civil-society-day-2016The Civil Society Day, co-organised by the European Commission Directorate General for Education, Culture, Youth and Sports and the Lifelong Learning Platform, was held on 19 October in Brussels, as introduction to the Education, Training and Youth Forum (20-21 October).

This year’s focus was on “Inclusive education”, a concept that reveals the transformative effect of education on society as a whole. However, this effect requires mainstreaming the concept through all areas of education, involving the many educational actors – representing formal, non-formal and informal sectors – in a dialogue with the institutions to develop effective educational policies.
Participants reflected on the meaning of inclusiveness in education through the prism of learning objectives, content and methods; learning environments and their link with the non- formal sector; the role of educators and school leaders; and finally, seeking the optimal governance system to ensure a comprehensive approach.

The key messages are available in the Civil Society Day 2016 – Inclusive Education Consultation Outcomes