Makedonia mukaan LLP-ohjelmaan
Makedonia on tullut tänä vuonna mukaan Elinikäisen oppimisen ohjelmaan. Grundtvig-ohjelmassa osallistuminen koskee joitakin liikkuvuustoimintoja. Makedonialaisia aikuiskouluttajia voi tavata vaikkapa Grundtvig-täydennyskoulutuskursseilla.Kyselimme Makedonian Grundtvig-vastuuhenkilöltä Ljupka Bakardjievalta tarkemmin Makedonian aikuiskoulutuksesta Ljupkan vieraillessa CIMOssa huhtikuussa.
In general, there is no general rule for this. Maybe due to poor economy, sometimes, adults are the only money providers in the family, and therefore, are more concentrated in satisfying existential needs. That leaves them little time for personal advancement. However, Macedonians like to learn, they just need more structured opportunities.
What kinds of organizations mainly provide adult education in Macedonia?
Mainly, the adult education providers are the Worker Universities which exist in 13 cities around Macedonia. They provide primary and secondary education for adults, as well as many different kinds of courses of general education and for professional orientation. Another very important segment are the not-for-profit associations, which provide different kinds of non-formal education for adults, in wide variety of fields and subjects: gender issues, disability, parental education, consumers rights, healthy lifestyles etc.
What is the most visible difference between the Finnish and Macedonian adult education from your point of view?
From what I have seen during our visit at CIMO, Finland seems to have well developed both formal and non-formal adult education concept, the institutions are structured and develop long-lasting programs and projects. They have partner connections with other institutions in adult education on regional and European level. The adults easily enroll themselves into different learning activities during the whole lifetime. The Government and local authorities are also very much interested in supporting this sector. From this point of view, Finland seems to be a vision for Macedonia for the following years.
You have just launched some of the Grundtvig mobility actions in your country. How has Grundtvig been received by Macedonian adult education staff?
Macedonia this year, for the first time has the opportunity to participate in individual mobilities in the frames of Grundtvig. European dimension it provides will be extremely useful for Macedonian adult education providers to gain new experiences and knowledge, widen horizons and develop joint initiatives. As of now, even we are at the very beginning, the interest for the program seems to be very high, we receive many phone calls daily, and more quality applications than we can fund for this year. Hopefully, after this first year of its implementation, Macedonian individuals and institutions in adult education will promote themselves as good potential partners in Grundtvig at EU level.