Council Resolution of 25 November 2003 on making school an open learning environment to prevent and combat early school leaving and disaffection among young people and to encourage their social inclusion
Date: 2003-11-25
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: European social policy, education policy, marginalisation, social integration, young person

5.12.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 295/3

COUNCIL RESOLUTION

of 25 November 2003

on making school an open learning environment to prevent and combat early school leaving and
disaffection among young people and to encourage their social inclusion

(2003/C 295/02)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE REPRESEN-
TATIVES OF THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE MEMBER STATES
MEETING WITHIN THE COUNCIL,

AWARE that

1. The Lisbon European Council of March 2000 acknowledged
the strategic role of education and training in achieving a
more competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy
and promoting inclusion, employment, social cohesion and
personal and professional fulfilment; it also drew attention
to effective teaching for all, a goal achievable by constantly
seeking ways and means of making learning more attractive.

2. The June 2001 Resolution of

the Council and of

the
Representatives of the Governments of the Member States
meeting within the Council entitled ‘promoting young
people's initiative, enterprise and creativity: from exclusion
to empowerment’ recognises that helping young people to
be more proactive and creative is a means of preventing and
counteracting social exclusion and a strategy for developing
young people's personal and professional empowerment.

recognises

for European youth’

3. The November 2001 Commission White Paper ‘A new
impetus
strategic
priority of the ‘youth’ dimension and the fact that it cuts
across other policies, affirming the importance of
the
European Union's commitment to encouraging active citi-
zenship on the part of young people and to quality teaching
and training by setting a high value on, among other things,
the non-formal dimension of learning, voluntary work and
developing young people's autonomy and spirit of initiative.

the

4. To promote

these objectives,

the November 2001
Commission communication ‘Making a European area of
lifelong learning a reality’ and the June 2002 Council
Resolution on lifelong learning stress the importance of
the European Union in supporting and
the
lifelong learning strategies
promoting implementation of
to create a culture of learning in which formal, non-formal
and informal learning all have a part to play.

role of

5. The

of

school

combining

contribution

and informal

in
learning is

formal,
non-formal
in
implementing strategic objective 2 of the Report on the
concrete
education and training
systems (1) as defined by the Barcelona European Council
(15 and 16 March 2002): open learning environment (2.1);
making learning more attractive (2.2); supporting active
citizenship, equal opportunities and social cohesion (2.3).

future objectives of

an element

(1) OJ C 58, 5.3.2002.

6. In its conclusions of 5 and 6 May 2003, the Council, estab-
lishing benchmarks of European performance for
the
the
purposes of
‘Detailed work programme on the
follow-up of
the objectives of education and training
systems’, reaffirmed that by 2010 an average rate of no
leavers should be achieved,
more than 10 % early school
taking into account the starting points of the individual
Member States.

7. During the Nicosia Conference of 27 and 28 June 2003 the
European Ministers for Education highlighted the crucial
role of school
in preparing young people to develop
active citizenship at local, national and European level,

UNDERLINE that

1. The course of action outlined above gives prominence to
the fundamental role of young people in the creation of a
knowledge-based Europe and provides the framework of
reference strategies for promoting the social inclusion and
therefore the employability of young people and removing
the obstacles which stand in the way, the major one being
early school leaving, as well as other forms of disaffection
among young people.

2. Diversification and flexibility of education and training
paths are important tools to satisfy individual needs and
enhance individual aptitudes.

be

they

3. With that in mind, the places where learning takes place
or
importance,
assume
particular
such as youth centres and
non-formal and informal,
associations
for
including voluntary work as
acquiring social skills and abilities. The latter not only
represent added value in terms of social cohesion, with
their collaborative educational practices, but help to instil
a sense of community in young people and hence develop
the active, informed citizenship aspect.

formal,

tool

a

4. [. . .] The open method of coordination is to be used in
complementing action by the Member States to support
the achievement of common European objectives, with
full regard for specific national responsibilities,

RECOGNISE that

1. The prime task of school is to work, through education, to
provide successful
training for every young person, by
supporting their aspirations and making the most of their
abilities.

C 295/4

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

5.12.2003

2. School

is important for the contribution it can make in
enhancing the knowledge which young people acquire in
various contexts, and which is necessary for them to get
their bearings, develop self-awareness and make inde-
pendent and positive choices in life.

3. It is important to encourage young people to take part in
the various management levels of educational institutions.

4. There is a need to increase family awareness and to
encourage families to take part in school life and activities.

5. There is a need to identify cross-cutting methods whereby
formal education and training systems can interact with the
family, with local education agencies and with structures
offering informal
learning opportunities through shared
experience (such as voluntary work), so that young people
can acquire the values, capacities and skills which they find
particularly rewarding.

6. It is also advisable to strengthen, in line with objectives 3.1
and 3.2 of the Work Programme on the follow-up to the
the link and the synergy between
common objectives,
school and working life,
to encourage in young people
the sense of enterprise and initiative required for the estab-
lishment of a knowledge-based society.

between

7. It is advisable to strengthen cooperation and to increase
Community
complementarity
instruments,
including the Socrates, Leonardo da Vinci
and Youth Programmes, the European Social Fund and the
guidelines on social
in order to render more
efficient the integration of measures.

inclusion,

various

the

INVITE THE MEMBER STATES AND THE COMMISSION WITHIN
THEIR RESPECTIVE RESPONSIBILITIES to promote measures
designed to make school an open place of learning, able to
propose solutions to the problems raised by young people
themselves and by other groups and institutions which
contribute to their personal and social growth, for example:

— promoting and supporting synergies and joint activities
between schools
such as
voluntary work bodies, parents' associations, enterprises,
these
local authorities and other

education agencies;

local partners,

and other

in
activities may occur also, and where appropriate,
centres where they can meet and work in synergy in
order to encourage communication between generations
and to offer young people adequate support
to enable
them to make their own plans in life, test their aptitudes
and attain their personal and social fulfilment,

— promoting and supporting school projects and initiatives
aimed at making young people aware of social problems
and instilling in them a commitment to social welfare, by
encouraging the knowledge and implementation of good
voluntary work practice, whether in school or in coop-
eration with schools,

— supporting training of educators, teachers, trainers, tutors,
careers officers and headteachers in the teaching practices,
organisational methods, areas of knowledge, methodologies
and instruments needed to promote
complementarity
between formal and non-formal learning, as a strategy to
prevent and counteract early school leaving and disaffection
among young people,

— making best use of family participation in school life and
activities to prevent and overcome forms of disaffection
which have developed within and outside the school
environment,

— exchanging good partnership practices including positive
discrimination measures, and initiatives
funded by the
European Social Fund which are already implemented by
schools, youth associations and voluntary work bodies for
the purposes of interaction between formal, non-formal and
informal learning and prevention of early school leaving,

— encouraging more efficient

integration and complemen-
tarity between the Socrates, Leonardo da Vinci and Youth
Community Programmes, particularly through joint actions,
and enhancing cooperation between Member States on the
priorities of the objectives process,
in order to support
informal
learning and the prevention of early school
leaving,

— fostering the inclusion, within the framework of the new
Community Programmes, of measures which pursue the
aims of this resolution.