As a new comer, I'm quite curious to engage in some of the wide range of events mentioned – conferences, discussions, workshops. This sharign of best moments was really enlightening.about the community

Dear Colleagues, 

On behalf of our experts and EPALE CSS colleagues, I'd like to say a big thank you for sharing your best moments and constructive thoughts on how to take EPALE to the next level. It has been very enlightening to read your comments. As the moderation is now officially over, I am saying good bye for now. Nevertheless, if you are more than welcome to join the discussion and post your comment (with past highlights and future-oriented insights, if you wish) later on as well. 

Thank you @Balázs Németh and Maria Toia for your valuable thoughts in the morning!

I’ve been an ambassador for the EPALE Slovakia platform for six years now, and I still see it as a truly enriching experience – both personally and professionally. Being part of the ambassador team gives me continuous opportunities to learn and expand my horizons in the field of adult education.

Over the years, EPALE has evolved significantly – going through various content and digital transformations. It has become a dynamic, information-rich space where anyone involved in adult education can find something valuable. Whether it’s inspiration for teaching, networking opportunities, or high-quality study materials – there’s always something new and thought-provoking to discover.

I also really appreciate the wide range of events organized under the EPALE umbrella – conferences, discussions, workshops – all of which have been meaningful to me and a great way to continue learning and growing.

Thank you, EPALE, for this journey and the opportunity to be part of it!

I have to chance to be part of EPALE as NSS since 2022 and and since then I've felt a very strong sense of belonging to this community. Every day, I discover incredible initiatives and projects, involving people who are genuinely committed to and passionate about what they do. And the real wealth of this platform is precisely all the people who have been building it together for 10 years and who are keen to share and exchange. ‘EPALE is more than a community, it's a laboratory of ideas, action and impact. A European voice for those who make adult education happen.

Long life to EPALE!

As pointed out by our experts, Maria and Balázs today, adult learning is a diverse field indeed. Expectations towards EPALE are plenty in numbers. This is also true to adult basic skills where practitioners, adult educators, trainers find themselves in need of highly context-based training opportunities lying in the intersection of adult learning pedagogy, employement, life coaching and more. 

I'd like to share an exciting initiative designed by EBSN Secretariat, and the Swiss Federation for Adult Learning (SVEB):

ProfAdul, a digital platform for the professional development of adult educators and trainers. The aim of the platform is to provide access to professional resources, content and opportunities that can contribute to the development of the competences of adult education professionals and to the stimulation of professional discourse in the interest of quality adult education.

Last week, we had a Czechoslovak EPALE conference here in Prague ("Czechoslovak" brings some nostalgic memories, doesn´t it). Already second, last year it was in Bratislava. This time, the topic was really catchy - AI and how it will tranform our ways of learning in the future. It was also about sharing of practical approaches/tools how toincoroporate AI into our learning/teaching so that it makes sense to trainers and educators. It was a great success. These events make sense to us. These events make community. Thanks EPALE for these events.

As Maria and Balázs highlighted, adult learning & EPALE need to address the sense of community in learning that evolves around the spaces in people's real life. My favourite EPALE features embracing community are the Community stories, EPALE podcasts. As for learning I celebrate the EPALE's opportunities to use the Course catalogue, and Resource kits!

Thank you EPALE, have a very happy birthday and let's continue to grow together! 

Dear EPALE colleagues and friends,

It's great to hear our speakers today. It's great how much we think along the same lines. It's amazing how much EPALE connects us.

Happy EPALE 10th Anniversary!

Andrijana Pavićević, Montenegro

EPALE has transformed from a nascent online platform into a dynamic and influential ecosystem for adult learning in Europe. EPALE has significantly expanded its community, resources, and functionalities, becoming essential for adult learning professionals and a key driver for innovation and policy.

In the future, the platform could have a more intuitive interface and personalized content recommendations based on user interests, roles, and location. This could include better filtering options, tailored newsletters, and suggested connections with relevant professionals.

My EPALE story as EBSN Editor for EPALE is closely interlinked with my relationship with the European Basic Skills Network. I started working with EPALE (and EBSN) in 2018 and back then the main focus for us was on introducing learning opportunities to the Platform. EBSN had already been working on this initiative years before this moment but since 2017-2018 many Open Educational Resources, MOOCs have been published to help stakeholders, policy-makers learn about designing cohesive basic skills policies.

I have met several inspiring experts, adult educators with such diverse professional (and personal) background whom all served as sources of learning and inspiration. 

Great to still be able to be part of the EPALE Community! 

Tamás Harangozó

Thank you for the meaningful and insightful professional discussion.

As a community cultural professional and educator, I see EPALE as a vital platform—not only for sharing best practices, but also for building bridges between professionals, students, and educators across Europe. One of the most impactful moments for me was when EPALE enabled me to connect with fellow cultural professionals from other countries. Public cultural education and lifelong cultural learning are close to my heart, and I’m proud to represent this field and contribute to the exchange of knowledge and inspiration.

Looking ahead, I believe EPALE will continue to play a key role in integrating digital tools into adult education—particularly in cultural contexts. By embracing new technologies and fostering inclusive approaches, we can ensure that adult learners from all walks of life have access to meaningful and enriching learning opportunities.

Congratulations to EPALE on its 10th anniversary—here’s to many more years of collaboration and growth!

As an EPALE coordinator in East Belgium for nearly 9 years, I’ve had the privilege of being part of this platform almost from its inception. Over the years, I've come to truly appreciate the meaningful connections I’ve built within the adult education sector, not only in my region but also with colleagues across Europe. EPALE has allowed me to collaborate with like-minded professionals, share insights, and learn from a diverse community that is united in the mission to enhance adult education.

What I value about EPALE is the way it continuously provides current, accurate, and enriching content. It’s not just a platform for resources and articles; it’s a dynamic space where adult educators, trainers, researchers, and policymakers can connect, exchange ideas, and stay updated on trends and best practices in the field. EPALE is more than just an online tool – it’s a community that brings people together through both online and in-person events. These events, whether they’re workshops, webinars, or conferences, offer a unique opportunity for professional development and foster collaboration across borders. They support adult educators in their day-to-day work, empower them with new knowledge, and promote a culture of exchange and mutual learning. What stands out most is the way EPALE’s activities continue to drive the professionalization of adult educators and strengthen their role in society. Whether it’s tackling social inclusion, sustainability, or digital transformation, EPALE creates spaces where these important conversations happen, and where we can work together to shape the future of adult learning.

I’m happy to be part of this journey and curious to see how EPALE will continue to evolve and shape the future of adult education in Europe. 

Happy anniversary, EPALE!

Zhuliyan Gochev, Bulgaria

My dear Colleagues, thank your for your interesting reflections and thoughts!
 

As a relatively young but rapidly growing network, the European Basic Skills Network (EBSN) has greatly benefited from EPALE’s dynamic platform. From the very beginning, EPALE played a pivotal role in shaping our professional community, enhancing our visibility, and supporting our mission to promote basic skills across Europe.

We are proud to have contributed to EPALE not only as an active participant, but also as a committed stakeholder — being part of its editorial board since its inception. EPALE has been instrumental in raising awareness of the critical challenges around ensuring basic skills for all, and in highlighting the need for cohesive, inclusive basic skills and lifelong learning policies that support both policymakers and practitioners.

Our joint efforts have included the EBSN Capacity Building Series on Epale [https://basicskills.eu/cbs/ - digital compendium of content produced on Epale], which has featured online discussions, open educational resources (OERs), MOOCs, and the EBSN Professional Development Series and Microcredentials [https://basicskills.eu/] aimed at building competence and innovation in the field.

As we look to the future, EBSN is eager to continue collaborating with EPALE in navigating the fast-changing landscape of adult learning — particularly in light of the twin green and digital transitions. Together, we can keep driving forward high-quality, inclusive, and future-proof adult learning across Europe.
 

Happy anniversary, EPALE — and thank you for being such a valuable partner!

Do you think to build human relationships we need more awareness of the differences between multicultural and intercultural when building communities of practice. We are all living in multicultural countries but we also need to have an understanding of intercultural importance - A desire to shift from a multicultural society, where culturally diverse people exist side by side, to an intercultural society, where people interact, share, and learn from each other

I very much agree with Maria. EPALE is an opportunity, but we are still not a fully functional community. Also, it goes beyond our professional roles. It is, as Maria said, about us as a whole.

Welcome to this very special online discussion, where we celebrate the first 10 years of EPALE, with you, the community that made it grow!

We are about to go live with the video streaming with experts.

Feel free to post your comments and questions!

Sara - EPALE Central Support Service

I have been active on EPALE since its beginning, and have gained plenty of insight, new project partners and a great opportunity to share ideas with European colleagues. I both read and write blogs and have used the calendar to learn about events and to advertise ours.

As I work in non-formal education with a strong focus on the third sector, volunteering and community, questions of democracy education and European citizenship feature strongly in my work and are issues shared across the continent. There is so much that unites us!

If there is one thing I would like us to consider for improvement, it's how to involve more adult educators from less traditional settings: museums, libraries, civil society organisations, social work, prison services and so on. I have found our in our Erasmus+ projects that they don't necessarily identify as EPALE users, even though their contribution to adult learning is huge and really opens up the concept of lifelong learning. 

Cheers to 10 years, and may there be many more to come!

-- Marion, Finland

Fifteen years of EPALE, that is a congratulation. I have been an ambassador of EPALE from the beginning and have experienced the entire development of the platform to what it is now. Much has changed for the better. EPALE has become a platform where there is something for everyone and has many extra features - sometimes still somewhat hidden - that are useful to use. However, it can always be better. A birthday also includes a wish list. These are my wishes:

- Give EPALE a clearer face: let's ensure that we make adult learning visible in the broadest sense of the word. Adult education is still defined narrowly, too focused on skills, too much focused only on disadvantaged or hard-to-reach groups. As a result, adult learning is still underestimated. Adult education touches on existential questions, meaning issues and social topics. Let's highlight this as clearly as possible on EPALE.

- Make EPALE more transparent: is there co-financing from the Member States in addition to funding from the European Commission, how is the CSS composed, what is the relationship with the NSS, what is the editorial policy, who supervises this, who comes up with the annual themes, who comes up with the various functionalities of EPALE? That is not very clear at the moment.

- Call for critical reflection on the policy regarding adult education – that also promotes further discussion

- Make a clearer link with Erasmus+: make it clear for annual themes what European projects have been or are still ongoing and invite them to publish on EPALE. This creates a clearer and more appealing thematic overview than via the Erasmus+ Project Results Platform.

- Please abolish the community stories in their current form. They are too many personal stories, which are also torn from their original text. Moreover, the stories are not sufficiently connected to each other.

- Collect statistical information annually on developments in adult education, so that you can publish an EPALEmeter annually. The EPALEmeter indicates ……..this will also increase visibility of au.lt education.

- Finally, I wish that many people continue to use EPALE actively!

Jumbo Klercq, Netherlands

What has EPALE been for me

I've known EPALE since its inception, but my actual interaction with the platform only began during the pandemic.

It was then that I was on the front line of the NSS in Portugal and learnt how to explore EPALE's different functionalities. And I was surprised, because EPALE was much more than I had heard or read about. EPALE was a real community and it really worked like one.

For me, one of EPALE's most fantastic initiatives is the EPALE Community Stories, which every year brings out the opinions, fears, doubts, anxieties, successes and achievements of its members. There are surprising stories every year!

I hope this initiative lasts, because it uses storytelling techniques and each of us has a story we can tell to motivate other members to be active on the platform. EPALE itself also has a story worth telling, because it shows how perseverance, commitment and dedication are fundamental to making projects happen and dreams come true.

Dora Santos

NSS Portugal