Register by 15 October and join us for a working general assembly and a great conference
I N V I T A T I O N
to the General Assembly and International Conference Suitable Pathways
Role of Parents in Guiding their Children towards the Most Suitable Personal Careers November 24th and 25th, 2017
in Tallinn, Estonia Co-organised by
and
One of the most delicate parental tasks is to guide your child or children towards further education and possible successful career pathways, avoiding traps such as trying to fulfil your own un-accomplished dreams in your child or following fashionable trends instead of looking for the right pathways.
The EU has realised the importance of building a knowledge-based society back in 2000, and in 2010 set the headline target that 40% of the younger generations should have a tertiary degree by 2020. On the way – while the legal basis has not changed, but the university lobby has become very influential – the European Commission started to interpret tertiary education as higher education, but we must keep the original intention and regulations in mind: parents should aim at supporting all children to finish secondary education and as many of them as possible to obtain a tertiary degree, be it a vocational, post-secondary or higher education one, that can ensure easy access to the labour market.
Meanwhile we should not forget that even if Europe manages to achieve the above goal, still nearly 2/3 of young people will have to successfully start their lives having the right secondary education, cognitive and transversal skills as well as the spirit of initiative. Parents and professional educators have a crucial role – individually and together - in supporting young people in finding their own pathways, be in a secondary vocational education or a PhD, help them to lose the least possible time with useless studies and find their way to a happy life.
The conference will look at ways of home-school cooperation in career guidance, transversal skills with special focus on entrepreneurship, and the role of parents and parents’ associations to improve the image of vocational secondary education and non-university tertiary education to help people understand that for most people it is a first and best choice.
Registration is now open at this link. Registration deadline:
Sunday, 15 October 2017
Preliminary Programme
The conference is held in English.
Friday, November 24th, 2017
9:00 School visit at a Waldorf school
11:30 School visit at a vocational school, venue of the conference
12:30 Lunch and registration
13:30-18:00 General Assembly – for EPA member representatives only
13.30 – Guiding your children in an entrepreneurial spirit
guest speaker Anthony Gribben, European Training Foundation
14.30-17.00 – small group work on EPA’s strategic plan and working methods 2018-2020
15.30-16.00 coffee break
17.00 statutory decisions according to agenda sent separately
18:00 Community dinner preparations
19:00 Dinner Saturday, November 25th, 2017
10:00 Official opening – representative of the Estonian Presidency of the EU, representative of the European Commission, the President of the hosting organisation, Aivar Haller and President of EPA, Eszter Salamon
10:30 Keynote session
Career guidance from a professional’s perspective
Tiina Saar-Veelmaa, Workplace Happiness Advocate in
Proekspert, career counselor & psychologist in Aaretesaar
Raising the attractiveness of vocational training and
apprenticeships – Petri Lempinen, EUproVET Finland (AMKE, the
national association of VET providers)
11:30 Coffee break
12:00-16:00 Workshop sessions 1&2 with
13:30-14.30 Buffet lunch
16:00 coffee break
16:30-18:00 Fishbowl session – Parents for children’s successful future
19:00 walk through old Tallinn to the conference dinner Sunday, November 26th, 2017
10:00 Walking tour of Tallinn – upon separate registration
PRACTICAL INFORMATION Participation fee:
EUR 25 per person for those eligible to reduced rate and for Estonian participants
EUR 100 per person for non-members and additional participants of members
The participation fee includes lunches on Friday and Saturday, the community dinner on Friday, conference dinner on Saturday and coffee breaks. Accommodation:
The organisers can book you the following accommodation in case you register by 15th October.
4-star hotel
- single room: EUR 61 per night, including breakfast
- double room: EUR 68 per night, including breakfast
Disclaimer: Please note that cancellation is only possible before 20th October, in case of accommodation booked with us it is 15th October. In case you cancel later, you have to pay the full fee due and also the cost of accommodation booked.
In case you organise your own accommodation, you can register for the conference until 20th October.
In case you choose to pay in cash at the event, you will not be able to join the sightseeing progamme, lunch or the conference itself without paying your due fees.
In all organisational questions please contact Brigitte Haider
e-mail: GA@euparents.eu
Tel. no: +43-664 562 4043
