For the first time, the Committee of the Regions was invited to the European Education Summit. The Committee sent a representative, Mr. Csaba Borboly, President of the Harghita County Council. The event was organized on 26th September in Brussels.
The summit focused on the issue of digitalisation, innovative methods of education and opportunities for schools in less developed regions. In his speech, Csaba Borboly called for a common European education strategy.
”Special thanks to Tibor Navracsics for being here. He was the first European Commissioner who observed the efforts of local and regional authorities leaders across Europe on issues related to youth, education and sport. In most European countries, local and regional leaders - mayors, presidents - play a major role in the operation, modernization and convergence of educational institutions. In Harghita County: we need to find new solutions and new resources so that our schools can keep up with other schools in Europe, the rapidly evolving digital world and the changing demands of the labor market, ”said Borboly.
The president of the county council has been active in the SEDEC for five years, within the Committee of the Regions.
In the light of his experience, he put forward concrete solutions at the European Education Summit: closer cooperation between local and regional authorities and the business sector is needed in order to make easier for graduated young people entering on the labor market. “The role of municipalities is to build bridges between schools and entrepreneurs. This would greatly contribute to economic development, not least, reduce labor shortages and also prevent what we call brain drain: if young people find easier jobs in their homeland, they are less likely to decide to emigrate, ”he said.
Concerning modern forms of education and digitalisation, Borboly explained that the inclusion of appropriate technologies and teacher training could also go along way towards creating distance learning in more isolated regions. "It is extremely important for our teachers to have the appropriate pedagogical, methodological, psychological and technological opportunities to contribute to a well-functioning educational system, using the latest educational tools and knowledge of the most modern methods."
At the same time, Csaba Borboly called on European leaders to consider differences between regions within a Member State, while taking into account differences between Member States. Regular consultation with local leaders is essential in mapping these differences.
Every European citizen has the same right to education, despite of how advanced his or her region of origin, language or nationality is. However, we know exactly how many European countries restrict national minorities from access to education in their mother tongue - for example, the Minority Safepack Minority Protection Initiative, which calls on the European institutions to support the preservation of national identity and respect. We also value traditions and traditional knowledge, especially in rural areas. Once again, local and regional authorities have a huge role to play in preserving and maintaining these! ” He said.
In the context of the new Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for the period 2021-2027, Mr. Borboly asked the European Commission to support collaborative innovation projects to help less-developed regions to catch up, reduce disparities between Member States, because it can help to improve demographics and make education systems more competitive.
In his presentation, Borboly emphasized the crucial role of the European Investment Bank in attracting even more EU funding to less developed Member States, to support local initiatives, to improve the education system. "There is a need for common European action, a common European strategy, for young people to return to their homeland and providing additional knowledge for the upcoming generations," he said.
Miercurea-Ciuc, 26 th September 2019
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