“Challenging” is probably among the most used attributes to describe 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic has overturned many of our certainties and has forced us to reinvent our lives, our careers and – in the end – ourselves. The Adult Education community has been strongly affected by these changes, but has also shown a high degree of resilience, responding to the challenges with an extraordinary creativity. And this power of reinvention, is reflected by the incredibly valuable, deep and diversified contents that have enriched our EPALE platform in 2020.

This Resource kit will try and sum up the main trajectories taken by the platform, suggesting some highlights among the wide range of very interesting content it contains. The four thematic focuses which have punctuated our year will guide us through this journey.

2020 started with a focus on Environmental awareness and protection, where EPALE explored and fostered the role of a vibrant adult learning and education systems in creating a more sustainable world. Climate change, circular economy, grassroots initiatives and sustainable societies are among the topics that you will find in the resources we have selected.

The second quarter of the year, strongly affected by the pandemic outbreak, was characterised by a reflection on Digital skills as a way of accessing learning opportunities, a theme which has become increasingly relevant. Our selection includes an interview on digital exclusion, a series of webinars, a podcast on AI and an online discussion on blended learning.

Basic skills learning provision has been the third thematic focus for 2020: the pandemic has shown as never before that the large number of adults with poor basic skills represents a major obstacle to an inclusive society. Among the many resources offered by the EPALE to tackle this issue, we have chosen a OER and MOOC on numeracy, blogposts on literacy and lifelong guidance and a paper on participation and motivation.

The last months of the year, finally, were dedicated to the Social inclusion of the ageing population and intergenerational learning, showing that it is key to provide high quality learning opportunities for older people. An OER on intergenerational learning, a community story, a toolbox to fight ageism and a blogpost on active ageing are our choice for a first glance on the many resources on this topic.

The resource kit is available for download here: