“To be self-sufficient, Europe needs a skilled and educated population in sectors such as energy, sustainability, and digitalization.”

Meeting in Jerez de la Frontera

The Secretary of State for Education, José Manuel Bar, has inaugurated, together with the Minister of Universities, Joan Subirats, and the General Director of Educational Planning and Management, María Ángeles Muñoz, the meeting of the High Level Group on Education and Training.

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The meeting is the first high-level meeting for the Spanish presidency of the Council of the European Union, which officially begins on July 1 and takes over from the Swedish presidency.

 

In his speech, Bar recalled that, as the President of the Government advanced, Pedro Sánchez, One of the priority objectives of this presidency is to promote Open Strategic Autonomy. “The union must be able to act autonomously when it needs to and to cooperate at a multilateral level when it considers it appropriate,” he said.

 

“To be autonomous, Europe needs a population trained and educated in sectors such as energy, sustainability and digitalization. It also needs an educated citizenry that shares European values. In both cases, the role of education and Vocational Training is key,” she noted.

 

For two days, delegates from the 27 member countries will debate European values ​​and digitalization, in this first meeting ahead of the European presidency, which officially begins on July 1

 

“Our objective these days in Jerez is to create the appropriate framework to promote the defense of whats European values ​​and European citizenship. We want to generate a friendly and collaborative environment in which to build solid links, through dialogue and experience, between those who think and guide European decisions in Education,” concluded Bar.

 

For his part, the minister Subirats He highlighted that at this meeting “we embarked on a collective journey to understand, define and develop the meaning of European values ​​and democratic citizenship in shared European education.”

 

Likewise, he highlighted that “education is about building bridges and sharing ties of understanding and solidarity beyond our national borders. Which in turn serves as a catalyst for the European identity and European unity".

 

Delegates from the 27 member states participated in the meeting, the first high-level meeting for the presidency. The first day features the presentation of examples of good practices in promoting European values, as well as reflections on the digital transition and the arrival of new technologies in the classroom, such as artificial intelligence.

 

This Friday, participants will visit six schools in the city of Jerez de la Frontera, where they will debate six key European values: human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and human rights. of minorities. Next, they will address the conclusions, which will serve as a basis for the discussion of the Informal Meeting of Ministers of Education, scheduled in September in Zaragoza.