European Association for Education of Adults (E.A.E.A.)
AONTAS is a member of the EAEA and the AONTAS Vice President Brid Connolly is an Executive Member of the association.
The EAEA is a transnational, non-profit association whose purpose is to link and represent European organisations, which are directly involved in adult learning. Its primary focus is non-governmental organisations whose principal aim is the education of adults, and it works where possible through national co-ordinating bodies for adult learning.
Originally known as the European Bureau of Adult Education, it was founded in 1953 by representatives from a number of European countries.
Website: http://www.eaea.org/
2005 EAEA General Assembly
In November the European Association for the Education of Adults (EAEA) held a Valuing Learning seminar and General Assembly. AONTAS was represented at the events by members of its staff and Executive. The Seminar and Assembly were attended by over one hundred representatives working in the area of adult education from countries across Europe.
The seminar, which was run over two days, involved in-depth exploration and analysis of issues around Valuing Learning and the validation of learning. Presentations were made by representatives from the Norwegian Ministry of Education and from the European Directorate of Education and Culture. Participants also had the opportunity to discuss and explore the topic of Valuing Learning through workshops examining different aspects of the theme.
At the seminar the 3rd Grundtvig Award was presented to the project "Raccontare l'Europa", and the Italian association UPTER Universita Popolare di Roma with partners from Belgium, Germany, Italy and Spain. A second special award was presented to a project submitted by the Peace Research Institute in the Middle East (PRIME), Beit Jala, Israel. This project is titled 'Learning each other's historical narrative: Palestinians and Israelis´.
At the general Assembly of the EAEA the work of the organisation for 2004/2005 was presented through an innovative DVD presentation. The new key priorities for 2006-2008 were discussed in working groups. We heard news on ICAE activities and the forthcoming regional Confintea, ICAE world assembly, and Confintea VI. Some constitutional changes were discussed and accepted for clarity and new EAEA members were welcomed.
AONTAS is represented on the Board of the EAEA by our Honorary Secretary, Brid Connolly. Further information on the EAEA is available from the website www.eaea.org
