Dr Ioannis N. Grigoriadis participated in the Jean Monnet annual conference 2015 “A Union of shared values – the role of education and civil society”, which took place at the Management Centre Europe (Rue de l’Aqueduc 118, 1050 Brussels) on 9-10 November 2015.
The European Union is based on the values of human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. These values have recently been put into question, notably through the series of terrorist attacks in and around Europe. The topics of migration, discrimination, social exclusion, security, financial and social crisis dominate the EU political agenda, and have a direct influence on the respect of fundamental rights and values.
Following the terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo in Paris last January, the European Ministers responsible for Education and the European Commissioner Tibor Navracsics agreed on a joint Declaration to promote citizenship and the common values of freedom, tolerance and non-discrimination through education. The European Commission is supporting the aims of the Declaration by implementing a number of actions within the Erasmus+ programme. These actions include support to the mobility of learners and teachers, strategic partnerships and education institutions, cooperation platforms, as well as to policy dialogue and joint projects on citizenship education, volunteering and youth exchanges. This year’s Jean Monnet Conference was also one of the actions supporting the aims of the Declaration.
The conference brought together some 350 participants, including Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Commissioner Tibor Navracsics. Debates took place during plenary sessions and during three working groups addressing different facets of the conference theme.
More information can be found at:
http://ec.europa.eu/education/events/2015/1109-jean-monnet-conference_en.