Under the auspices of the Nordic Council of Ministers the “NordEd” conference took place on 3-6 May 2021. The opening speeches were held by two Ministers of Education: Jurgita Šiugždinienė, Minister of Education, Science and Sport of Republic of Lithuania and Jussi Saramo, Minister of Education of Republic of Finland, both highlighted their visions for Education after the pandemic.
EWC’s Executive Director Ana Perona-Fjeldstad had the honoured to address the participants at the opening session as well. The key message was the need for a quality education which includes all as well as how to prepare young people to live together and thrive in a complex future. What competences do they need for both the labour market and for life as engaged citizens of today’s society? What kind of competences do teachers needs and how are we supporting them to guide students in their learning paths?
Drawing on EWC experiences from the Nordic-Baltic project on Teaching Controversial Issues, Perona-Fjeldstad stressed the importance of open classrooms with spaces for discussions of difficult issues, exploring peer-to peer learning, building and supporting learning communities for teachers as part of their professional development, and the need of strengthening cooperation between schools and NGOs to better deal with many of the challenges young people and societies are faced with today.
The NordEd project aims to enhance Nordic-Baltic cooperation in the field of education by facilitating debate among policy makers and broader society on relevant education topics. It also aims to provide best practices of education from the Nordic-Baltic region and supports the development of innovative education initiatives in Lithuania and the Nordic countries.