From 23 to 25 September, around 30 guests from Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova and Ukraine accepted the invitation from DVV International to participate in an exchange during a conference and visits to adult education centres in Bonn and Siegburg. With the overarching topic of the events being "Adult Learning Education in the responsibility of local communities", deputy mayors and directors of adult education centres learned about the experiences of Volkshochschulen in Germany and were able to present their successes and development perspectives. The lively exchange during the visits enabled knowledge to be deepened and new impetus for cooperation to be provided.
The one-day conference took place on 23 September 2024 at the Gustav Stresemann Institute. The programme included presentations and panel discussions on topics such as the adult education system in Germany and the role of UNESCO Leaning Cities in promoting inclusive lifelong learning.
Volkshochschulen from Germany and adult learning and education centres from the six participating partner countries presented their experiences in the field of policy making at local level and the promotion of inclusive continuing education programmes for adults. The conference participants emphasised the importance of exchange in the field in order to meet the challenges of the constantly changing political and social environment in Europe.
On the second day of the event, representatives from Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova and Ukraine met in the district town of Siegburg at the invitation of Mayor Stefan Rosemann to learn about the work of adult education centres and the support provided by the local authorities and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia using the example of vhs Rhein-Sieg. A total of 35 people from the six countries, including deputy mayors, representatives from adult education providers and civil society, met with Mayor Stefan Rosemann, the Chairwoman of the Rhine-Sieg Adult Education Association and Mayor of Lohmar Municipality, Claudia Wieja, and the Director of the Volkshochschule Holger Hansen and learnt about the services provided by the VHS Rhine-Sieg for their municipalities and why continuing education is key to the implementation of municipal development strategies. Representative from the Ministry of Culture and Science of NRW, Heike Maschner and Celia Sokolowsky, the CEO of the Adult Education Association of NRW travelled from Düsseldorf to discuss the Continuing Education Act of the state and the social role of adult education centres with the group. All participants agreed on the great value not only of adult learning education, but also of international exchange, from which all sides benefit.
On the third and final day, the international group visited the VHS in Bonn. After a tour of the facilities in the building with the Director, Ms Gabriele Tillmanns, topics such as politics, science and international affairs, foreign languages, careers, IT and digital and foreign languages were presented by the respective department heads and discussed in Q&A sessions. In an evaluation session, the country delegations presented their findings from the conference and the visits, assessed which approaches could be transferred to their municipalities or adult education centres and how DVV International could provide more support for these processes in the future.
The highlight of the visit was a reception at Bonn City Hall, hosted by the 1st Deputy Mayor of Bonn, Mrs Nicole Unterseh. In her speech, the city representative emphasised the great importance of adult education for the city and thanked the group for their interest and the continuous promotion of lifelong learning in their countries. In return, the deputy mayors from Peja (Kosovo) and Mykolaiv (Ukraine) thanked expressed their gratitude for the warm welcome and support and spoke in favour of further cooperation in the field of adult learning and education.
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