- Parliamentarians from both sides of the pond have signed a report covering 34 points in this area.
- The report was adopted at the 15th session of the EuroLat Assembly in Madrid.
28/07/2023, Brussels. Yesterday, Thursday 27 July 2023, the EuroLat Assembly adopted a report supporting digital education and advocating the strengthening of these infrastructures, an agreement in line with the objectives of the Destine project. The 34-point report urges the Assembly’s member countries to add these recommendations to their work programmes and financial plans for the coming years.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education was among the issues discussed at the 15th EuroLat Assembly in Madrid this week. The report drafted by the Committee on Social Affairs, Youth and Children, Human Exchanges, Education and Culture highlights the social and gender inequalities laid on the table by digitalisation and the return to the classroom. In the case of digitalisation, the income gap has been a key factor in the success of the digital transition. On the gender gap caused by the return to school, the committee denounced that the percentage of girls who have returned to school is lower than that of boys.
MEP Soraya Rodríguez Ramos highlighted the difficulties that universities and educational centres had in adapting to remote classes, as they lacked the digital infrastructure to enable them to develop their online activity. She listed the various solutions proposed by the committee to the problems caused by the digitisation of education. Among the measures proposed, it was suggested that teachers should be offered support to help them cope in digital environments, while improving digital infrastructures.
Luis Galarreta Velarde, as representative of the Andean Parliament, emphasised the shortcomings that COVID-19 showed in the field of education. Galarreta focused his presentation on the emotional impact that the abrupt change to online education has had on children. “The children who were not able to celebrate the end of their studies, the children who were starting school, have meant a loss of human contact,” concluded Galarreta. In closing his speech, the Peruvian politician underlined the importance of having included in the final report points focusing on inclusive education for people with disabilities and on cooperation between the European Union and Latin America.
After the debate, the members attending the plenary session voted to ratify the report, with 63 votes in favour and one against. Now, , it is up to the member countries to incorporate these initiatives into their work programmes and budgets.
DESTINE Project welcomes the approval of this report that supports online education, the improvement of digital infrastructures and the training of teachers in the new digital environment. Furthermore, the report denounces the existing gender gap in education and the need to promote inclusion, values that DESTINE and its partners share.
About ERASMUS +
Erasmus+ 2021-2027 is the European Union’s renewed programme in the fields of education and training, youth and sport, offering opportunities for all people and in all education sectors (School Education, Professional Training, Higher Education and Adult Education). This new Erasmus+ is more international, more inclusive, more digital and greener, supporting digital transformation, inclusion and diversity, as well as the environment and the fight against climate change. With a budget of more than €28 billion, it will fund learning-related mobility and cross-border cooperation projects for 10 million people of all ages and from all backgrounds. “This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.”
About DESTINE The Erasmus + DESTINE (DivErSity and Tolerance IN E-Environment) project was born with the aim of promoting online professional training that ensures support for diversity, inclusion and tolerance, providing the necessary tools for all professionals and students to adapt to the e-learning methodology. DESTINE focuses especially on those vocational training students who need a learning environment adapted to their needs.
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