FutureLabAE

The FutureLabAE project addresses two main issues; the situation of democracy in Europe and the high number of people in Europe who lack basic skills.

This project aims to strengthen the capacity of educators to tackle issues arising from an increasing number of citizens who are disengaging with the political establishment and leaning towards populist and xenophobic politics. It also looks at ways to address challenges arising from the large number of people in Europe who need support with their basic skills, including digital literacy skills, to be able to truly benefit from digital transformation.

The FutureLabAE project will provide adult education organisations, staff and trainers with:

• Resources, online courses and webinars
• A space for discussing with and learning from each other
• Knowledge, expertise and tools to become more pro-active to develop innovative, change-oriented education provision

Partners will develop concrete recommendations that will allow policy-makers to support the adult education sector in the challenges above mentioned as well as to draft policy initiatives on digitalisation and democracy.

The FutureLabAE consortium is composed of nine partners from eight countries.

Project lead:

Institut National de Formation et de Recherche sur l’Education Permanente (INFREP) – France

Project partners:

• European Association for the Education of Adults (EAEA) – Belgium
• National Adult Learning Organisation (AONTAS) – Ireland
• Asociacia institucii vzdelavania dospelych v Slovenskej republike (AIVD) – Slovakia
• Kansanvalistusseura (KVS) – Finland
• Itä-Suomen yliopisto (UEF) – Finland
• Amar Terra Verde, LDA. (EPATV) – Portugal
• Die Wiener Volkshochschulen GMBH (VHS) – Austria
• Swiss Federation for Adult Learning (SVEB) – Switzerland –> Joined thanks to national funding

Project timing: November 2018 - August 2021

Funding stream: ERASMUS+ Key Action 2 - Support for policy reform

Learners as Leaders: Developing Democracy through Change-Oriented Community Education in Ireland

On Monday, 1^st March 2021, AONTAS and the FutureLabAE project team delivered a workshop as part of the AONTAS Adult Learners' Festival 2021. The workshop was aimed at adult educators, practitioners, academics, learners, policy makers and providers. It showcased the Learners as Leaders change-oriented adult learning methodology, the Irish model of community education and learner voice activities. To learn more about the event, click here to read a reflective blog post, "If we don't learn, we will have no democracy" by the European Association for the Education of Adults (EAEA). 

For more information on events and courses related to this project, please visit: https://eaea.org/project/future-lab/?pid=13715 or please contact AONTAS Head of Advocacy, Dearbháil Lawless at dlawless@aontas.com. 

---