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The Commission-appointed High-Level Expert Forum on Mobility published
its report on 10 July in which it recommends making periods of learning abroad a rule , rather than the exception for young Europeans.
To attain this goal the expert group proposes
concrete mid-term targets: by 2020, at least 50% of all young people aged
16-29 should be offered the opportunity to engage in some form of cross-border
mobility at some point.
This overall target can be realized if, by 2020,
mobility reaches just over 6% of university students every year, as well
as 3.5% of trainees in vocational education and training.
When presenting the report on 10 July, the
European Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Youth, Ján
Figel', said that “people really benefit from the experiences they gain
abroad, not only in terms of language knowledge, but also in intercultural
know-how”.
“I welcome the recommendation by the High Level
Forum on Mobility for encouraging the Membe r States to make such periods of
learning abroad the rule, rather than the exception, for young Europeans", the
Commissioner emphasized.
The report, entitled "Making Learning Mobility
an Opportunity for All", is a result of six months' reflection on how to
create more opportunities for mobility of young people between EU Member States.
It contains experts' recommendations on how to make learning mobility across
borders a natural feature for young Europeans.
The report also includes a package of suggestions
with a view to strengthening the EU's present mobility programmes. Besides
Erasmus, Comenius, Leonardo da Vinci and Grundtvig, which all form part of the
Lifelong Learning Programme, recommendations are also made on mobility aspects
of other programmes, including the Erasmus Mundus, Youth in Action, Culture and
Europe for Citizens programmes.
The High Level Expert Forum on Mobility was set
up in December 2007 by the European Commissioner for Education, Training,
Culture and Youth, Ján Figel', to strengthen and promote the mobility of young
people in the 21st century. The Expert Forum brings together 11 mobility experts
from 10 EU Member States covering such wide-ranging fields as higher education,
youth, vocational training, employment, culture and music. >>> more
information
Full text of the report: "Making Learning
Mobility an Opportunity for All": http://ec.europa.eu/education/doc/2008/mobilityreport_en.pdf |
