Developments: Slovenian Presidency highlighted adult education
The Slovenian Institute for Adult Education (SIAE) , communicates that althought adult education was strongly affected by the COVID-19 epidemic in 2020/21, the ALE situation has generally improved in Slovenia.
The National Master Plan of Adult Education 2013-2020 expired in 2020. A new National Master Plan of Adult Education 2021-2030 is being prepared, which should be adopted by the end of 2021 in the National Parliament. Also new guidelines for the implementation of counselling activities in ALE, implemented as a public service, were approved in June 2020 by the Expert Council for Adult Education.
In the second half of 2021, Slovenia held the Presidency of the Council of the EU and placed adult education at the forefront of its presidency in the education sector. The basic activity was the preparation of a draft Resolution on the new European Agenda for Adult Learning 2021-2030. Slovenian experts in cooperation with national and European stakeholders prepared a draft Resolution. SIAE worked closely with the presidency working group on this document.
In addition, SIAE helped to prepare the dual conference Adult Learning and Education – The Resilient Response to Future Challenge. They also had a say in drafting the Declaration of the before mentioned conference which is the professional statement on ALE in Europe 2021.
Climate strategy adopted
In July 2021, the National Parliament adopted a Resolution on Slovenia's Long-Term Climate Strategy 2050 and an Action Plan for the Implementation of the Climate Strategy until 2030. It sets a clear goal, namely to achieve net zero emissions or climate neutrality by 2050. It also sets strategic sectoral targets for 2040 and 2050, which individual sectors including ALE must strictly adhere to and incorporate into their sectoral documents and plans.
Funding
The main funding income of ALE Slovenia comes from project and programme funding, structural funding and fees paid by individuals or employers.
I n 2020/2021, there were no changes in the method of financing ALE. However, the COVID-19 pandemic significantly reduced the absorption of funds from the state budget, at the expense of reduced activities and the implementation of education, especially in the field of general non-formal education, education for the unemployed and education for employers.
CONFINTEA VII
SIAE confirms their involvement in CONFINTEA VII the Seventh International Conference on Adult Education in 2022 but the presence of some representative of the organisation in the conference is still unknown.