Workshop D - Session 2

Title: Securing a Policy Framework - National and Regional Perspectives Chair: Peter Krug, Department for Training, Knowledge and Continuing Education for the Rhineland-Pfalz, Germany

Introduction by Peter Krug

Peter Krug is responsible for adult education in one state of Germany and the co-ordinator of the Adult Education Policy of the 16 states in Germany.

We all agree that lifelong learning is important for future society; that there are certain developments and mega-trends in adult education and lifelong learning; and that adult education plays a major role in lifelong learning. We cannot only wait for the time our children will have learned to learn and have the standards we have discussed, but we have to do something for those who are now adults. We have to do some adult education within lifelong learning now. Adult education is a co-operative project, a matter of shared responsibility.

What kind of levels of public responsibilities do we have in the different public authorities, on the community level, on the regional level or on the national stage or at international level in lifelong learning?

And the other questions are: what forms of public responsibility will we have for adult education? Must there be more regulation or should there be more autonomy, more ownership? Must there be a financing system by public authorities for everything in adult education and lifelong learning, or should there more or less be financing for a corporation with funding systems, with sponsoring systems, with public/private partnerships? What fields of public responsibilities should we have? Should we give more institutional support, financial support, to institutions, or should we give more financial support to the individuals, like these learning accounts we have heard about here in the UK, or should we more pay attention to the financing of the framework for adult education for lifelong learning and of the system for lifelong learning and to the financing of research? What are the most public support structures, framework structures, that one should have, which public authorities help finance and support? Should there be more counselling, more quality assurance, or ways for more acceptance and more recognition of the results of lifelong learning? Should we support more participation structures within the lifelong learning process?

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