Between the 15^th -17^th of June, 2001, in Timisoara took place at the first National Conference on Adult Education entitled Adult Education in Romania – Educational, Cultural and Social Policies.

 

The conference was honored by a greeting message from the President of Romania and had more than 100 participants, representatives of the Minister of Education and Research, of the Minister of Labor, of the Minister of Culture, some distinguished experts from Germany and France, and gathered theoreticians from the academic and research environment, but also practitioners from public and private institutions, from professional associations, foundations, cultural and vocational institutions etc.

 

The declared aim of this conference was to establish a diagnosis of the actual state of adult education in Romania and based on this, to identify the directions of unitary action, directions that would form the key elements for a national strategy, coherent and systematical, who would integrate the combined efforts of all the actors involved in Romanian adult education. The key elements of these strategy, as they resulted from the contributions and debates of the participants, are synthesized in the conference declaration, elaborated and adopted on this occasion. 

 

 

 

Declaration of the First National Conference on Adult Education, Timisoara 15^th -17^th of June 2001

 

Considering the imperatives of Adult Education (AE) in Romania and the necessity of assuring a main coherence within the practice in this field, for its compatibilization with the practice that is taking place on European level, we, the participants at the First National Conference on Adult Education, entitled Adult Education in Romania – Educational, Cultural and Social Policies.

 

Distinguishing the fact that at the beginning of a new millennium, which is to be one of peace and understanding, education represents best chance for humanity,

Underlining that the effects of education – innovations, invention, new systems of organization, values – represent the key to the development of human society,

Reminding the impact of education on human communities around the world,

Taking into consideration the necessity of development of the scientific and theoretical base and of the coherent implementation of theories in the field of adult education,

Underlining the importance of adapting the national legislation to the international regulations in the field of adult education,

Re-affirming that adult education in Romania continues to develop itself and enjoys a growing interest because of the potential it has for the socio-economic and cultural development of Romania,

Expressing the fact that the prior responsibility at this moment `` is the identification of capitalizing techniques and social recognition of adult education, proclaim the following:

The recognition of adult education imposes itself as a national priority, as a part of the national educational system,

Consider the elaboration of a coherent legal frame, of a frame-law for adult education a priority,

Sustain the elucidation of the status and fields of competence belonging to the organizations for adult education, the elaboration of an evaluation and accreditation system for the service quality that are offered by these institutions and for the recognition of the certificates emitted,

Suggest the elaboration of a methodology regarding a system of initial training and professional and managerial improvement during the career of practitioners in the field of adult education,

Consider that traditions, practices and asserted values should be capitalized at national and international level,

Require the intensification of research in the field of adult education in order to assure the scientific, explanatory and improving foundation of theoretical and practical elaborations,

Express the Key – messages of the debates and ideas emitted during the Conference, as follows: all decision makers, researchers, practitioners and other social actors should join their efforts in order to accomplish a coherent system, a joint strategy of action for the development of adult education, that should allow an efficient funding necessary to the functioning and developing of adult education, so that the potential it has could be capitalized at its most.