I was delighted to present on behalf of PASCAL my presentation at the European Platform for Adult and Lifelong Education (EPALE) Seminar: Education for the future: EPALE and the challenges of learning in adulthood.

The seminar, entirely online, scheduled for 4, 5, and 6 November, outlined the state of the art of adult education in Italy from a European perspective, starting from the privileged observatory that the EPALE platform constitutes.

During the three days, speakers discussed current European policies and measures in support of the adult education and continuing education sector, offering an overview of what has been produced by academic research in Italy. Some of the priority areas were discussed (reskilling, education in prisons, and the development of entrepreneurial skills), sharing experiences, and direct testimonies from operators in the sector.

My presentation focused on the role of learning cities in developing resilient communities, especially in these times of crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Talking about resilient cities means reconsidering the role of adult learning and lifelong learning which, today more than ever, can help supporting communities in dealing with problems and crises.

In this perspective, the role of PASCAL and the LCN offer the possibility for cities to connect to other cities in the world to share practices and useful experiences to create sustainable communities. Recently two Italian cities joined the PASCAL Network (Trieste and Udine), but PASCAL looks forward to more Italian cities joining as members of its Learning Cities Networks (LCN) initiative.

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