The second Policy Leaders' Forum opens on Wednesday, October 9
The second Policy Leaders' Forum (PLF) for the Western Balkans and Turkey will be held by the European Training Foundation at Schloss Leopoldskron, home of Salzburg Global Seminar on October 9-10, 2013.
The Forum is a follow on event from the first PLF held in Turin in May - at which Salzburg Global Director of Education Jochen Fried was invited as a member of the advisory board of the European Training Foundation (ETF)'s FRAME project.
This event will focus on comprehensive, long-term policy making for human resource development with a view to Europe 2020 and South East Europe 2020.
In Salzburg, the Forum will continue to address the efficiency and effectiveness of public policies in education, training and employment for better results in terms of competitiveness and employment for citizens in the region.
The Europe 2020 strategy and the SEE 2020 draft strategy and national policies and strategies under review and development will represent key reference points for discussion.
The ETF - European Training Foundation is an EU agency, based in Turin, that helps transition and developing countries to harness the potential of their human capital through the reform of education, training and labour market systems in the context of the EU's external relations policy.
ETF Director Madlen Serban is a three-time Fellow and faculty member of Salzburg Global Seminar, having attended sessions on the future of European integration, access to higher education and global citizenship.
While the May event in Turin focused only on policy leaders from Ministries of Education and Labor, the Salzburg PLF in October also includes Ministers or Deputy Ministers from Ministries of Finance.
This will ensure a stronger link between the issues of skills supply the labor market and the broader economic context and demand for skills, as well as the national capacity to invest funds in the development of skills.
This will be an opportunity for policy leaders to discuss with their peers how the national efforts have contributed to skills fostering competitiveness, employment and social inclusion by 2020.
It will also provide a forum to link regional and national strategies with the national and external financial instruments to improve conditions economic growth and recovery as articulated in the Enlargement Strategy.
More specifically, the Forum will set out to identify:
- Enhancing cooperation to strengthen Human Resources Development for Growth, Sustainable Development and Inclusive Labour Market
- Contribution of FRAME Initiative and tools developed as a catalyser for national integrated sectorial approaches in education, employment and finance for a long term planning in the field of skills for growth and social cohesion
- National and EU financial instruments for 2014-2020 to support the roadmaps towards national, regional and European targets achievement
Approximately 35 participants are expected to attend the Policy Leaders’ Forum on 9-10 October 2013 including:
- Ministers and Deputy Ministers with responsibility for education, training and/or employment and finance from the Western Balkans and Turkey
- Policy leaders from EU institutions and international organisations
- Policy leaders of regional organisations and platforms, such as the RCC, ERISEE and SEECEL
- International experts in the field of public policy
