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Workshop D
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Workshop A |
Workshop B |
Workshop C |
Workshop D
Workshop D - Session 2
I will be talking to you about the Catalan region and its perspective on education, adult education and lifelong learning. Education is the best economic policy that we have. It is also a cornerstone of Tony Blair's policy. In Catalonia we say that the great wealth that we have in our country is our human resources - people. We have a policy through which people can gain various qualifications, a broad range of qualifications, but it also creates a context which fosters social cohesion and the well-being of each individual. As you know, Catalonia is in Northern Spain and it is a country that is over 1000 years old. It has a large population and there are many people moving to Catalonia. So that is why it is so important for us, to each individual, to see that there are more and more Catalans. There are 6 million of us living in Catalonia. 3 million live in Barcelona and in the Metropolitan area of Barcelona, and there are about 3 million people living in rural areas of the region. So everyone should be able to have access to opportunities for educational advancement. For that we need a range of activities and we have also to make use of new technologies because not everyone has access to a physical centre where he or she can engage in the various activities or programmes. Much has been said in this conference about the new context, the new situation, and in this we are considering policy frameworks for lifelong learning. This means not only the possibility of basic education in order to acquire diplomas that one might not have obtained at a younger age, when schooling was compulsory. We are talking here about on-going education, training for workers, and also about training and education for those who want to make the most of culture and leisure activities. Broad Social Consensus Catalonia has a full educational system and we have been an autonomous region since 1980. In 1988 we introduced special legislation which was passed by the Parliament of Catalonia with no-one voting against it, so there was a broad social consensus with regard to this legislation. Among other things, this legislation creates an important council. Various people are brought together representing all departments that have activities or programmes, and it also brings together members of unions, academics, those representing business and all associations and federations at municipal level. So it is a broad council that represents civil society and everyone is able to express his or her priorities. The legislation also created a special inter-departmental committee. Nine departments take part in this and its main objective is to establish inter-departmental training programmes for lifelong learning, so that across Catalonia there are programmes available to all. This means that we have programmes that are designed for those working, those interested in cultural issues, and so on. The main objective of this inter-departmental committee is to co-ordinate all these activities, and to promote and co-ordinate other projects and, in particular, to evaluate the results of all these programmes. In fact, we have already begun to do this. In 1992, we set up this kind of programme which covers a range of over 3000 different projects. We evaluated the results of this first programme and we are now putting the finishing touches to plans covering the next 10 years, which will cover over 5400 different activities. The Department of Education, of Employment, of Culture, of the Environment, of Agriculture and Fisheries, of Justice - they are all involved. And this covers eight fields depending on the activity that the Departments are responsible for. We are also working hard to develop Europe and to develop Catalonia's position within Europe. We have been considering a new social contract through which we will maintain a standard of living while making the adjustments that are necessary or advisable, that is that citizens must participate at all levels of society. It means that we are working towards active citizenship, and adult education is - as far as we are concerned - a very much appreciated tool, to prepare for this or to allow for this social participation. Social Cohesion I would say that the second main approach has to do with social cohesion. There are a lot of people in our community from many different origins, so it is important for us to highlight the importance of lifelong learning and see how we can draw on what everyone has to offer from these very different cultures, so that we achieve social cohesion. Finally I would say that in order to implement our lifelong learning plans and adult education programme, we are setting up centres that are like a kind of large supermarket, but they are specialised in various types of programmes. They are like boutiques - centres where people can come forward and ask for specially designed programmes to help them upgrade their skills. Our need is to train people, open-minded people who are willing to learn and who are convinced of how important training and education is. We know that learning is something important, it is a lifelong process; and so we must convince people of the importance of lifelong learning for everyone. It is a way of living. In Catalonia we say that learning is the key that makes it possible for us to open many doors. Q: You said at one point that all the different Government Departments are involved in educational initiatives. Could you say, for example, what an initiative involving the Justice Department would be like, and what it would aim to achieve? Q: This kind of comprehensive schedule, like a joint venture in sponsoring and supporting adult education, we have heard here in England from this Learning Age; we have a Dutch model; in Germany we do as well. It is a good idea, but does it really work? Are there a lot of problems, concerning jealousy, who does what, public relations, marketing, and everything like this? Angela Miquell i Angarill: Now, with respect to policies at the Department of Justice, for instance, this covers all the activities and programmes in penitentiaries. There are a lot of programmes that are developed for inmates in penitentiaries, so they can take some courses when they are in prison, work towards a degree, or prepare for a future job. For example, a programme that allows an inmate to make the best of his time behind bars. Another example is that it is possible for inmates to reduce their sentence by taking part in various educational activities. Is the programme successful? Well, there are some difficulties, some serious difficulties. We have been trying to put this new structure in place for 10 years now. However, the Inter-Departmental Committee is set up, it is a statutory committee and we cannot abolish it. But we set up this committee, the point of which was to get ahead, and we have made some progress, in fact we have made a lot of progress. For instance, right now we have a problem with young people who are dropping out of school without a degree, without any diploma, and they then come back into the educational system to try and get a diploma. So the Department of Education and the Department of Labour along with our Department have set up, or designed rather, a programme that provides various opportunities for these young people. These are special social programmes that are required by law and with various possibilities for these young people to find a job, to get into the marketplace, as apprentices for instance. In Catalonia we have a learning culture, whereby young people might go into a workshop, into a company, and learn on the job a type of apprenticeship. So these young people get on-the-job training. It is one way for them to gain experience. We also have another programme in conjunction with the Department of Culture and the Department of Health, which involves promoting physical activity in the interests of good health, and this programme was put in place for all professionals. But when we implemented the programme only one Department was put in charge of it, of managing it, and in fact not everyone knows that this programme is available. We are a rather sedentary society, we do not get much exercise, and it is a problem in a developed society. So the main purpose of this programme is to encourage people to take exercise. There are other issues too such as minimum salaries and this has to do with trying to help and protect those who are excluded.
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