Dear ladies and gentlemen, partners in European education, friends and members!

It is a pleasure to formally invite you to the forthcoming GA and conference of EPA in Bucharest, Romania.

Early school leaving is a major point on the education agenda of the European Union. It is one of the main EU2020 targets to reduce the percentage of young people finishing the first part of their education, the years when they are full-time students, without a marketable vocation or the prospect of earning a college or university degree.

Those students who are most likely to leave school early are from families where there is no culture of learning and no respect for knowledge. However we are well aware how important it is to make everybody understand why lifelong learning is a necessity in our rapidly changing world.

Supporting families in understanding the importance of learning is probably the only way to prevent early school leaving, but also to support the adult family members to become lifelong learners and thus avoid unemployment.

Early school leaving often goes hand in hand with violence at school. Violent students are more likely to fail but those who fall victim of violence are just as likely to drop out.

We are very well aware of the fact that violence is often rooted in the home situation of those children affected. Violence at home is just as likely to result in violence at home as neglect. Parents whose children fall victim of violent one are often afraid to approach the other, supposedly violent parent or have no clue how to help a neglected child.

People coming to EPA events share the belief that a good home-school relationship is a good answer to many issues related to education. I believe that both early school leaving and school violence can be addressed via home-school relationship, not restricted to cooperation between the school and families but also the peer-to-peer help and support of parents.

I am sure those attending our forthcoming conference will learn about good practices and possible solutions to both issues that can be translated to the structure and problems of your country, your school or you, personally.

We are looking forward to meeting you in Bucharest and hope to proceed on our personal way in Lifelong Learning.

 

Eszter Salamon                                                                                                                 EPA-President

Preliminary Programme

The conference is held in English. No simultaneous translation will be organised.

Friday, November 28^th, 2014

9:00                     Visit to “Gheorghe Lazar” National College and General School

12:00                   Visit to the Palace of Parliament

13:00                   Lunch, registration and market place

14:00                   Opening session with welcome speeches by

Mihaela Guna –  FNAP President

Eszter Salamon – EPA President

Victor Ponta – Prime Minister of Romania (TBC)

Remus Pricopie – Minister of Education

Sorin Oprescu – General Mayor of Bucharest

Romita Iucu – Pro-rector of the University of Bucharest

Ciprian Fartusnic – General Manager’s Institute of Education Sciences

15:00-17:30         Plenary session with one coffee break

by Maria Herczog, President of Eurochild:

A Rights of the Child approach to early school leaving, school violence and the role of home-school relationship to prevent them

by Zakia Akkouh, European Wergeland Centre:

NO HATE SPEECH: Campaign of the Council of Europe

by Nora Ritók, President, True Pearl Foundation:

Agents of Change

by Benoit Guerin, EPIC:

European Platform for Investing in Children

                            by Jens Völmicke, Goodyear:

Findings of the Survey on the Role of Parents on Road Safety

 

19:30-22:00         Gala dinner with a traditional Romanian menu

ALCUIN Ceremony

Saturday, November 29^th, 2014

9:30-11:45           Workshop sessions – round 1

1. No Hate Speech Campaign

2. How to become agents of change

3. Investing in Children to prevent early school leaving and school violence – TBC

4. Violence/neglect at home = violence at school?!

11:45                   Coffee break

12:15-13:30         Workshop sessions – round 2

                            The workshop sessions will be organised so that everybody can participate at two different workshops, meaning that in round 2 the workshops of round 1 will be repeated

13:30                   Lunch break – with thematic discussion tables (topics to be announced on the spot)

14:30-16:00         EPA General Assembly

Proposed agenda:

1. Opening and confirmation of quorum

2. Approval of the agenda

3. Acceptance of new members

4. Approval of minutes (GA in Lisbon 4th April 2014)

5. Election of auditor for 2014

6. Activity report 2014 for acknowledgement

7. Report on the financial situation mid-year for acknowledgement

8. Approval of working programme and preliminary budget 2015

9. Approval of the draft working program for the years 2015-2017

10. Change of Statutes

11. Approval of By-Laws

12. Miscellaneous

13. Announcement of the next GA

17:30                   optional cultural programme – to be confirmed later

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Conference venue: the building of the Parliament of Romania. To enter the building we need your passport/ID card number. Please submit it if you haven’t done so before.

Accommodation is in the Ibis Hotel, 82-84 Izvor Street, Bucharest which is in walking distance from the Parliament. To all other venues (school and restaurant) transportation will be organised.

In all organisational questions please contact Brigitte Haider

e-mail:       GA@euparents.eu Tel. no:       +43-664 562 4043