On Wednesday, 8 June, from 10 am to 4 pm CEST, EPALE will be hosting its next online discussion on Learning Communities in Rural Areas. The discussion is part of a special Focus Week (from 6 to 10 June) dedicated to the same topic, promoted by EPALE teams from Austria, Belgium (NL), Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, and Poland.

The written discussion will be introduced by a live stream (10-10.40 am CEST), with invited experts. Ewa Smuk-Stratenwerth (SEED), Cath Gristy (Education Studies, University of Plymouth) and Zoltan Hajdu (General Coordinator, Focus Eco Center), moderated by Gina Ebner (EAEA), will share their perspectives and experiences.

The live stream will be followed by a moderated written discussion, hosting the contributions of our EPALE community members.

Our guest speakers will be talking about rural policy and praxis and the changes over the last 20 years. We will also speak about what effect prior approaches have had on our society and shared values. During the discussion, we will explore whether and how the EU is already or possibly be able to counteract this development.

A critical view of practice examples will provide us with concrete insight into the reality of rural learning communities and how we better acknowledge their strengths and needs moving forward.

What do we mean when we speak of “urban-oriented educational policies”?

What kind of challenges do rural learning communities face, and what can we learn from how these communities have overcome challenges in the past?