How can formal and non-formal learning contribute to social inclusion?

In May 2017 a public consultation was opened to gather the opinions of citizens as well as Civil Society Organisation (CSOs) on the role of formal and non-formal learning in contributing to social inclusion and EU values. Almost 40% of respondents indicated in the online survey that education should do more to promote social inclusion and shared values. The responses indicate that formal and non-formal learning need to work in particular on addressing the challenges of discrimination of learners, alongside wider social challenges leading to young people’s detachment from the education and training system and society as a whole.

An overwhelming majority (97.7 %) indicated that the EU should support the Member States in helping young people understand the importance of and adhere to shared values. It was considered that the EU should particularly focus on strengthening its actions in the field of mobility and disseminating best practices in the field of inclusive education to support the mainstreaming of best practices on the ground.

Even though the European Institutions have launched a series of centralised actions on how to promote the EU and its shared values, commitment from national and regional government is necessary in this regard. SOLIDAR Foundation is striving for social justice and committed to promoting open dialogue between civil society and the European Institutions as well as creating an open and transparent platform for its members and partners to share best practices and identify policy recommendations that can be transferred from one national reality to another or even to the European level.

The full overview of the results, that includes, for example, a call for action by the EU to further

increase the mobility opportunities for students and teachers under the Erasmus+ programme, additional project funding for cooperation in the field of social inclusion, can be found here.