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EUROPEA is a network of more than 1000 ‘green’ schools and institutions in Europe. In the Leonardo da Vinci Partnership CHAVET (Challenges on agricultural vocational education and training), we focus on the future of our schools and institutions.
At the EUROPEA conference in Pamplona, Spain in April 2010, representatives from 21 countries discussed the demands from farms and the green industries, the consequences for the green sector and how the green education should respond to these challenges.
The responses of 1811students, 470 entrepreneurs, 515 consumers and 527 educators showed that European agriculture is very important for Europe and is always changing and evolving. The strategies of large farms and enterprises, more oriented to international markets, and of small and medium-sized farms and enterprises, more oriented to local markets, are different but all need the help of green schools to prepare for the future.
The lectures, workshops, discussions and study visits to regional producers and enterprises resulted in the following statement:
The green schools must be open and responsive to the demands of the green sector and rural areas. They must have good relationships and collaborate with all relevant representatives and stakeholders in this sector.
The schools must be flexible to be able to respond to rapid change, update their study programmes continuously and adapt their curricula to the new situations.
The schools must be innovative models themselves and promote entrepreneurship, increase the involvement of companies in vocational education and training (VET), as well as creating networks between all the relevant stakeholders and responsible bodies.
The schools must promote the good image and status of the green sector in all its aspects, as well as the green studies. With the help of the media, they need to make agricultural education more attractive. The schools must have a higher profile and join forces with all stakeholders in order to achieve these objectives.
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