes of human and cultural promotion, the realization of equal opportunities of access to the rights and guarantees of citizenship for all citizens, without distinction of sex, nationality, religion, census. 

Networking, integration between the public and private social sectors, harm reduction and low-threshold services, cultural and conflict mediation, and the experimentation of innovative services constitute the practical methodological framework that inspires the cooperative to create communities, guarantee the centrality of rights, produce participation, to reach out to those living in situations of marginality. https://www.solidarci.it/  

DAFNI KEK

DAFNI KEK is a lifelong learning center that develops its activities based on local needs and challenges. DAFNI KEK participates in various calls for proposals for adult education in response to national and European funding frameworks. We constantly collaborate with the wider community of educators, as well as with Career Counselors, understanding their training needs, especially when working with vulnerable groups, and designing training opportunities at local or European level for their professional development.

Intercultural communication and awareness-raising are at the core of our educational interventions, bringing together groups and individuals from the wider social environment. KEK DAFNI carries out courses in collaboration with other local bodies with which it maintains a vital interaction for the benefit of the diversity of educational plans and individual paths of participation. Through all these collaborations we strive to engage our learners in the critical dialogue and culture of lifelong learning. Making the New European Agenda, Digital Competences and Upskilling Pathways a reality in all local communities – including the most remote areas included in our core strategy. https://www.kekdafni.gr/