Western Balkans and Europe 2020

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Western Balkans and Europe 2020 Towards
Convergence and Growth

• Regional Coordination Meeting,
• Brussels,
• 31 March
• Remus PRICOPIE, Chair of the TF BHC of RCC

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• RCC Task Force Fostering and Building Human
  Capital
• Summary
• 1) Overall objective of initiative
• 2) Membership and structure
• 3) Main activities and achievements
• 4) Value added of regional programme to national
  efforts
• 5) Relevance to Europe 2020 objectives of smart,
  sustainable, inclusive growth
• 6) Key Challenges facing initiative/sector
• 7) Planned Activities
• 8) Finance secured and funding gap

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• Overall objective of initiative
• The aim of the Task Force Fostering and Building
  Human Capital is to promote coherence and
  coordination between education, research and
  science by creating a platform for dialogue and
  cooperation of actors involved in these sectors.
• The subsequent goal is to maximize the benefits
  of investment in human capital development
  through its contribution to sustainable economic
  and social development by ensuring coherence with
  other actions promoted at regional and national
  level.

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• The mandate of the Task Force includes in
  particular the following
• Raising awareness on the importance of education,
  higher education and research
• Agenda setting in these policy areas
• Promotion of regular dialogue, information
  exchange and coordination of activities
• Coordination with other priority areas of the RCC
• Promotion of priorities, partnerships and
  activities in line with the Memorandum of
  Understanding from Istanbul, as well as the
  priority of fostering an building human capital
  of the RCC.

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• 2) Membership and structure
• Membership of the Task Force comprises of Members
  of the RCC Board, the Secretary General of the
  RCC, the signatories of the Memorandum of
  Understanding between the Ministers responsible
  for Education, Science and Research in South
  Eastern Europe signed in Istanbul on 4 May 2007
  (Istanbul MoU), the Task Force Education and
  Youth (TFEY), the Members of the Education Reform
  Initiative of South Eastern Europe (ERI SEE) and
  the Members of the Steering Platform on Research
  for Western Balkan Countries.
• Chaired by Romania and Co-Chaired by Austria and
  Croatia
• The Secretariat is currently located in Vienna

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• 3) Main activities and achievements
• Conference on Fostering and Building Human
  Capital for Sustainable Knowledge Societies in
  South Eastern Europe (Bucharest, 6-7 March 2009)
  - was attended by more than 200 decision-makers
  and representatives from numerous European
  institutions.
• Mobility programme for capacity building in
  regional cooperation - through which short-term
  placements of middle-level civil servants are
  organized at relevant institutions in the region
  and which contributes to sustainable development
  of capacities and know-how.
• Regional workshop on Evidence Based Policy
  Making" (Vienna, 9-10 November 2009) organized
  by KulturKontakt Austria, the OECD and the ERI
  SEE under the umbrella of the TFBHC and offered a
  platform to continue the discussion process
  initiated in Bucharest.
• Meeting of Senior Officials from the Istanbul MoU
  Region on Overcoming the economic crisis The
  role of human capital development (Zagreb, 18
  November 2009) offered a platform for
  discussion on the identification of possible
  regional project ideas.
• Regional Workshop for Senior Officials and
  Experts on Cooperation around Clusters of
  Knowledge as a kick-off event for cluster
  cooperation (Sarajevo, 14 15 December 2010) -
  enabled a platform for discussion on existing
  cluster proposals in the field of Vocational
  Education and Training (VET) and National
  Qualification Framework (NQF) development.
• Exchange of information through a TFBHC website
  and eNewsletter

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• 4) Value added of regional programme to national
  efforts
• by the ongoing projects, which support the
  exchange of information on different policy
  options and help the advancement of the reforms
  of the national educational training systems
• Mobility programme for capacity building in
  regional cooperation
• - Launched in 2008 with 13 participants thus far
  from SEE ministries responsible for education,
  science and
• research
• - Due to the growing interest of the
  participants and the institutions for the
  Mobility program even more
• applicants are expected this year
• - In 2011, 18 hosting week grants will be
  awarded for placements in 7 different cities and
  more than 20
• institutions
• Regional Clusters of Knowledge, in close
  cooperation with the Education Reform Initiative
  of South Eastern Europe ERI SEE
• - in view of creating a platform for mutual
  learning, disseminating examples of good
  practice, increasing quality and performance,
  bridging the shortage of expertise and supporting
  reforms in national education and training
  systems overall
• - to intensify regional cooperation and to
  identify and develop concrete regional project
  proposals to enhance coherence between different
  approaches in the region on common themes of
  interest
• a) Modernizing the Vocational Education and
  Training (VET) System improving performance,
  quality and attractiveness of VET - under the
  lead of Romania
• b) Development of National Qualification
  Frameworks - under the lead of Croatia
• c) Evidence Based Policy Making in Education
  Turning Research into Practice Learning from
  PISA - under the lead of Serbia

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• 5) Relevance to Europe 2020 objectives of smart,
  sustainable, inclusive growth
• - The convergence with EU strategy (Current
  developments /ongoing activities underline TF BHC
  commitment to the European objectives laid down
  in EU 2020 Strategy)
• One of the aims of the TB BHC is enhancing
  cooperation for developing knowledge based
  societies by promoting the knowledge triangle as
  a key driver in fields such as the Strategic
  Framework Education and Training 2020, Bologna
  process and follow-ups and the European Research
  area - which could help to fulfill one of the EU
  2020 Strategys priorities creating value by
  basing growth on knowledge.
• Building human capital has a crucial role in
  promoting a knowledge-based and competitive
  society and in responding to the chances and
  challenges of this fast changing world.
• Building successful human capital represents one
  of the main reasons for adapting education and
  training programmes to labour market needs, as
  well as avoiding, in the future, economic and
  financial crisis similar to the one that Europe
  recently underwent.

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• 6) Key Challenges facing initiative/sector
• The need to
• Further strengthening regional, but also
  sub-regional cooperation structures in SEE, in
  particular through cluster cooperation
• Fostering dialogue among EU member states and
  SEE partner countries (policy dialogue, peer
  learning activities)
• Facilitating enhanced dialogue between regional
  initiatives and task forces, which are involved
  in the same field of action, in view of creating
  a platform for mutual learning, disseminating
  examples of best practice and avoiding
  overlapping activities
• Fostering regional cooperation structures in the
  field of education through EU programs and
  instruments (e.g. Multi-beneficiary IPA) with a
  view to highlighting the importance of education,
  science and research on national levels and
  facilitating respective agenda setting
• Progressively including SEE countries into the EU
  cooperation framework and networks (e.g. Open
  Method of Coordination, Eurydice, Lifelong
  Learning Programme/Erasmus Mundus) is of high
  importance for the region in view of better using
  scarce resources, benefiting from the flexible
  and rich in outcome cooperation mechanisms,
  reinforcing focus on regional Multi-Beneficiary
  IPA cooperation and furthering innovation in
  education and training

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• 7) Planned Activities
• - Ongoing projects Mobility programme for
  capacity building in regional cooperation
• Regional Clusters of
  Knowledge
• Conference on the topic Which forces are driving
  SEE? Ideas and action for European Integration
  and smart, sustainable and inclusive growth
  through human capital development (timeframe
  beginning of 2012)
• The aim is to approach and further reflect on
  common challenges in human capital development,
  especially in times of a fragile economic
  situation and the advancing EU integration
  process.
• In this regard the conference shall provide
  support to the Western Balkans 2020 process
  under the umbrella of the RCC. Expected outcomes
  providing a continued forum for debate
  stimulating innovative and concrete proposals for
  future strategic and sustainable cooperation
  activities furthering close cooperation and
  exchange with relevant regional networks and
  projects influencing national and European
  policies in the SEE region in view of increasing
  investments in human capital and moving policy
  making from a fragmented approach of education,
  vocational education and training, higher
  education and research to a comprehensive
  approach.

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• 8)Finance secured and funding gap
• Total budget for 2010 (in EUR) 110.500
• Planned budget for 2011 (in EUR) 176.000
• Budget needed in 2012
• - TF Secretariat (to be covered by Chairmanship
  countries)
• - TF 2020 conference 50.000
• - Mobility Programme 20.000
• - Regional TF Cluster and peer-learning
  activities (VET, NQF, Evidence-based policy
  etc.), in cooperation with ERI SEE 100.000 
• Raising awareness for the importance of
  education, higher education, research and
  science, in order to reach an adequate level of
  funding.