Report - Salto

Bridges for Recognition | Sketching the Framework - Offi cial Opening
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Formal education is resistant to change, often compartmentalised and designed for the average
learner who doesn’t exist. It is less able to deal with problems of social inclusion and tends to be
less holistic.
But links between the formal and the non formal are desperately needed to ensure both the
knowledge based economy and the social cohesion described in the Lisbon Strategy.
Bettina Schwarzmayr encouraged the conference to keep in mind that the tools for recognition need
to be accessible for all young people and that young people need to be consulted on their design.
She challenged the conference to think also about recognition without formal certification or
assessment and to ensure that recognition tools were designed so that they could not be used
inappropriately or out of context. Recognition needs to be holistic and contextualised for today’s
society, the learner’s situation and the formal education sector. In doing this, recognition will aid
the greater impact of NFE on society.
Linking Further…
European Youth Forum policy documents – www.youthforum.org
More about Informal Education and Lifelong Learning - www.infed.org