European Regional Conference on LIFELONG LEARNING IN THE PURSUIT OF EFA GOALS AND CONFINTEA V AGENDA Sofia, Bulgaria, November 06 - 09, 2002 The consultations conducted on the EU Memorandum on Lifelong Learning revealed not only the diversity of contexts in the region but also the unevenness in the discourses and practices on lifelong learning. Meanwhile, the national meetings and few regional workshops on lifelong learning have also been effective in facilitating an analysis of trends that has the potential of improving policies and programs. Such an analysis of different approaches and good practices within countries has not been done in all European countries. This is especially true for countries in Central and Southeast European and CIS countries, where except for a few countries, there has been no attempt at country level to examine lifelong learning policies and practices. It is therefore critical for the above countries to have a forum where they are able to reflect on their realities at the same time, learning from other experiences. Such  reflection on lifelong learning needs to be grounded on two key concerns of education – the Education for All (EFA) goals and CONFINTEA V (adult education) Agenda. Usually within the region, it is often assumed that basic education has been achieved so there is no need to join discussions on EFA. There is increasing evidence however which shows that Europe is likewise experiencing lags in providing basic education  especially to disadvantaged groups.  As the focus of this meeting is adult education, the following Dakar Follow Up (DFU) critical areas will be relevant: 1) ensuring that learning needs of all young people and adults are met through equitable access to appropriate learning and life skills programme;  2) achieving a 50 percent improvement in the levels of adult literacy by 2015; 3) achieving gender equality by 2015; and 4) improving all aspects of the quality of education. The relationship of the above EFA goals with the CONFINTEA V  Agenda has to be clearly articulated. Usually these are treated separately and consequently their respective goals are pursued independent of each other. This forum will be an attempt to bridge this gap by bringing together policies and practices on EFA and adult education. With the mid-term review of the CONFINTEA V coming up in 2003, this meeting will  also be a venue for the initial review  on the gains of the CONFINTEA V in the region .  As all themes of CONFINTEA V could not be covered sufficiently, five themes which are related to EFA and priority concerns of the region have been selected. These are the themes on 1) participation and democracy; 2) quality of education; 3) literacy; 4) achieving gender equality and 5) promoting work. The main idea is to bring representatives of government, NGOs, research institutes, universities and other stakeholders from civil society and private sector to discuss the main issues and trends related to lifelong learning, achievement of EFA goals and reviewing CONFINTEA V Agenda. This regional meeting is unique in that it attempts to bring together all these three areas (often treated disparately) and articulate linkages among them. The importance of this meeting is three fold: 1) it is the first meeting at the regional level to cover the areas of lifelong learning, EFA goals and CONFINTEA V; 2) it is the first gathering at the regional level to bring government, NGOs, research institutes and academic community together  to discuss the above areas; and 3) it is the first attempt ever to explicitly develop a perspective that integrates lifelong learning discourses, EFA goals and the CONFINTEA V Agenda. OBJECTIVES This four day meeting will have the following objectives: 1) to share and analyze the trends in lifelong learning discourses and policies in the region; 2) to present the status of the countries vis-à-vis the EFA goals and the different programs implemented to achieve such; 3) to review specific themes of CONFINTEA V as it relates to the EFA goals and the priority concerns of the countries; 4) to develop an integrated perspective that examines lifelong learning discourses and its relationship in pursuing EFA goals and the CONFINTEA V Agenda; and 5) to look at possible areas of collaboration in the region. DATE, VENUE AND ORGANIZERS This multi-agency activity is a collaborative effort of  UNESCO (UNESCO Institute for Education and ED/EO/RIC), DVV-IIZ (Institute for International Cooperation of theGerman Adult Education Association) Ministry of Education of Bulgaria, the Grundtvig Program of the EU and the EAAE (European Association for Adult Education). Given the areas covered, the meeting will last four days starting on Nov. 6, 2002 and ending in the early afternoon of Nov. 9, 2002. It will be held at National Cultural Palace and participants will be billeted at the Boyana Residence and Rodina Hotel in Sofia, Bulgaria. The agreed working languages so far are English, German and Russian. Additional funds need  to be generated to have additional simultaneous translations. PREPARATION FOR THE MEETING A team of three to four participants will be invited from the countries in the region. The national team representing an array of stakeholders (government, NGO/civil society, academia and private sector) will have to be identified jointly by the concerned UNESCO offices and national commissions, Ministries of education and other relevant government ministries and the DVV-IIZ offices. Gender balance should be a key criterion in selecting participants. It is expected that this team will be able to work together to formulate and write a country paper in preparation for the meeting. Guide questions will be provided to help facilitate comparative analysis during the meeting. To complement this country papers, all participating countries will be asked to bring the necessary quantitative data on trends in lifelong learning, basic education and adult education). After the meeting, it is expected that this team  promotes the conference recommendations and outcomes. We expect participants´ list to be finalized by the middle of September.  There is enough funds for participants from Central and South Eastern Europe and CIS countries but some Western European participants might need to pay for their own flights and board and lodging. Programme contact: Carolyn Medel-Añonuevo